Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G Review: cool looks on a budget

By Victor Hristov

Published: Jan 25, 2024, 7:48 AM

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Xiaomi

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G Intro

Redmi phones are known for their great value, and we have not one, but five of value-driven new Redmi Note 13 series devices to start the year 2024.

This particular review is for the Redmi Note 13 5G, one of the more affordable phones in the bunch at a price of 300 euro. Like all the rest in the family, it features a 6.7-inch display and you should also know that the Note 13 5G is a substantial upgrade over the 4G Redmi Note 13 version.

Before we dive in deeper with the details, here are the reviews for the remaining models in the Redmi Note 13 series:

Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G Review (most advanced model)
Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G Review
Redmi Note 13 Pro Review
Redmi Note 13 Review (most basic model)

What’s new about the Redmi Note 13 5G

6.7-inch AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate
108MP main camera with sensor crop zoom
8MP ultra-wide camera, but no telephoto camera
5,000mAh battery
33W wired charging, no wireless charging support
300 euro MSRP for 8/256GB model

Table of Contents:

Specs
Design
Display
Camera
Performance
Software
Battery and Charging
Audio Quality
Alternatives
Summary

Redmi Note 13 5G Specs

Big upgrade over the non-5G model

Let's get the Redmi Note 13 5G specs out of the way first:

	Redmi Note 13 5G
Size and Weight	162.2 x 75.6 x 8mm 188.5 g
Display Specs	6.7" AMOLED 120Hz 1080p up to 1800 nits GGlass 3
Processor	Snapdragon 685
Configurations	6/128GB 8/128GB 8/256GB - for Europe LPDDR4X, UFS 2.2 Expandable storage
Camera specs	108MP main cam, f/1.75 8MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 2MP macro 16MP front
Battery	5,000 mAh
Charging	33W wired No wireless
Biometrics	In-screen fingerprint
Others	IP54 water and dust resistance

Redmi Note 13 5G Design

Plastic but with a beautiful finish

The Redmi Note 13 5G steps up the design compared to the vanilla non-5G version, but the size at 6.7 inches is just as big as all other phones in the Note 13 series.

It is solidly put together, the cameras are arranged a bit more neatly and the white color that we have for this review looks particularly good.

Power and volume buttons are on the right, the left side is clean, on the bottom you have a USB-C port and the speaker, and on top you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as an IR blaster.

Redmi Note 13 5G colors:

Graphite Black
Ocean Teal
Arctic White

Redmi Note 13 5G Unboxing

You get a free case and a pre-applied screen protector in the box

Here is what you can find in the box:

Redmi Note 13 5G phone with pre-applied plastic screen protector
33W charging brick with USB-A output
Charging cable (USB-A to USB-C)
Silicone case
SIM tool
User manuals

Having a free case and a pre-applied screen protector are two things you don't get on flagship phones, but that is the beauty of buying an affordable Redmi phone. It's all included in the box!

Redmi Note 13 5G Display

Unlike the the non-5G version, this here phone comes with slim borders around the screen and a modern look.

The 6.7-inch screen size remains, and it features a 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The screen uses the newer Gorilla Glass 5 for protection, but interestingly, compared to the non-5G model, it reaches a lower peak brightness of 1,000 nits.

Below, you can find our own lab measurements of the Redmi Note 13 5G.

Display Measurements:

	Maximum brightnessHigher is better	Minimum brightness(nits)Lower is better	Color temperature(Kelvins)	Gamma	Delta E rgbcmyLower is better	Delta E grayscaleLower is better
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G	1006 (Good)	1.8 (Good)	6697 (Excellent)	2.28	1.82 (Excellent)	4.96 (Average)
Motorola Moto G84	732 (Average)	2.9 (Average)	6666 (Excellent)	2.22	1.15 (Excellent)	4.31 (Average)

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The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.

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It's impressive how this budget phone can hit more than 1,000 nits of brightness and it can get quite dim at night too for comfortable bedtime use.

Interestingly, the Redmi Note 13 5G is the only phone in the series to come with a side positioned fingerprint scanner, embedded in the power button. This is a bit faster and more accurate than an in-screen fingerprint reader, but the position might be a bit less convenient for some.

Redmi Note 13 5G Camera

108MP main camera is the star of this show

You have three cameras on the back, but only the main camera feels truly capable

The 108-megapixel f/1.7 main camera is the big highlight here and you also have an 8MP ultra-wide camera. The third lens located above the LED flash is a quite useless, low-resolution 2MP macro camera.

While you don't have a dedicated telephoto camera, thanks to the large sensor, Xiaomi says you have 3X "lossless" zoom.

Photo Samples

The quality here is a noticeable step up from the Redmi Note 13 4G version, and the main camera is surprisingly capable in various different conditions, including low light.

The ultra-wide camera, however, we would not use often and definitely avoid shooting with it in the dark.

Video Quality

Video recording is limited to a 1080p resolution, so no 4K here and detail is definitely not very plentiful.

