Xiaomi, one of the smartphone manufacturers whose name we often hear as “flagship killer” in the mid-upper smartphone market, announced its new flagship killer devices Xiaomi 13T and Xiaomi 13T Pro last September. Xiaomi 13T, the subject of this review, seems to be a device that is quite ambitious for its price and has managed to maintain its price-performance balance. The Xiaomi 13T is a device that offers features close to Xiaomi’s high-priced flagship devices, but with a lower price tag. But are the features offered by the Xiaomi 13T really good? What are the differences between it and the Xiaomi 12T?
Design
The Xiaomi 13T has a very stylish and light design. With a length of 162.2mm, a width of 75.7mm and a thickness of 8.62mm, this device has a very slim look. However, considering its thickness, it is acceptable for the price. Weighing 197 grams, it is moderately heavy, which doesn’t negatively affect the portability of the device. Also, if you opt for the blue color option of the Xiaomi 13T, the weight can drop to 193 grams, which can be an advantage for users in terms of lightness.
The back of the Xiaomi 13T is made of glass, which gives the device a more premium feel. However, since silicone polymer is used in the blue color option, the device is 4 grams lighter. Since the frames of the device are made of aluminum, it becomes more resistant to shocks. Xiaomi 13T offers 3 different color options, black, blue and green, which allows users to choose according to their personal preferences. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which makes it more resistant to bumps and scratches. These features show that the Xiaomi 13T has both a stylish design and a durable structure.
The design of the Xiaomi 13T looks quite successful for its price. The choice of aluminum frame, which offers a more premium feel especially compared to Xiaomi 12T, makes the device look both premium and durable. Although the Xiaomi 13T has a similar design to the Xiaomi 12T, it has an elegant, stylish and remarkable design. The obvious differences between Xiaomi 12T and Xiaomi 13T in terms of design seem to be limited to the materials used in the case and frame, which shows that the design of the Xiaomi 13T is impressive and offers an option worth its price.
Display
The Xiaomi 13T has a large and impressive display. At 6.67 inches, it offers plenty of space for content consumption and gaming. However, it may pose some challenges for one-handed use. Thanks to the AMOLED panel, the Xiaomi 13T has a display that offers vibrant and rich colors. The FHD+ resolution of 1220×2712 pixels and a pixel density of 446 PPI ensure that images are sharp and clear.
In addition, the 144Hz screen refresh rate provides a smoother experience when playing games or watching moving content. The 2600 nits display brightness makes it comfortable to use even on sunny days. The Xiaomi 13T supports 12-bit color gamut, making colors look more saturated and vibrant. Together with these features, the Xiaomi 13T’s display enriches the visual experience.
With a touch refresh rate of 480Hz, the Xiaomi 13T takes you a step further with faster responses in games. In addition, the visual experience of the device is further enhanced thanks to the Dolby Vision feature. On the other hand, consuming content and playing games on the screen of this device, which also supports Adaptive Sync, is quite enjoyable.
The Xiaomi 13T’s display is quite good compared to its competitors. Bright, sharp, clear, crisp, vivid and with a high dynamic range, it will also attract the attention of gamers with its high refresh rate and high touch sampling rate. Compared to its predecessor, the Xiaomi 12T, it is obvious that there is not much difference between them. Since it offers almost the same features, there is no noticeable difference between the Xiaomi 12T and the Xiaomi 13T.
Camera
Xiaomi 13T looks like a very impressive device in terms of camera features. Placed in the mid-upper segment, the Xiaomi 13T draws attention by offering advanced camera features compared to its competitors. Thanks to Xiaomi’s collaboration with Leica, the device is equipped with more advanced camera lenses. The triple camera array offers enough variety to meet everyday shooting needs.
The main camera of the Xiaomi 13T uses a Leica SUMMICRON lens with a resolution of 50MP and an aperture of f/1.9. This sensor consists of 7 elements and has a size of 1/1.28 inch, which allows it to capture more light for better results in night shots. In addition, the Xiaomi 13T supports Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS), which makes video recording more stable and reduces the effects of vibrations. The device can also record videos in 4K@30 resolution and slow-motion videos in 720p@960 resolution.
The second camera on the Xiaomi 13T consists of a 1/3.06-megapixel sensor with 12MP resolution and f/2.2 aperture, and is used for ultra-wide-angle shots. This camera may not be as good as the main camera, but it has a large sensor, so it has the potential to capture more light and get better results in night shots.
The third camera on the Xiaomi 13T is a telephoto sensor with a resolution of 50MP, an aperture of f/1.9 and a size of 1/2.88. This large sensor can help achieve better results in night shots by capturing more light. It also offers a 2X optical zoom and up to 20X digital zoom. This allows users to zoom in on more distant objects. The different camera options of the Xiaomi 13T offer a wide range to meet different shooting needs.
The Xiaomi 13T comes with a 20MP front camera. The front camera has an aperture of F/2.2 and a wide angle of 78 degrees. This way, you can take selfies with more space. The front-facing camera, which can record Slot Motion video, can also record HDR-supported video. The front-facing camera, which can record videos at 1080p@30 resolution, may not satisfy users in terms of video resolution. Although the front camera, which offers many features such as virtual portrait mode and artificial intelligence support, gives satisfactory performance in everyday use, its video recording capabilities seem limited.
The Xiaomi 13T comes with camera features that are ambitious for its price. However, the fact that the front camera can record videos in 1080p@30 resolution makes it lag behind its competitors. Compared to its predecessor Xiaomi 12T, there is not much difference between them in terms of camera features. However, the Xiaomi 12T’s 108MP camera may allow you to take clearer and sharper photos due to its higher resolution. In addition, the aperture range of the Xiaomi 12T is f/1.7. Therefore, the low-light performance may be better than Xiaomi 13T, but the sensor of Xiaomi 13T is larger. Therefore, Xiaomi 13T can collect more light in low-light shots.
