Redmi Note 13 (4G) Review

The most popular Note Series from Xiaomi 54 is back! And we’re getting three Pro variants and two vanilla models across the newest Redmi Note 13 Series.

In today’s full review, we’re taking a closer look at the vanilla Redmi Note 13 4G variant powered by a Snapdragon chipset.

There’s a 5G version which uses a MediaTek chipset, but it is not priced (yet) in the Philippines. Nonetheless, let’s find out why Xiaomi calls the Redmi Note 13 Series ‘bound to be iconic’.

Design & Construction

Starting with the Redmi Note 13’s refreshed design. At the rear, its triple camera module gets simpler with the lenses now placed directly above its glass-like panel.

What I like about this new design is how they made the camera layout symmetrical — making it more aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. It even gets complemented with the Redmi moniker and the text prints perfectly aligned with the lenses.

The glass-like finish of its plastic rear panel, though, is reflective and is fingerprint-magnet. Our unit is in the Midnight Black colorway so it’s easier to spot smudges as the light hits it.

Thankfully, Redmi is generous enough to include a black unibody silicone case in-the-box, which I prefer using because of the added protection it brings. Speaking of protection, this phone is only IP54 rated for splash and dust resistance. The frame is also made of plastic and is flat on all sides.

For I/Os, the power button and the volume rocker are on the right side. This leaves the left side clean.

While at the top sees a speaker grill, a 3.5mm headphone jack—which is good to have ‘cuz I’m a sucker for wired earphones.

Of course, it has the iconic IR blaster beside the microphone. And at the bottom is another speaker grill along with the USB-C port and the hybrid SIM tray.

Display & Multimedia

Flipping at the front is the crisp 6.67-inch AMOLED display that runs up to 120Hz refresh rate. Using it outdoors won’t be a problem as it can reach up to 1800 nits of peak brightness — the same level of brightness as the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G.

There’s also a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for added layer of protection. Not to mention, the phone also comes with a pre-installed screen protector. Up top is a hole-punch notch, and the display supports in-screen fingerprint sensor. In my experience, it unlocks the phone fast enough with a split-second delay.

One thing I liked about its display is you can still use it even when wet. Xiaomi says it has ‘improve touch recognition’, hence it can prevent accidental touch even from water.

Also, compared to its predecessor — the Redmi Note 12 — the Note 13 gets thinner bezels, most especially at the chin. Which brings me to an even more immersive viewing experience. Adding to that is the dual stereo speakers and surprisingly, it has Dolby Atmos for richer audio quality. Its sound stage is loud and decent albeit the bass is quite lacking in my opinion.

It supports WideVine L1 which means it will be able to play High Definition (HD), Full HD, and even 4K streaming content.

Camera

At the rear, it features a triple rear camera system led by a 108-megapixel main sensor. That’s complemented with an 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro. (Thank God, it’s not a depth sensor.)

Under ample lighting, the Redmi Note 13 doesn’t disappoint. Photos have good dynamic range and good clarity to them. Color reproduction is also good with slight leaning to cool tones in normal photo mode.

It captures good videos capped at 1080p at 30fps and supports some form of electronic stabilization. That goes the same for the selfie camera but without stabilization. The 16-megapixel front camera could also use some improvements, although considering its price, image quality is decent.

Overall, in terms of camera capabilities, it does the job for your casual social media sharing.

OS, UI, & Apps

Software-wise, I was expecting it to run Xiaomi’s latest HyperOS. To my surprise, it’s still running MIUI 14 instead, which is based on Android 13.

As expected, there are bloatware pre-installed as I boot up the device for the first time. These can be easily uninstalled if I wanted to, except for a few first-party apps. My one gripe is it doesn’t seem to use a full-fledged version of HyperOS and that’s evident with the lack of fluid animations and the live blur UI on the notification panel or control center. Perhaps, that was intentional to keep things running smoothly.

Since the device rocks an AMOLED screen, it supports Always-On Display with a lot of clock styles to choose from. This feature is important to enable since it’s also showing the icon for fingerprint unlock. And it definitely helps me familiarize the rough location of the sensor.

Perhaps, one of the best features for me to mention is the IR blaster. I’m glad to see it again on the 13th iteration of the Redmi Note that lets you use the phone as a universal remote for your home appliances.

Performance & Benchmarks

In terms of raw performance, the Redmi Note 13 can deliver but don’t expect too much.

Under the hood is a reliable Snapdragon 685 chipset, configured with spacious memory at up to 16GB extended RAM and ample storage at 256GB.

Playing games on this phone is decent with some hiccups here and there, but that’s to be expected. I was still able to get stable frame rates in Asphalt 9 and there’s an Ultra setting available for Mobile Legends. But for more demanding titles, you may want to tone down the graphics settings to low. The phone did not heat up that much too when I was playing a lot of Pokémon Unite matches.

Here are the benchmark scores it got for reference:

AnTuTu V10: 339,395
AnTuTu Storage Test: 29,029
S. Read Speed: 896 MB/s
S. Write Speed: 586 MB/s
Geekbench 6 CPU
• Single Core: 424
• Multi Core: 1,442
Geekbench 6 GPU (OpenCL): 384
PCMark Work 3.0 performance score: 8796

Connectivity & Battery Life

The Redmi Note 13 is capped to 4G connectivity. It supports Bluetooth 5.1, dual frequency Wi-Fi, and NFC for convenient tap-to-pay options.

It packs a 5,000mAh battery that lasted a good 13 hours and 11 minutes in our standard video loop test. Charging the device won’t be a hassle too with its 33W fast charging capability. With normal usage, this phone should last more than two days on average.

Conclusion

To wrap things up, the Redmi Note 13 fits as a solid mid-ranger smartphone that delivers a smooth, fast, and satisfying experience. It offers solid specs and features that are surely impressive for a device with a very accessible price point.

It also brought significant improvements such as thinner bezels, the fresh new design, the addition of in-screen fingerprint sensor, and a higher peak brightness. I highly recommend this for those who want an immersive media experience without breaking the bank.

Speaking of price, the Redmi Note 13 (4G) starts at PHP 7,999 (6GB+128GB) and PHP 9,999 (8GB+256GB).

There will also be an early bird promo via Shopee. Starting January 16th to 25th, the 6GB+128GB will set you back only PHP 7,499.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 (4G) specs

6.67” FHD+ AMOLED @ 2400 x 1080 pixels, 120Hz refresh
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 685
6nm, 8-cores, up to 2.8GHz
6GB, 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
128GB, 256GB UFS 2.2 storage
Supports microSD up to 1TB (hybrid slot)
Triple rear cameras:
– 108MP f/1.75 main
– 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide
– 2MP f/2.4 macro
16MP front-facing selfie shooter (hole-punch notch)
Dual nano-SIM
4G LTE
WiFi 5
Bluetooth 5.1
GPS
USB Type-C
3.5mm audio jack
NFC
In-screen fingerprint sensor, face unlock, IR blaster
IP54 splash and dust resistance
MIUI 14 (Android 13)
5,000mAh Li-Po battery 33W charging
162.24mm x 75.55mm x 7.97mm (dimensions)
188.5 rams (weight)
Midnight Black, Mint Green, Ice Blue, Ocean Sunset (colors)