Xiaomi 13 unveiled at MWC 2023

Sneaking in just ahead of the main MWC 2023 conference, Xiaomi has taken the spotlight to show off its latest flagship phone, the Xiaomi 13. Everything about this phone seems to promise the latest and greatest, with the brand-new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor handling the computing and support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 also present. What’s most exciting, however, is how much it appears to be fixing its predecessor’s mistakes.

Back when we reviewed last year’s Xiaomi 12, we faulted it for lacking a telephoto lens and an official IP weatherproofing rating. The 13 appears to be rectifying both of these problems, with a 10MP telephoto lens added to the camera array and an impressively robust IP68 rating certifying it as fully dustproof and capable of surviving a 1.5m dunk for up to 30 minutes.

The only one of our major issues that still remains appears to be the lack of a microSD card slot. This is slightly less of a bother, as the Xiaomi 13 pairs its 8GB of RAM with 256GB of onboard storage, whereas the 8GB Xiaomi 12 had to make do with 128GB. Rounding out the internals is a 4,500mAh battery, which supports 67W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging. You can also use the phone to juice up other devices in a pinch, with 10W reverse wireless charging.

Measuring 153 x 72 x 8mm, the Xiaomi 13 is a near-carbon copy of the 12, albeit a little heavier at 189g. The 6.36in AMOLED display is coated in a protective layer of Gorilla Glass 5, and features an FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. A full suite of HDR formats is supported here, including HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision, and the dual speakers are also compatible with Dolby Atmos.

On the rear, the 13 is covered in a 2.5D glass panel, with the compact camera module tucked away in the upper-left corner. A 50MP (f/1.8) sensor leads the pack, backed by a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 10MP telephoto camera. The latter marks the first time a telephoto lens has appeared on a non-Pro Xiaomi flagship, and all three lenses were engineered in partnership with photography legends Leica.

The Xiaomi 13 is set to launch on 14 March for £849. It will be launching in three colours – Black, White and Flora Green – although it’s unclear at this point whether or not White and Flora Green will be available in the UK. We have a review sample in currently, so be sure to check back in soon to see what we make of Xiaomi’s latest flagship.