However, the good thing is that video stabilization works quite decently, a big upgrade over the shaky and barely usable footage out of the Redmi Note 13 4G edition.

Some limitations, however, should be noted: once you start recording with the main camera, you cannot switch to the ultra-wide camera (if you want to use that camera, you have to first switch to it BEFORE hitting the record button). You do have zoom and it works quite smoothly, but it is digital and the quality is just as you'd expect: quite bad.

Redmi Note 13 5G Performance & Benchmarks

Here goes nothing

Not the fastest phone on the market clearly

The Redmi Note 13 5G comes with a MediaTek MT6080 chip inside it, a mid-range affair with decent - but not exceptional - performance. It works in combination with a respectable 8GB of RAM.

We have run a few benchmarks, so you understand just how fast this chip is.

Performance Benchmarks:

	Geekbench 6 SingleHigher is better	Geekbench 6 MultiHigher is better	3DMark Extreme(High)Higher is better	3DMark Extreme(Low)Higher is better
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G	589	1715	373	369
Motorola Moto G84	913	2033	360	356

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Compared to its rival Moto G54 Power Edition, this Redmi is way behind in benchmarks and particularly the graphics performance is just abysmal.

For daily use that is not much of a problem (we did encounter the occasional stutter, but nothing too troubling), but for gaming this phone is a no-go.

We do, however, like how this phone comes with a plentiful 256GB of storage in the base model, more than sufficient for most users.

Redmi Note 13 5G Software

MIUI 14 and a word of warning about notifications

When we talk about Xiaomi / Redmi phones software, we always start with a warning: these phones are killing background apps very aggressively, which leads to a well known problem with push notifications. Some apps just will not show notifications in time, even if you try and tweak all available settings in MIUI, and if you rely on these notifications this can be a dealbreaker.

With that cleared out of the way, we should say that the Redmi Note 13 5G comes with Android 13 and MIUI 14 on top of it.

MIUI 14 has generously drawn inspiration from iOS, but its main advantage is that it runs smoothly and is well refined when it comes to animation and transition speeds. Unfortunately, you do not get the latest HyperOS software here.

In terms of software updates, the Redmi Note 13 5G will get 2 years of major OS updates and 4 years of security updates. This simply means that you will receive the following:

Redmi Note 13 5G Battery

Okay battery life, fast charging

Like the rest of the series, you have a 5,000mAh battery on board with the Redmi Note 13 5G, a solid size.

The frugal MIUI software helps make the best of it too.

And below, you can find how this phone scored on our independent battery tests.

PhoneArena Battery Test Results:

	Video StreamingHigher is better	Web Browsing(hours)Higher is better	3D Gaming(hours)Higher is better
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G	10h 18 min	12h 19 min	9h 13 min
Motorola Moto G84	12h 16 min	12h 30 min	5h 56 min

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On our lightest web browsing test, the Redmi Note 13 5G scores around 12 hours with some change, a mediocre result. However, in the YouTube video streaming test, the Redmi does better with a respectable result of 10 hours and 18 minutes.

Redmi Note 13 5G Charging Speeds

	15 MinsHigher is better	30 Mins(%)Higher is better	Full Charge(hours)Lower is better
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G	21%	42%	1h 24 min
Motorola Moto G84	26%	50%	1h 28 min

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Sporting 33W charging speeds and a charging brick included in the box, we can say this phone offers more than many other budget and even flagship phones.

There is no wireless charging on board, though.

Redmi Note 13 5G Audio Quality and Haptics

Speakers on the Redmi Note 13 5G are of middling quality.

The lower frequencies are not completely missing, but there is very little bass which makes most songs sound flat, with no depth.

The phone does get quite loud though.

Haptics are also definitely a weak point: they are vague and feel like the buzzing of bees in a can rather than being sharp and controlled.

Well, at least you do have a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, which some people will be very happy to see.

Redmi Note 13 5G Competitors

This Redmi looks stunning in white

At a starting price of 300 euro for a base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the Redmi Note 13 5G is a great budget phone for many people.

However, there is quite a bit of competition in this price range, including devices like the Moto G84 5G and Samsung Galaxy A34 5G.

They don't have such a flashy design as the Redmi, nor as much storage or the fast charging, but they do seem to offer more with performance.

Learn more here:

Redmi Note 13 5G Summary and Final Verdict

This is a decent phone for a reasonable price, but nothing extraordinary

When you draw the bottom line, the Redmi Note 13 5G comes up as a well balanced phone with solid performance, decent camera quality and very good battery life, all at a reasonable price.

The quirky MIUI software, however, seems like the big stumbling block, and we specifically mean the way it kills background apps and fails to deliver push notifications on time for some apps. This issue has been around for nearly a decade, and we have no idea why it's not fixed yet.

If you can live with that, the Redmi Note 13 5G seems like a pretty good choice.

View Full Bio

Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.