Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G Long Term Review AFTER The Hype (HONEST Review)
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is one of the many Redmi devices that Xiaomi released last year. Almost 5 Redmi Note 13 devices were released with different storage configurations and connectivity options.
The phone was launched on January 15th, and I purchased it around March. I have been using it since then.
Redmi phones are always the best-selling phones beating other Xiaomi lineups, recently Redmi General Manager Wang Teng stated that this year 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the Redmi Note which has surpassed 420 million units in the last 10 years this shows how Redmi as a subbrand of Xiaomi has come a long way in building itself up globally.
I've been using this phone to assess its performance since I first tried it, spoiler alert the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G has not let me down, so let's get right into it.
Design and Build
The design of the redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is a solid offering, it’s giving iPhone vibes with its boxy design. At the back, you get three cameras a 200MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro lens, Besides the macro lens, there is the Redmi branding.
The back is made of plastic, but it feels more like glass to me and feels very premium. If you go with the midnight black, you better slap a case because it's a fingerprint magnet. The frames are also plastic.
At the front, the screen is corning gorilla glass 5 with a punch hole cut out that houses the 16MP selfie camera and the bezels all around are very slim and even.
At the top is a headphone jack, a secondary speaker, a microphone, and an IR blaster for controlling your devices. At the bottom, there is the main speaker, a type-c port, and a microphone. It also has IP54 dust and splash-resistant but don't go with tossing it in the shower.
Overall, the phone feels very sturdy on the hand, is very lightweight, doesn’t feel heavy while in the pocket, and fits well. So far the Redmi Note 13 pro 4G hasn’t shown any signs of wear and tear because I usually slap a case and I have an applied screen protector, it looks brand new.
Display
The display of this phone is almost flagship level and Xiaomi hasn’t disappointed at all. From the first day I turned on the phone, I was greeted with a vibrant AMOLED display with deep blacks with 1080 by 2400 pixels.
The display can reach a brightness of 1300 nits, allowing you to use it in direct sunlight. Additionally, it has a refresh rate of 120Hz. You have the option to set the default mode to automatically switch between 120Hz and 60Hz, or you can manually force it to stay at either 120Hz or 60Hz.
AMOLED screens may experience screen burnouts or ghosting if a static image is left on for too long, such as the always-on display. However, in my experience, I haven't encountered this issue on this phone.
The display is also certified for PWM dimming at 1920Hz, which helps relax your eyes, prevents headaches, and after prolonged use, I haven’t experienced frequent headaches even when scrolling through Instagram reels all night.
I really appreciate how deep the blacks are when watching movies on this screen. The vibrant colors provide an immersive experience.
The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which should be drop-resistant at certain heights. However, I would recommend using a screen protector because if it breaks, the replacement can be expensive.
When purchasing a new phone, thick bezels are always a deal breaker for me. However, the Redmi Note 13 Pro has very slim bezels, providing a great viewing experience in landscape mode with its 88.9% screen-to-body ratio.
Performance
The performance of the Redmi Note 13 pro 4G has been great but not flagship-level performance, the animations are smooth switching between apps is a breeze, and opening and closing are good.
The game experience has been great but the phone won’t play on the highest graphical settings, however, it’s worth mentioning that the phone heats up after a prolonged period of gaming.
The phone is powered by the Mediatek G99-ultra. I'm not sure why Xiaomi included the name "ultra," as I couldn't find the G99 with the name "ultra" in it even after searching.
However, Mediatek has given phone manufacturers the green light to tweak the chip to meet their expectations.
In this case, the Mediatek G99 doesn’t support the 200MP, but Xiaomi tweaked the SOC made the cheap support 200MP, and added the name ultra. The G99-Ultra has handled day-to-day activities just well, there are occasional hiccups but nothing too major.
I have only gamed with it with some light games such as Beach Buggy Racing 2 which ran very smoothly, however when playing very demanding games such as Genshin Impact the phone might heat up. I haven't experienced any issues with swiping and scrolling social media, it has a touch sampling rate of 240Hz and can go up to 2160Hz while gaming.
Battery Life
The phone's battery life has been good, but when I first started using the phone, it wasn't as good due to the frequent ads and notifications.
After removing the unnecessary apps, I got over 10 hours of screen-on time. Since I am a light to moderate user, the battery has been good up to now.
The phone comes with a fast 67W fast charger which charges the phone from 0-100 in 45 minutes and the good thing is that you get the charger included in the box.
