Xiaomi 13 Pro Review | Serious S23 Ultra Rival

Reviewing the Xiaomi 13 Pro, a flagship MiUI 14 smartphone boasting some of the best mobile camera tech of 2023, plus premium specs and excellent gaming performance. I've been testing the Xiaomi 13 Pro as my full-time phone and check out my unboxing, comparing vs the regular Xiaomi 13.

If I had to choose this or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, I'd honestly be struggling. While the Sammy offers an S Pen Stylus, both smartphone cameras deliver impressive night photography and the Xiaomi 13 Pro matches it for 8K video capture (just not at 30FPS). Gamers will love the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset packed in here, with a better gaming mode vs the S23 Ultra.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro also upgrades the AMOLED display of the regular phone to an LTPO panel, while you have faster charging support at 120W. Wireless charging is also supported and the battery life so far has been sublime, again a match for the Samsung.

I'm hoping to review the regular Xiaomi 13 soon, and you can see my verdict on the Galaxy S23 Ultra right here on Tech Spurt. So which is your favourite phone of 2023 so far?

Xiaomi 13 Pro Review Chapters:
0:00 - The talky start bit
0:41 - Design
2:25 - MiUI 14 & features
4:43 - Display & audio
6:40 - Performance & gaming
7:37 - Battery life
8:29 - Cameras
12:19 - Verdict

[al]

Just want to say, I really enjoy your reviewing style. Very UK style of conversation, but you also include all the relevant information. It's like having a mate who speaks your language and gets his hands on new gear quickly! Really enjoyable!!

Also - was that Bocchi wallpaper? Very nice!! Just finished the season - absolutely brilliant anime!!!

[enduranceuhunmwuagho]

€1300 for the Xiaomi 13 pro and €1000 for the Xiaomi 13 is on par with S23U and S23+ and to be honest I don’t see many people in Europe choosing the Xiaomi over Samsung at the same price

[Linealo]

Where I live, the price is basically equal to an S23U, so I'll have to compare it to that.
What I get over the S23U:
- An apparently smoother feeling UI and Dolby Vision Screen
- Same processor but apparently better cooling
- Smaller battery that, according to first tests, lasts a tad longer
- A hunch more RAM
- Quick Charge with a charger included

What I get with Samsung instead:
- USB 3.2 instead of 2.0
- 4 years OS updates and even longer security patches
- Extreme Telephoto
- S-Pen
- Samsung Software Environment that communicates with Windows natively (Smartphone Link + DEX)
- 4K front camera video
- UWB
- Free Software crossloading without OS limitations
- Ultrasonic FP-Reader instead of optical
- Gorilla Glass Victus+
- Monthly updates instead of every 3 months

Over all, it's always up to what features one does prefer. Saving on buying charging equipment and having a bit more RAM, while also having slightly better battery performance is improving on all the basics one could look for. But having USB 2.0 and a shorter support span really nudge me towards the S23U if I had to get one. The windows integration also is something I use a lot on my current phone and thus my thoughts linger on Samsung more. But it's a tough battle everyone has to decide on their favourite parts and I hope we will see an 13Ultra as well that won't blow the price expectations out if the water.

[RecklessTurtle]

I would get the S23 Ultra because of SW and feature support. Sammy has been very consistent in it's update policy over the last 2 years and they come in timely manner. I also don't trust Xiaomi in terms of privacy as they officially announced that they bake backdoor access to the SW (mandated by China) but these are switched-off for the European market. Sorry but I can't trust a SW switch that can simply be toggled-on via an OTA update.

[kiryapius]

Am a huge fun of xiaomi n everytime it feels like dey just keep getting products better n better

[crex]

Add the 200MP camera from the S23 and the 3.2 USB connectivity and I would have bought this phone. *sigh* maybe next year. Ill stick to the Mi Note 10 from 2021 for now. it still has plenty of life left in it.

[Lvac]

My 2 cents, until yday I hated it for the price even on YT comments and was 100% sure that I'll switch my Note 20 Ultra with S23 Ultra. But seeing it live (china version but with eu rom), holly fuck. No bixby, app redundancy that you cannot remove, 20min full charging instead of over an hour on Samsung + you actually get a charger so S23U should add price of Samsung charger which isn't that cheap, cameras are better on Xiaomi in 80% of the cases (that being said they are very close but S23U over did it with software), S23U has better photos at zoom higher than 10x. Videos are great on both. Also on presentation they said X13p will get 3 major android updates and 4y of security which is fine since I don't have any phone for more than 2-3 years.

And now as I can get it fairly cheaper + charger price compared to S23U I'm not sure what to do and will probably go back to Xiaomi after many years.

[lefuedebout]

Great video but you failed to deliver on price. I've checked online at the Barcelona shindig and in Europe, this phone will cost you €1, 400 for 12GB + 256GB. That's a similar price to the Samsung S23 Ultra and an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

[SSORecords]

2 vids in one minute by uncle spurt???

Amazing

[oiiizz]

Where do you find that wallpapers? Also you really helped me in picking my next phone :D Thanks a lot

[abdsalamelkhamlichi]

Now I understand why Xiaomi didn't want to tell the reviewers the price of this slap lol

[davidlangley]

Due to watching the review you did on Mi 11 Ultra, I purchased one and now I think the time has come to purchase the 13 pro. The only annoying thing I find about the Xiaomi is that the Sky go app will not work video show wise on the screen. Keep up good work waiting now for mi 15 pro review

[hatesphere]

I just got it by €780, and I can say I don't regret it, the phone is amazing

[planetminecraft]

You should do a dedicated camera comparison between this phone and the Galaxy S23 Ultra

[daveinthailand]

Great review cant help look at photos of my home town many years ago Thanks

[Vikesh]

It costs 700£ here in India, same as the small s23. Which one out of the two to pick?

[AbuOmarGaming]

Sure Galaxy Since Xiaomi price so close to the Galaxy no chance 😃

[amisanthrope]

The weight isn't something that concerns me. If you feel as if pulling it out of your pocket is giving you a work out then you probably need the excercise.

[blackheart]

In Romania, the 13 Pro 12/256 costs about 1200 eur for preorder and it includes a 200 eur Mi Robot Vacuum right now.

The S23 Ultra 12/512 costs almost 1600 eur after promotional period ended. And with no charger included.

I'll take the Xiaomi 13 Pro under these conditions without questions.

[GFourGadget]

It's finally time for Xiaomi to compete in the premium flagship category. Overall it has a great hardware and specifications, even best the S series from Samsung - from battery to charging speed to even camera. However software experience wise it still loses to Samsung, so it's just a matter of preference.