Review Summary
Expert Rating
The Redmi 12 5G (review) remains one of the most compelling budget 5G smartphones in the Indian market. The smartphone does a lot of things right, offering everything from a powerful processor for the price segment to a capable camera setup and excellent battery life. All these features come in an attractive design that exudes a premium feel. The brand has now unveiled the Redmi 13 5G as a successor to the Redmi 12 5G, and the new phone comes with some thoughtful upgrades. The question is, does the smartphone offer enough to stand out in the fiercely competitive budget 5G segment? Does it build upon the legacy of its predecessor? Let’s find out in this Redmi 13 5G review.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Redmi 13 5G is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to buy an affordable 5G smartphone. It delivers on all key essentials, including a high-resolution 120Hz display, swift performance for day-to-day use, good battery life and a striking design. It’s not without its flaws, however, as the device could benefit from a brighter display and better camera performance in low light.
Design & display
| Redmi 13 5G | Realme Narzo N65 | itel S24 | iQOO Z9x | |
| Thickness | 8.3mm | 7.89mm | 8mm | 7.99mm |
| Weight | 205g | 190g | 194g | 199g |
| IP Rating | IP53 | IP54 | NA | IP64 |
Despite being a budget smartphone, the Redmi 13 5G feels like anything but a budget device. I received the Hawaiian Blue variant, which comes with wave-like patterns along the rear panel that shimmer under light. The phone looks great and is bound to turn heads when you’re out with it.
It is slightly broad, and the flat edges might dig into your palms if you tend to hold your phone tightly. The device frame is also painted metallic blue to harmonise with the overall design. The rear panel does a good job of masking fingerprints and smudges, but the glossy finish makes the device quite slippery, so it’s best to use it with a case on.
The cameras come in two individual rings with a flash unit on the rear panel instead of a separate camera module. On top, you can find the 3.5mm headphone jack and speaker, with the bottom housing the USB Type-C port, mono speaker and microphone. The chassis is IP53-rated for protection against water and dust.
| Redmi 13 5G | Realme Narzo N65 | itel S24 | iQOO Z9x | |
| Display size | 6.79-inch | 6.67-inch | 6.6-inch | 6.72-inch |
| Peak Brightness | 550nits | 625nits | NA | 1000nits |
At the front, the phone houses a 6.79-inch LCD with Full HD+ (2400 x 1080p) resolution, 550nits of peak brightness and an upgraded 120Hz refresh rate. The bezels are thin around the display, with a wider bottom chin that’s commonplace in the segment. The display offers excellent viewing angles and a satisfactory multimedia experience.
The brightness level is sufficient for indoor use, but it falls short outdoors. You also get L1 Widevine certification, which allows you to stream HD content on OTT platforms. There’s also a wet touch feature, and it works well enough; there’s some occasional mistouches, but it works as intended. The Corning Gorilla Glass 3 helps protect the display against damage and scratches.
Cameras
Another upgrade from the Redmi 12 5G is the new 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM6 primary camera with an aperture size of f/1.75 and 3x in-sensor zoom. There’s an additional 2MP depth sensor alongside the primary lens, and at the front, there’s a 13MP selfie camera. The smartphone takes images with bright and punchy colours by default, with a good level of detail and sharpness.
There’s also a dedicated 108MP mode, which preserves a greater level of detail. In low light, the phone does a satisfactory job, however, the detail level takes a hit and the images appear softer. There’s also a noticeable level of graininess around the edges of the frame. The camera takes appealing macro shots, so if you like to take close-ups, you’re good to go.
Here are some comparison shots against its key competitors:
Daylight
I compared the daylight shots between the Redmi 13 5G and the Realme Narzo N65. Both devices output an image that’s quite on par in terms of detail level and dynamic range. The Redmi 13 5G has a slightly warmer colour profile, while the Realme Narzo N65 has a cooler colour profile. The former manages to emulate the actual scene more closely.
The iQOO Z9x takes images that are comparatively less sharp than the Redmi 13 5G, but it offers a better dynamic range and maintains a more natural colour profile. The latter also tends to overexpose the shadows, while the iQOO Z9x preserves the shadows.
The colours appear visibly boosted in the itel S24’s image compared to the Redmi 13 5G. The former’s image also has a slight blur to it, while the Redmi 13’s image remains quite sharp in contrast. If you like social media-ready images the itel S24 might suit your preferences more.
Low light
I took low light images with both the Redmi 13 5G and the Realme Narzo N65 with night mode enabled. In a direct comparison, the results are clear. The latter takes sharper low light images with a higher level of detail and colour accuracy. The Redmi 13 5G takes low light images that are quite soft, with significant noise and a lack of sharpness.
Both the iQOO Z9x and the Redmi 13 5G struggle to take decent shots during night. The Redmi 13 5G, however, takes comparatively better low light shots than the iQOO Z9x, with a higher level of detail and better sharpness. The iQOO Z9x represents the scene more closely but fails to capture as many details as the former.
The itel S24 also gives stiff competition to the Redmi 13 5G when it comes to night shots. While it faces a lot of issues with lens flares, the itel S24 manages to deliver slightly better details and a sharper image compared to the Redmi 13 5G.
Selfies
For selfies, theRedmi 13 5G has a higher resolution 13MP snapper compared to the 8MP camera on the Realme Narzo N65. The latter captures more facial details and does not smooth out the skin, while the Redmi 13 5G slightly smooths out the skin. In comparison, the Redmi 13 5G has better skin colour accuracy, while the Realme Narzo N65 adds a yellow tint to the screen.