Camera Performance
When I first took pictures with the camera I was impressed by the quality. The phone has a 200MP main camera an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP, macro lens. The 200MP takes crisp photos which can be zoomed in further.
Even though the processor can’t handle 200MP Xiaomi has made this possible through pixel beaning where the phone captures 12.5MP photos 16 times and if you multiply 12.5 by 16 that's 200MP, so 200MP. Sadly the phone can only record videos at a max of 1080 30/60fps at the rear camera and 1080 30fps, so no 4K recording.
There is a dedicated night mode that brightens things up during the night and it does a pretty good job apart from when you try to zoom and you can see the photos are grainy overall the images are good. Here are a few shots that I took.
Low light photos
Night shots
Software Experience
If you're a fan of the iPhone, you'll probably feel comfortable using the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G. The phone originally came with MIUI, but a few months later we received an update to the new HyperOS, which is a redesigned version of MIUI. However, if you've used MIUI before, HyperOS shouldn't feel much different to you.
The new HyperOS is smooth with even smoother animations, however, Xiaomi decided not to include the opening and closing animations like the one we see in their flagship phones.
HyperOS also takes up less space as compared to MIUI but for many Xiaomi budget and midrange phones, it comes packed with a tone of bloatware and ads.
These bloatware and ads are annoying because they keep sending notifications. For someone like me, I know how to disable those ads, but others might have to stick with them.
Xiaomi has promised to provide three years of major OS updates and four years of security updates. This means that the phone will remain smooth and secure for the next few years.
However, the catch is that the phone comes with Android 13 out of the box, instead of the latest Android 14. As a result, you will receive updates up to Android 16, rather than Android 17 if it had come with Android 14.
Also, Xiaomi claims 48 months of fluid experience. According to Xiaomi, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G has passed extensive testing to ensure the phone runs smoothly with minimal software aging and slowdowns, even after 48 months.
There are a lot of customizations that you can play around with such as second space which allows users to use the primary admin and second user profile, you can also tweak the display to make it vivid, saturated, standard, or just customize it yourself.
These are just but a few of the many customization options the phone has. The good thing is that I haven't experienced any lags at all, but only time will tell.
Connectivity and Audio Performance
Just a heads up for those considering purchasing this phone for its 5G capabilities: this particular model does not support 5G. However, there is a 5G version available, so the phone's connectivity is limited to 4G, but I haven't experienced any connectivity with it so far.
The phone quality is really good, even when speaking in a noisy environment I can still hear the person I am speaking to well and the WI-FI is good I have no issues with it.
One of the best features of this phone is its Bluetooth connectivity, which is Bluetooth 5.2. I tested the Bluetooth using my Vitron v5201 and the connection was seamless. Even when I went to a far distance, the connection remained stable and the sound quality was good.
Audio Quality
The audio quality of this phone is excellent. It comes with stereo speakers tuned by Dolby Atmos, producing rich bass and punchy sound.
I haven't noticed any distortions even at maximum volume. Fortunately, it also has a 3.5mm audio jack, which is rare to find in many midrange smartphones nowadays.
Storage and RAM Management
My unit came with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage but there is a 12GB RAM and 512GB of storage. The RAM management has been good, however I noted that some apps refresh really quickly.
The 256GB storage capacity is ample, even though I use a memory card on my phone. Overall, whether you use a memory card or not, the storage doesn't fill up quickly.
The phone's RAM can be expanded up to 16GB, but to me, this seems like a gimmick because even after expanding it by an additional 8GB, I didn't notice any difference. Typically, this expanded RAM would only make a difference if you're exporting 4K videos, as it would speed up the process.
Price-to-Performance Ratio
When this phone launched it was very expensive retailing for KES. 40,000, right now it retails for well under KES. 35,000 and you get free Redmi earbuds depending on where you buy the phone from.
I would recommend this phone to anyone who wants a nice midrange phone that is packed with a lot of features without breaking the bank, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is good value for money.
Final Verdict
Pros
- Nice display
- Faster charging
- Good speakers
- Nice build and design
- Capable processor
- 3.5mm audio jack
Cons
- Video recording is cut at 1080p
- Selfie videos are cut at 1080p
- Low-light photography can be improved.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is a good phone for scrolling through social media, taking pictures, and streaming movies. However, if you're into heavy gaming, I'd recommend considering the 5G version for just KES 10,000 more.
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