Xiaomi 13: what we know so far and what we want to see
We’re expecting the Xiaomi 13 to be the next flagship phone series from Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, and it could land soon, with an announcement before the end of 2022 looking very likely.
We already know a lot about the phone though – and its higher end sibling, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, as these two handsets have been both leaked and teased extensively.
What we’ve heard so far is promising, as it suggests these phones will be big competitors to the Samsung Galaxy S23 and iPhone 14.
This article is where you’ll find all the leaks and rumors about the Xiaomi 13 line – and we’ll add to it as soon as we hear anything new. You’ll also find a wish-list of what we want to see in the Xiaomi 13.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next flagship Xiaomi phone
- When is it out? Either late 2022 or early 2023
- How much will it cost? Several premium phones at different prices
Xiaomi 13 release date and price
The Xiaomi 13 was supposed to be unveiled on December 1 in China, but at the last minute it got delayed to an unspecified date. So we’re now not sure when we’ll see it, but we’d think it’s likely to still land before the end of 2022.
That said, this launch is just for China, and based on past form we might not see a global release of the Xiaomi 13 series until months later.
Because Xiaomi’s phones come in a family, there will be a range of mobiles hitting various price points. You can expect a Lite version for budget users, a 13T series towards the end of 2023 at a mid-range price, and the Xiaomi 13, 13 Pro and 13 Ultra will likely all be premium handsets, with the Ultra touting a super-high price.
Xiaomi 13 news and leaks
First up, there are some details that Xiaomi itself has confirmed, including that the Xiaomi 13 line will use the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, that both the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro will have a 75mm (3.26x optical zoom) telephoto camera, and that the Pro model will have a 1-inch sensor for the main camera.
You can see official camera samples from those two lenses below.
On to rumors, and we’ve had our first look at what the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro might look like, courtesy of some unofficial renders from a reputable source. You can see some of these below.
In the case of the standard Xiaomi 13, the design looks like a mix of the Xiaomi 12 and the iPhone 14, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro shown here has a much curvier design, thanks to its curved screen.
A small number of specs were also included with these renders. The Xiaomi 13 will apparently have a 6.2-inch screen, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro will supposedly have a 6.65-inch one, plus a 50.3MP main camera, dimensions of 163.0 x 74.6 x 8.8mm (rising to 11.8mm at the rear camera bump), and will come in black, white, pink, and green shades.
Since then, a brief hands on video has leaked showing the same design, and revealing 128GB of storage and Android 13 mentioned on the settings screen.
Elsewhere, Digital Chat Station – a leaker with a solid track record – has said that the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, will run Android 13, and that the larger of the two (likely the Pro) will have a 2K display too – all of which would point to it being an iterative update over the Xiaomi 12 equivalents unless more upgrades are hiding in other areas.
A more detailed leak has since emerged, but it only covers the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Apparently this phone will have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, up to 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, a 6.7-inch 2K display, a 4,800mAh battery with 120W charging, and it will apparently run Android 13.
It’s also said to have a 50MP main camera with a massive 1-inch sensor, joined by a 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP telephoto one, and a 32MP selfie snapper.
Xiaomi 13: what we want to see
Here’s our wishlist for the Xiaomi 13, looking at previous phones from the company and other things going on in the mobile industry.
1. A telephoto lens
Xiaomi tries to position its phones as being champions for photography and videography, but the lack of a telephoto lens really hampers their chops in these departments.
Telephoto lenses are generally used for zoom photography, but they’re also great because they create a more attractive depth effect, and also let you close the distance to subjects without having to move. Both these reasons are just as important for filming as they are photographing.
While Xiaomi sometimes does pack telephoto lenses in its top-end phones, the standard Xiaomi 12 didn’t get one, and Lite and T versions usually don’t either. But we’d like to see Xiaomi commit to more widespread use of zoom lenses to really give its phones a chance at competing with the Samsung Galaxy S series.
2. A lower minimum price
Xiaomi offers Lite versions of its flagships for people who can’t afford the pricier family members, but it doesn’t launch them at the same time. You’re often left waiting months for a budget alternative, and usually about six months for the T version, which is a mid-range spin on the flagship.
To give phone fans on a budget something to buy straight away, we’d like to see the standard Xiaomi 13 start for less than the $749 / £749 that the Xiaomi 12 started at. It’s okay if that’s a Xiaomi 13X (there was a 12X but it didn’t go on sale globally) – we just want a mid-range phone to tide us over until the T series.
3. Cleaner software
We’ve moaned about Xiaomi’s MIUI Android fork since recorded history began, and though fixes have been made (and Xiaomi is no longer the worst offender), the smartphone operating system still isn’t perfect.
One issue we have is bloatware, as the company’s phones usually have a few pre-installed third-party apps that you generally end up deleting. The other issue is that the phones can often have quite buggy software, with functions crashing or breaking more frequently than they do on rival phones.
For the Xiaomi 13 to be a true flagship that rivals the Galaxies and iPhones of the world, Xiaomi needs to make MIUI a premium operating system that’s clean, has useful extra features and doesn’t fall apart all the time.
4. Continued design improvements
The Xiaomi 12 was the first flagship from Xiaomi that could really catch the eye – it had a softly-textured rear, came in lovely pastel colors and utilized a two-tone design that made for an appealing look.
We’d like to see Xiaomi continue this trend of making attractive smartphones, perhaps with some bolder color choices (we’re always fans of red or gold devices), or with a redesigned camera bump that made more of a statement.
5. A simultaneous launch
While the Xiaomi 12 series launched in China in December 2021, it was only months later that it went on sale in the rest of the world – by that time, the hype had died down for the phone after its initial debut.
Xiaomi isn’t the only company which launches early in China, and it’s not the only company which suffers due to this derailing of the hype train.
That’s especially the case with Xiaomi trying harder and harder to be a bigger player in the phones space – Huawei only became a giant when it realized it needs to debut its product with a big fanfare for the entire world, not just for one region.
With that in mind, we’d like to see the Xiaomi 13 launched, and released, for all regions of the world in one go – like how Samsung and Apple operate. We don’t want to be bored of the phone before it ever goes on sale.