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Today, Xiaomi has announced the new, more affordable variant of its flagship Xiaomi 13 series.
The two new phones being launched are the Xiaomi 13T and Xiaomi 13T Pro.
At the time of writing, I have only received a one-pager providing an overview of the Xiaomi 13T. The Xiaomi 13T Pro has also been confirmed.
The Xiaomi 13T swaps out the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that was used on the Xiaomi 13 with the upper mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Ultra.
The two phones are similar, but the Xiaomi 13T has some notable differences, which include upgrades vs the Xiaomi 13, but also a few features missing.
I should have a review of the Xiaomi 13T live within the next week or two.
Xiaomi 13T Details
Design
- Dimensions:
- Meadow Green, Black: 162.2mm X 75.7mm X 8.49mm
- Alpine Blue: 162.2mm X 75.7mm X 8.62mm
- Weight:
- Meadow Green, Black: 197g
- Alpine Blue: 193g
- Colours: Alpine Blue, Meadow Green, Black
- Material: Xiaomi BioComfort vegan leather | Glass back
- Front: Corning Gorilla Glass 5
The device comes in three colour options: Alpine Blue, Meadow Green, and Black. The Alpine Blue model features Xiaomi BioComfort vegan leather, while the Meadow Green and Black models have a glossy glass back panel. The phone also has an IP68 rating, providing water and dust resistance for everyday use.
Display
- Type: Up to 144Hz FHD+ 6.67″ CrystalRes AMOLED display
- Resolution: 20:9, 2712 X 1220, 446 ppi
- Brightness: HBM 1200 nits (typ), 2600 nits (peak)
- Features: DCI-P3 colour gamut, 68 billion colours, Dolby Vision®, HDR10+, Adaptive reading mode, Up to 2880Hz PWM dimming
The Xiaomi 13T sports a 6.67″ CrystalRes Display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 1.5K resolution. The display supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, enhancing the contrast and colour saturation. When the Pro HDR Display feature is enabled, the brightness increases up to five times, providing an immersive viewing experience.
The phone can adjust the refresh rate, and the AdaptiveSync supports 30/60/90/120/144Hz.
Performance
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Ultra
- GPU: Arm Mali-G610
- RAM and Storage: 8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB
- OS: MIUI 14 based on Android 13
Under the hood, the Xiaomi 13T is powered by MediaTek’s latest Dimensity 8200-Ultra chipset built on TSMC’s 4nm process. The SoC features improved CPU and GPU performance for faster and smoother smartphone experience while being power efficient. The phone comes in 8GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration.
Camera: Leica-Engineered Photography Features
- Main Camera: 50MP wide-angle camera, f/1.9, 7P aspherical lens, OIS
- Telephoto Camera: 50MP, 50mm equivalent focal length
- Ultra-Wide Camera: 12MP, 15mm equivalent focal length, f/2.2, 5P aspherical lens
- Front Camera: 20MP, f/2.2, 5P aspherical lens
- Features: Night mode, HDR, Portrait mode, Leica custom photographic styles, Master-lens system
Custom Photographic Styles
The Xiaomi 13T introduces two unique Leica photographic styles: Leica Authentic Look and Leica Vibrant Look. These styles aim to bring the renowned Leica quality to mobile photography. The phone also includes a Custom Photographic Styles function under its Pro mode, allowing users to adjust Tone, Tonality, and Texture at the pre-set stage. This feature enables more detailed and colourful post-processing, allowing users to create a distinctive, personal photographic style for different platforms or projects.
Advanced Lens System
The device comes with a set of optical lenses co-engineered with Leica. The primary camera is a 50MP wide-angle lens with a 24mm equivalent focal length and a 7P aspherical lens. It also features multi-layer ALD coating to reduce optical reflection and increase light transmission. Additionally, the phone includes a 50MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, making it versatile for various photography scenarios.
New Filters and Master-Lens System
The Xiaomi 13T also introduces new Leica Sepia and Leica Blue filters, adding to a total of six Leica filters. The upgraded Master-lens system in Portrait mode allows these filters to be applied across various focal lengths, providing more creative options for portrait photography. The device also offers four new Leica watermarks for a greater choice of photo compositions and frame sizes.
Video Capabilities
The rear cameras of the Xiaomi 13T support 4K video recording across all focal lengths. The device also features a Pro mode in its Video editor, allowing for efficient editing of captions and soundtracks as separate tracks. This makes it easier for users to create short videos for various platforms or personal vlogs.