Performance
The Xiaomi 13T offers very ambitious performance. Xiaomi 13T uses the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset. This chipset has 1 performance-oriented 3.1 GHz ARM Cortex-A78 core, 3 performance-oriented 3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 cores and 4 efficiency-oriented 2.00 GHz ARM Cortex-A55 cores. This chip, which has 4nm manufacturing technology, uses the Mali-G610 MC6 GPU.
Xiaomi 13T, which offers 8GB or 12GB RAM option, uses LPDDR5 type RAM. The storage unit of the 256GB device is UFS3.1. However, there is no support for memory cards. Additionally, the Xiaomi 13T comes with Android 13-based MIUI 14 and offers 4-year software update and 5-year security update support.
The Xiaomi 13T’s success in the performance tests is also quite impressive. The device, which scored 864,880 points in AnTuTu V10, leaves behind the Xiaomi 12T, which scored 829,563 points. If we look at the GeekBench scores, the Xiaomi 13T with a single-core score of 1,708 beats the Xiaomi 12T with a score of 1009. The Xiaomi 13T, which scored 5,071 points in the multi-core test, surpasses the Xiaomi 12T, which scored 3,889 points. This shows that Xiaomi 13T has higher performance than both Xiaomi 12T and its competitors.
Xiaomi 13T seems to have a very impressive performance compared to its competitors. Especially when compared to Xiaomi 12T, there are noticeable performance differences. Xiaomi has made the Xiaomi 13T with a higher performance. The MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chip used in the Xiaomi 13T offers various performance improvements compared to the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chip used in the Xiaomi 12T. However, the Xiaomi 12T offers more storage options than the Xiaomi 13T. This could be an important factor for users to better accommodate their storage needs.
Battery
The Xiaomi 13T comes with a battery capacity of 5,000 mAh. This battery capacity gives quite sufficient performance in daily use. Xiaomi 13T, which can push a day in active use, offers 16 hours of video playback time and 100 hours of music playback time according to the data presented by Xiaomi. This battery is made with lithium polymer technology and is charged via USB-C. The Xiaomi 13T, which has 67W fast charging support, can charge 100% in 42 minutes according to the data provided by Xiaomi. However, there is no wireless charging support.
Xiaomi 13T offers almost the same performance as Xiaomi 12T in terms of battery performance, there is not much difference between them. They offer the same capacity and about the same usage times. However, the Xiaomi 12T charges faster than the Xiaomi 13T. Supporting 120W fast charging, the Xiaomi 12T charges 23 minutes faster than the Xiaomi 13T, charging to 100% in 19 minutes inutes.
Audio Features
The Xiaomi 13T comes with dual speakers so you can enjoy the content you watch or the games you play at a louder volume. It also helps you experience surround sound and clearer sounds thanks to its stereo sound support. The Xiaomi 13T also comes with various headphone connectivity technologies. There are codec enhancements that provide a higher quality audio experience, especially with Bluetooth headphones.
The speakers used in the Xiaomi 13T are Hi-Res Audio certified and support Dolby Atmos, which means the sound quality is top notch. These audio features satisfyingly enhance the user’s audio experience, allowing them to experience content in a more immersive way. When compared to the Xiaomi 12T, you can see that they have almost the same speaker specifications.
Connection Features
The Xiaomi 13T offers 5G and Wi-Fi 6 support for a fast and powerful connectivity experience. This way, both wireless internet connection and mobile data connection can be used quickly and reliably. In addition, with Bluetooth 5.4 support, Xiaomi 13T offers AAC, ASHA, LIDAC and LHDC codecs, enabling a higher quality and higher resolution audio experience with Bluetooth headsets.
In addition, Xiaomi 13T offers ease of use by allowing you to control your home appliances such as TV or air conditioner and the devices you use at home through your phone with its infrared sensor support. These features show that Xiaomi 13T aims to provide an advanced experience in terms of connectivity and control.
Advanced Features
Xiaomi 13T attracts attention with its advanced features as well as its basic features. Xiaomi 13T comes with IP68 water and dust resistance certification. This makes your device more durable when exposed to certain levels of water and dust. Various sensors like accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, infrared sensor, compass and proximity sensor make it even easier for users in their daily life.
With an under-screen fingerprint reader and facial recognition system, the device ensures that users’ data is more secure. The built-in liquid cooling system and Vapor-Camper cooling system help your device run cooler, while features like Virtual RAM allow you to further enhance your device’s performance.
Price & Box Contents
Xiaomi 13T has similar pricing with mid-upper segment devices. The Xiaomi 13T with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage is available for $560, while the Xiaomi 13T with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage is available for $695. The price is acceptable according to the features it offers.
The Xiaomi 13T comes with a transparent back cover, 67W fast charging adapter, USB-C charging cable, user manual and warranty card. Considering that similarly priced iPhone models do not include a charging adapter, the Xiaomi 13T is a more economical option than its competitors.
Xiaomi 13T is a powerful option that builds on its predecessor, Xiaomi 12T, with various improvements, new features to please users and maximize the user experience in its price segment. The device outperforms its competitors in many aspects and has the performance, camera experience, battery performance and display to satisfy users. However, there are also different iPhone models in the price range. In this context, the user has to make a decision. If he wants to use an Android device, he can choose Xiaomi 13T if its features satisfy the user. However, if he wants to use an Apple device, he will have to turn to different iPhone models such as iPhone 13. In this context, it will not have various features, especially the screen refresh rate. Therefore, the user must make a decision by evaluating the devices according to his needs.
