Xiaomi has probably used the marketing punchline— a new note rises— before, but with the new Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus, it is finally putting words to action. Everything about this phone that is launching in India today amid much fanfare looks and feels so brand new, it doesn’t even look or feel like a Redmi Note to be completely honest with you. If phones were measured in workplace terms, this one’s exceeding its KRA in all the ways.
What is a Redmi Note? We’ve seen Xiaomi change that definition multiple times over the years, as it should as the market keeps changing and evolving. The pro and pro plus launches were fueled by consumer demand who perhaps wanted more but the classic Note’s entry-level pricing meant Xiaomi could do only so much. The pandemic didn’t make it any easier, either.
But there were distractions. There was always some Redmi K50i or Mi 11X or 11T Pro, to spoil the pro and pro plus Redmi Note party. Those seemed better value while the Note was starting to feel a little out of place. All those distractions are gone now, and you can say the Note is finally having its moment (to shine). Much deserved and good on Xiaomi to bring back focus internally and a less confusing portfolio of products externally (even the Note 13 Pro is more distinct this year to how its predecessor was to its own pro plus version).
And so, the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus is its most powerful phone under 40K at the time of writing. To make it even more desirable, Xiaomi has packed it to the gills with a bunch of “aspirational” features you’d normally associate with phones that are much more expensive (unless you’re a once-in-a-blue-moon thing like the Moto Edge 40 Neo). Those you do not expect from a Redmi Note.
It has a curved AMOLED screen for instance with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The panel can get super bright at up to 1,800nits and can playback Dolby Vision content natively. The back is available in a choice of glass and a very luxurious “vegan leather” option both with a dual tone design. (The sides are still plastic, though.) And the chassis is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance.
The customary chip upgrade sees Xiaomi going for MediaTek’s 4-nanometre Dimensity 7200 Ultra while base storage now starts at a cool 256GB (though you can’t expand it any further than that). Powering the phone is a sizeable 5,000mAh battery while 120W fast charging support means it is up and running in a jiffy.
Xiaomi went ahead and upgraded the main camera sensor, too, swapping the 12 Pro Plus’s HPX with the ISOCELL HP3. Both are high-resolution 200-megapixel sensors and with features like in-sensor zoom, paired with optical image stabilisation, you can go for some birdwatching if you’re into that sort of thing. An even bigger use case is portrait photography (there is no dedicated depth sensor in this phone so that’s handy). The 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro are do-overs. The front 16MP camera as well.
There are a couple of more quality-of-life improvements. NFC is one. You also get dual speakers with Dolby Atmos. There is no headphone jack though.
While everything is new and improved mostly, one thing remains unchanged. Software in this new phone is still a sore point and even though Xiaomi claims it is “HyperOS-ready” launching a phone in 2024 with Android 13 doesn’t bode well for all the fantastic work that it has put into it otherwise.
But if you can overlook that, the Note 13 Pro Plus packs more phone for a lot less money than a lot of other phones in its segment. It is available in 8GB/256GB, 12GB/256GB, and 12GB/256GB trims for Rs 31,999, Rs 33,999, and Rs 35,999, respectively. Watch this space for our full review of the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus.
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