I’ve been reviewing Redmi Note series phones for a while now. Last year, I got a chance to review the Redmi Note 12. While that phone had its strengths, there’s no denying that that’s an entry-level phone. I’ve been curious about the experience of a premium midrange Redmi phone. With that in mind, I got to review the top-of-the-line phone in the Redmi Note 13 series. Here are my first impressions of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+.
Disclaimer: Xiaomi Global sent over a Redmi Note 13 Pro+ review unit with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage in Midnight Black. It arrived on January 26, 2024, but I had to wait until January 30, 2024, to unbox this phone. As of this writing, I’ve used the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ for about a week as my main Android phone.
Unboxing Experience
Two things stood out when I unboxed this phone: its jelly case and its beefy power adapter. I honestly like this dark grey case that’s included in the box! After I saw how glossy this phone was, I knew I had to put a case on. Good thing I didn’t have to buy one! While I prefer a clear case most of the time, I like the contrast of the included case with the phone itself. I probably would get a clear case if I got the Aurora Purple color, but this Midnight Black one blends well with the included case.
One thing that still amazes me is the fact that 120W fast charging is mainstream. Although I think it’s more convenient than it is healthy for the battery, I can see myself using this feature in many scenarios.
Loving The Hand Feel!
As much as I prefer a flat display, I’m happy with the recent trend of seeing most phones with curved backs. In 2024, I now prefer having a curved back even if it means it has a curved display. Lucky for you, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ has got you covered in that department.
While I’m not a fan of glossy backs on phones, I can’t deny just how clean this two-tone design looks. I didn’t expect Xiaomi to have design chops this good for its Redmi Note phones. The curved back does feel nice in the hand, but that glossy back doesn’t help with grip despite its metal frame. One thing I didn’t expect Xiaomi to include across the whole Redmi Note 13 series is an IP rating for dust and water resistance! While the rest of the lineup gets an IP54 rating, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ gets an IP68 rating! This is the highest IP rating that we’ve seen on smartphones. We used to see this only on flagship phones, so I’m glad to see it here in the midrange.
Flagship-Quality Display
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is the first Redmi phone to carry a curved display that’s nothing to sneeze at. It rocks a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that Xiaomi calls a 1.5K CrystalRes display. With a 120Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2712 x 1220, this display is worthy to be called flagship-quality.
I also appreciate its plethora of standards for a high-end audio and visual experience in a phone. Its stereo speakers have Dolby Atmos support while its display supports HDR 10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. This phone also contributes positively to your eye health thanks to its 1920Hz PWM dimming and 16,000-level brightness adjustment.
I had concerns going into my review process for this phone. The display is NOT one of those concerns.
A “Premium Midrange” Performer
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7200-Ultra processor that’s one of the better processors out there for midrange phones. Supporting this processor is 8 or 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256 or 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage. I got the higher-end 12GB RAM + 512GB storage variant and it’s been a smooth experience so far. There hasn’t been a deal-breaking experience so far.
When I found out that all the Redmi Note 13 series phones still used MIUI 14 based on Android 13, it felt disappointing. Xiaomi already introduced MIUI’s successor, HyperOS, shortly before the global launch of these phones. While I had the smoothest MIUI experience on the Redmi Note 13 Pro+, it would have been nice to see HyperOS out of the box.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ gets 3 years of software updates and 4 years of security patches. This means that it’ll only go as far as Android 16. I feel like Xiaomi needs to work on making sure that
How Are The Cameras So Far?
Like its predecessor, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ rocks a 200MP main rear camera. Supporting it is an 8MP ultrawide camera and a 2MP macro camera. (I’m not sure why the 2MP camera still exists in 2024 midrange phones.) There’s also a 16MP front camera for selfies. It supports up to 4K 30fps video recording with the rear camera and up to 1080p 60fps with the front camera.
I won’t get into too much of my thoughts on the cameras until my full review. However, I still wanted to share some sample photos!
Click on the photos for full-resolution versions!
That is all for my first impressions of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+. Sound off in the comments about what you want me to focus on for the review.
