Xiaomi 13 Series Brings Next-Gen Specs, Leica Cameras, And Splashy Neon Colors

After delaying the original unveiling at the last minute, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has finally introduced its latest flagships — and for once, it isn't playing it safe with the aesthetics. The Xiaomi 13 series arrives in two flavors: a vanilla model with a flat screen and edges, and a Pro model with curved glass aesthetics on both sides and more powerful cameras. The base version offers a 50-megapixel optically-stabilized main camera with Leica tuning, sitting alongside a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle snapper and a 10-megapixel telephoto zoom camera. Selfie duties have been deputed to a 32-megapixel camera sensor. 

Powering the phone is Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, ticking alongside up to 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM and a maximum of 512 GB of onboard storage. Over at the front is a 6.36-inch Full HD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a staggeringly-high peak brightness of 1,900 nits. Under the hood is a 4,500 mAh battery that allows 67-watt wired charging, wireless charging at 50 watts, and reverse power-sharing at 10 watts. It is available in glassy green, white, black, and a blue color rocking leather aesthetics. 

Notably, Xiaomi is also offering the phone in a limited edition flavor. This collection flaunts a black metallic frame married to a glass rear panel that comes in red, blue, yellow, green, and grey shades. Unfortunately, these colors will be limited to China. The Xiaomi 13 starts at CNY 3,999 (about $570), but its international availability details will be revealed in the coming months.

A Pro flagship with top-tier cameras

Xiaomi 13 Pro takes things up a notch; it offers a 6.73-inch OLED panel with a higher 3200 x 1400 pixels resolution and curved sides. This one also packs a larger 4,820 mAh battery that supports 120-watt wired and 50-watt wireless fast charging. Qualcomm's top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC runs the show inside, ticking alongside up to 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of onboard storage.

Leading the imaging hardware is a massive 1-inch camera sensor from Sony offering a 50-megapixel resolution, similar to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. For ultra-wide capture and long-range zoom capture, Xiaomi 13 Pro comes armed with an additional pair of 50-megapixel cameras. Xiaomi touts a 70x zoom range for the OIS-enabled telephoto camera, but the press material doesn't specify the optical magnification range. On the front is a 32-megapixel selfie camera sitting in a circular hole-punch cutout at the top.  

Xiaomi is also highlighting the CyberFocus tech, which can automatically track human subjects, pets, insects, and foods for keeping the focus locked. There are also a handful of Leica camera modes and filters. Plus, 4K footage capture is enabled for night mode. Xiaomi 13 Pro's build is IP68-certified and relies on ceramic or synthetic leather for crafting the rear panel. It will be up for grabs in four color options: white, black, green, and blue. Xiaomi 13 Pro starts at CNY 4,999 (about $720), but international availability plans will be revealed in the coming months.