The iQOO Z9x and Redmi 13 5G’s selfies are quite close to each other in terms of detail level. The key difference is that the former’s image appears a bit more dull and there’s slightly more texture to the skin. The Redmi 13 5G, however, still has better skin colour accuracy.
The itel S24 oversaturates the skin and makes the skin smoother in its selfies. There’s also a prominent sepia tint in its image compared to the Redmi 13 5G.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Accelerated SoC lies at the heart of the Redmi 13 5G and powers its performance. The chipset is paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage, which can be expanded up to 1TB with a MicroSD card. We received the top-end 8GB RAM variant for our review, and we put it through the grinder to gauge how the smartphone performs in the real world.
In the Geekbench 6 benchmark test, the smartphone outputs a good score on par with its chief competitor, the Realme Narzo N65 and exceeds the itel S24. Compared to the iQOO Z9x, which features a powerful chipset, the phone falls slightly short. The AnTuTu benchmark sings a similar tune, with Redmi 13 5G and Realme Narzo N65 having similar scores, itel S24 playing catchup, and the iQOO Z9x in the lead.
We also tested how the phone performed under stress using the Burnout Benchmark app. The Redmi 13 5G, in this case, falls behind its peers when it comes to its performance output under stress. The Realme Narzo N65, itel S24 and iQOO Z9x all showcase better performance output under throttling compared to the Redmi 13 5G.
When it comes to gaming performance, the Redmi 13 5G performs on par with its competitors and outputs similar FPS numbers. The device can play COD: Mobile with an average of 50FPS on ‘Very High’ graphics + ‘High’ frame rate settings. In Real Racing 3, the smartphone delivers an average FPS of 57, and in BGMI, it offers an average of 28FPS on ‘HD’ graphics and ‘High’ frame rate settings. The gameplay experience is better in BGMI if you turn down the graphics to ‘Smooth’.
Coming to thermals, the device did get noticeably hot, and the registered temperatures were a bit higher compared to its peers. In all 3 games during a testing period of 30 minutes each, the device registered an average temperature increase of 10.3 degrees Celsius.
Software
The Redmi 13 5G is the brand’s first device to feature Xiaomi’s new HyperOS based on Android 14 out of the box. The phone has a bunch of third-party apps pre-installed, but these can be easily uninstalled if you wish to. The UI is well-optimised for the 120Hz refresh rate and is hassle-free.
| Pre-installed apps | OS + software updates | |
| Redmi 13 5G | 60 | 2 years OS + 4 years security updates |
| Realme Narzo N65 | 53 | 2 years OS + 3 years security updates |
| itel S24 | 44 | NA |
| iQOO Z9x | 54 | 2 years OS + 3 years security updates |
There’s your regular ensemble of smart features like Floating Windows, virtual Memory extension, second space, one-handed mode, etc. There are also Flash notifications for phone calls & alarms, which I quite like. Xiaomi promises 2 years of major OS upgrades and 4 years of software updates, which is a notch above the other competitors in this price range.
Battery & charging
The Redmi 13 5G comes with a slightly bigger 5,030mAh battery paired with upgraded 33W fast charging support compared to the Redmi 12 5G. The phone scored a respectable 14 hours on the PCMark benchmark test. During our lab tests, which include gaming benchmarks & video streaming tests, the phone showcased an aggregate battery drain of 31 percent for a total of 2 hours of high usage scenarios. For regular users, the device will easily offer an entire day of battery life.
The phone comes with a 33W charging brick included in the retail box, and it takes about 1 hour and 26 minutes for the device to recharge completely from 20 percent to 100 percent capacity. The charging speed is good for the price range, falling short of just iQOO Z9x, which recharges significantly faster.
| Redmi 13 5G | Realme Narzo N65 | itel S24 | iQOO Z9x | |
| Battery capacity | 5,030mAh | 5,000mAh | 5,000mAh | 6,000mAh |
| Fast charging time | 86 minutes (33W) | 149 minutes (15W) | 103 minutes (18W) | 61 minutes (44W) |
Verdict
The Redmi 13 5G retails in India starting at Rs 13,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant and Rs 15,499 for the 8GB+128GB variant. There’s also a bank offer of Rs 1000 on both variants, bringing the effective price down to Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,499, respectively. For the price, it is a compelling, affordable 5G smartphone suitable for all types of users. Its key competitors include the Realme Narzo N65 (review), the itel S24 (review) and the iQOO Z9x (review). The former delivers comparable performance output but has a lower-resolution display. The itel S24 instead comes with a similar 108MP primary camera and an appealing design. Lastly, the iQOO Z9x offers a more robust performance output, battery life and charging speeds.
Coming back to the Redmi 13 5G, it delivers a respectable level of performance for everyday use and can work as a casual gaming device. The smartphone also has good cameras that perform best in well-lit surroundings, though low light photos might not impress everyone. The display, which could have been brighter ideally, is still one of its standout features… with full HD+ resolution, which is uncommon in this price bracket.
Editor’s Rating: 8 / 10
Reasons to buy:
- The smartphone has an FHD+ display with a high refresh rate of 120Hz.
- The Redmi 13 5G offers a good performance output and can double as a casual gaming smartphone.
- The smartphone captures appealing daylight images.
- The phone offers a decent battery life for regular users.
Reasons not to buy:
- The smartphone comes with a lot of third-party apps.
- The brightness level could have been improved.
- The phone only comes with a mono speaker.
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Rs. 13,999.00
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Go To Store
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Xiaomi Redmi 13 5G
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realme Narzo N65 5G
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Xiaomi Redmi 13 5G
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iQOO Z9x
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