Android @lemdro.id MishaalRahman @lemdro.id 1 yr. ago

Xiaomi 13T series unveiled with Leica lenses, IP68 rating, up to MediaTek's Dimensity 9200+, and up to 120W charging

Xiaomi just launched its latest T series devices, the Xiaomi 13T and Xiaomi 13T Pro. I know Xiaomi releases a lot of smartphones, so it's challenging (even for those of us who cover mobile tech) to keep track of it all, but there aren't many phones in Xiaomi's T series, fortunately.

This graphic from Xiaomi should help with understanding their smartphone product lines. Note that it's from mid-2020 so it's a bit outdated, as Xiaomi has since retired their Mi Note series, dropped "Mi" from their branding, and made the T series more camera-focused.

(Disclaimer: Xiaomi invited me to attend their launch event in Berlin and to try out their new phones. I'm not including any of my opinions in this post (I'll post a hands-on/AMA separately), but I wanted to be transparent regardless.)

Features

The headlining feature of last year's Xiaomi 12T Pro was its 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP1 main camera. Xiaomi is also emphasizing the camera in the Xiaomi 13T series, but they're focusing less on megapixel count in favor of their partnership with Leica. Both phones in the 13T series feature the same camera setup "co-engineered with Leica". Both have the same front and rear camera setups with "Leica Vario-Summicron lenses", thus the only potential difference in image quality will stem from their different ISPs. Xiaomi says this year they're focusing more on natural style aesthetic photos and zoom optics.

On the rear, both the Xiaomi 13T and 13T Pro have a 50MP wide-angle camera (f/1.9, 7P aspherical lens, OIS) joined by a 50MP 2X telephoto camera (f/1.9, 5P aspherical lens) and a 12MP ultra wide-angle camera (f/2.2, 5P aspherical lens). On the front, both have the same 20MP camera (f/2.2, 5P aspherical lens) in a centered hole-punch cutout. Lastly, both phones have access to two "Leica photographic styles" - "Leica Authentic Look" and "Leica Vibrant Look" - as well as custom photographic styles.

The "Leica Authentic Look" is designed to bring more "lifelike contrast and shadows" and more accurately reproduce skin and hair tones, while the "Leica Vibrant Look" adds "punchiness and vibrant hues" to make photos more appealing on social media. Meanwhile, the Leica custom photographic styles allow you to adjust tone, tonality, and texture at the preprocessing stage, so what you see (in the viewfinder) is what you get (in the final photo).

Other camera improvements include faster shutter speeds (Xiaomi claims 63% faster than the S23 Ultra); "Pro video studio" features including 10-bit log, built-in LUT preview, Ultra Night video, HDR10+, up to 8k24 video; 10-bit RAW format support (supported by Photoshop and Lightroom); a new camera UI inspired by Leica; and a "Master-lens system".

Another major change in the 13T series is the shift from a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip to a MediaTek Dimensity chip in the Pro model. The last few T Pro devices had Qualcomm's flagship chipset, but this year's Xiaomi 13T Pro has MediaTek's 4nm Dimensity 9200+ instead of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

On the software front, Xiaomi is now promising to provide 4 generations of Android OS upgrades as well as 5 years of security patches. The Xiaomi 13T series launches with MIUI 14 on top of Android 13, so this means they should receive OS updates all the way to Android 17 and security updates until September 2028.

Design-wise, the Xiaomi 13T and 13T Pro are identical in appearance, from button and port placements to the display. Both phones have the same 6.67" AMOLED flat display at 2712x1220 resolution, up to 2600 nits peak brightness, and up to 144Hz refresh rate (no LTPO so no VRR). They even come in the same 3 color/materials: Meadow Green (glass back), Black (glass back), and Alpine Blue ("BioComfort" vegan leather). And as mentioned in the title, both phones have an IP68 rating (first time in the T series).

(You can see what the Xiaomi 13T in Meadow Green and the Xiaomi 13T Pro in Alpine Blue look like in real-life here).

Pricing & availability

The Xiaomi 13T starts at 649 Euros for the 8+256GB model, while the Xiaomi 13T Pro starts at 799 Euros for the 12+256GB model. It'll be available through these retailers and these carriers. Xiaomi is offering 1 free screen repair within the first 6 months after purchase, as well as 1 out-of-warranty repair without labor cost within the first 12 months after purchase. Xiaomi says that new users of the devices "are entitled to experience 100GB Google One cloud storage for 6 months trial, and 3 months of YouTube Premium with ad-free access to YouTube and YouTube Music app."