Battery & Charging
- Battery: 5000mAh (typ)
- Charging: 67W turbo charging
The Xiaomi 13T comes with a 5000mAh (typ) battery and supports Xiaomi’s 67W turbocharging technology. This allows the device to charge up to 21% in just 5 minutes. Additionally, the phone features a 5000mm2 stainless steel VC soaking plate for faster heat dissipation, ensuring long hours of usage.
Connectivity
- Dual SIM
- Wi-Fi 6 capability
- Bluetooth 5.4
- NFC Support
- 5G: Supports NSA + SA
- 4G: LTE FDD and TDD supported bands
- 3G: WCDMA supported bands
- 2G: GSM supported bands
The phone has all the connectivity features you would expect from a modern phone. It is a little disappointing that the phone only has Wi-Fi 6 rather than Wi-Fi 6E, but it is unlikely to make much difference for real-world usage.
Interestingly, this is one of the first phones I have seen to feature the latest Bluetooth 5.4
Audio
- Dual speakers
- Dolby Atmos
Supporting Dolby Atmos with built-in dual speakers, Xiaomi 13T allows users to fully immerse
themselves in movies and videos.
Xiaomi 13T vs Xiaomi 13 Differences
With a passing glance, you might think the two phones are the same but with different chipsets. But there are a few important differences that are worth considering:
MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Ultra Chipset
The MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Ultra is a lower-spec chipset vs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The non-Ultra Dimensity 8200 was announced in December 2022 and is an incremental upgrade to the superb upper-midrange Dimensity 8100. I personally loved the performance of the Dimensity 8100, and for most scenarios, I couldn’t tell the difference in performance between that and a flagship chipset.
Display
The display appears to have been upgraded vs the Xiaomi 13, it has a higher refresh rate of 144Hz, and it is significantly brighter. The typical brightness is 33% higher at 1200nits vs 900nits, and the peak brightness is a massive 2600 nits, which is 37% higher.
Camera
Surprisingly, the rear camera specification appears to have had an upgrade. The primary camera has a larger sensor size of 1/1.28″ vs 1/1.49″. I would guess the sensor is the Sony IMX707 sensor, which is the same as the sensor on the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Furthermore, the telephoto lens has been upgraded to a 50MP lens vs 10 MP.
The ultrawide camera appears to stay the same 12MP sensor.
Then, on the front, the camera has changed to a 20MP f/2.2 5P aspherical lens vs 32 MP f/2.0.
Battery and Charging
The Xiaomi 13T has a larger 5000mAh battery, which is 11% larger than the 4500mAh on the Xiaomi 13. The lower spec chipset should also hopefully mean that the battery life is significantly improved vs the Xiaomi 13.
Both phones support 67W charging, which I believe is Power Delivery 3.0, so you should be able to use any third-party PD charger.
Unfortunately, the 50W wireless charging appears to have been dropped.
Other Differences
The Xiaomi 13T is listed as only using UFS 3.1 storage, whereas the Xiaomi 13 used faster UFS 4.0 for the 256/512GB variants.
The Xiaomi 13 has faster Wi-Fi 6E, but Bluetooth 5.3, whereas the 13T has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4
Availability and Pricing of Xiaomi 13T 8+256G
Retail Channels:
- Curry’s
- Very
- Amazon
- Eir
- Tesco IE
- Harvey Norman
- mi.com
- Xiaomi Stores
Release Dates:
- mi.com: Available from 26th September at 15:30 CET
- Other Channels: Available from 27th September
Special Offers:
mi.com Early Bird Offer:
- Dates: 26th September to 9th October
- Deal: £50 discount voucher for early buyers
Curry’s Exclusive Offer:
- Dates: 27th September to 31st December
- Deal: Free Redmi Pad included with purchase
Price:
- Retail Price: £549
Xiaomi 13T Pro comes with 3 storage variants (12+256G, 12+512G and 16+1TB).
- 12+256G – £649
- 12+512G – £699
- 16+1TB – £799
The Xiaomi 13 is available in the UK with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage for an RRP of £849, available from Mi.com and Amazon UK. At the time of writing, the Xiaomi 13 is available on Amazon for just £749.
No products found.
Overall
I am quite excited about the Xiaomi 13T, it has almost all the features I want from a phone while hopefully not having the price tag of a flagship phone.
Unless you are a serious gamer or have some demanding requirements, then the MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Ultra should be more than powerful enough for every scenario.
The main selling points for me are the excellent camera and display specification, a large battery and fast wired charging.
I think the pricing is excellent, and I’d be happy to buy it. I’d say it is a better buy than the Xiaomi 13. Depending, I’d also argue this is a better buy than the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 (and likely the new upcoming Pixel 8 series).
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
Last update on 2024-04-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