Xiaomi 13T versus Xiaomi 13T Pro

I've posted the full specifications of both the Xiaomi 13T and the Xiaomi 13T Pro below, but here's a quick summary of what's different in the 13T Pro:

13T Pro is slightly heavier (Meadow Green/Black is 9g heavier, Alpine Blue is 7g heavier)
13T Pro can record at up to 8K24 (versus 4K30 on the non-Pro). (Xiaomi's spec sheet doesn't list 10-bit LOG video recording on the non-Pro, but I can confirm it's supported.)
13T Pro has the more powerful Dimensity 9200+ chipset (versus Dimensity 8200-Ultra in the non-Pro).
13T is available with 8GB RAM + 256GB storage or 12GB RAM + 256GB storage, while the 13T Pro is also available with 12GB RAM + 256GB storage but also available with 12GB RAM + 512GB storage and 16GB RAM + 1TB storage model. 13T Pro also offers faster LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage across the board, while the non-Pro offers LPDDR5 and UFS 3.1 storage.
13T Pro supports Xiaomi's faster 120W "HyperCharge" speed (0 to 100% in 19 minutes), while the 13T supports Xiaomi's 67W "TurboCharge" speed (0 to 100% in 42 minutes). Both chargers are included in the box.
13T Pro supports Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), while the 13T supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax).
13T Pro supports 5G band 75, 4G LTE FDD band 25, and 4G LTE TDD bands 39, 42, and 48.
13T Pro supposedly lasted 1 hour longer in video playback in Xiaomi's Internal Labs testing (17 hours versus 16 hours in the 13T). Both have the same 5000mAh battery, so the difference likely came down to the chipsets.

Xiaomi 13T specifications

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
Xiaomi BioComfort vegan leather|Glass back
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 front
IP68
Colors: Alpine Blue, Meadow Green, Black

Camera

LEICA VARIO-SUMMICRON 1:1.9-2.2/15-50mm ASPH.
24mm Leica main camera
- 50MP wide angle camera
- 1/1.28” sensor size
- 1.22μm pixel size, 2.44μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel
- f/1.9, 7P aspherical lens, OIS
- Supports HDR10+ video recording for up to 4K at 30fps
50mm Leica telephoto camera
- 50MP
- f/1.9, 5P aspherical lens
15mm Leica ultra-wide camera
- 12MP
- f/2.2, 5P aspherical lens
Two Leica photographic styles: Leica Authentic Look & Leica Vibrant Look
Leica custom photographic styles
Master-lens system: 35mm Documentary lens, 50mm Swirly bokeh lens, 90mm Soft focus lens
Xiaomi ProFocus
Night mode
20MP front camera
- f/2.2, 5P aspherical lens
- Night mode
- Portrait mode
- HDR

Display

Up to 144Hz FHD+ 6.67” CrystalRes AMOLED display
- 20:9, 2712 x 1220, 446 ppi
- AdaptiveSync, up to 480Hz touch sampling rate
- Brightness: HBM 1200 nits (typ), 2600 nits (peak)
- DCI-P3 color gamut
- 68 billion colors
Pro HDR display
Dolby Vision, HDR10+
Adaptive reading mode
Up to 2880Hz PWM dimming

Performance

MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Ultra
- 4nm power-efficient manufacturing process
- Arm Mali-G610 GPU
LPDDR5 RAM + UFS 3.1 storage
- 8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB
MIUI 14 based on Android 13

Battery & Charging

5000mAh (typ) battery
67W turbo charging

Audio

Dual speakers
Dolby Atmos

Connectivity

Dual SIM
Wi-Fi 6 capability
Supports NFC
BLUETOOTH 5.4
5G: Supports NSA + SA
Bands:
- 5G: n1/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/66/ 77/78
- 4G: LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/ 17/18/19/20/26/28/32/66
- 4G: LTE TDD: B38/40/41
- 3G: WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
- 2G: GSM: 850 900 1800 1900 MHz

Xiaomi 13T Pro specifications