Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ Review: Almost Perfect

Redmi is ringing in 2024 with a bang, introducing three new phones in the Redmi Note 13 lineup: the Note 13, Note 13 Pro, and Note 13 Pro+. It's been over a decade since the first Redmi phone launch in India, and the Redmi Note phones have become household names because they are just perfect, no-nonsense phones for most people.

While the Note 13 and Note 13 Pro continue the tradition of offering the best possible features in a phone at an affordable price, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ expands the boundaries of the lineup by introducing flagship features to the mid-range segment. It gives you the best Redmi Note phone experience yet, but a starting price of ₹31,999 might deter those seeking greater affordability. So, if you decide to break the bank for the Note 13 Pro+, here's a lowdown of what it's like to use in day-to-day life.

Design & Build

The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is perhaps the best-looking Redmi Note phone yet. It features a refined design with even thinner bezels than the previous generation. The premium look and feel is further accentuated with a metal-glass build, and at 204 grams, it weighs 4 grams less than the Note 12 Pro+.

Xiaomi has embraced aesthetics with the Redmi Note 13 Pro+, especially the Fusion Purple variant, which showcases a cool Mondrian pattern in a Vegan Leather finish. It's soft to the touch and feels luxurious in your hands. However, if you prefer a more traditional look, the phone is also available in White and Black variants, both featuring a glass back.

Kudos to Xiaomi for including a matte protective case in the box that resists yellowing over time. Additionally, if you accidentally drop the Note 13 Pro+ in water, there's no need to worry because it has IP68 dust and water resistance and can withstand submersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.

Display

The Note 13 Pro+ is the first Redmi Note phone to feature a curved screen. Its 6.6-inch AMOLED display wraps around the right and left sides, creating a more seamless look and feel in the hand.

The display on the Note 13 Pro+ is a significant upgrade, offering sharper clarity, punchier colours, and greater brightness than the previous generation. It brings content to life with vibrant colours and super smooth scrolling. The phone also supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision for an incredible HDR viewing experience.

In our brightness test, the phone recorded 760 nits of typical brightness and 1830 nits of peak maximum brightness, which is impressive. And, as it's an AMOLED screen, the blacks are deeply reproduced, especially when watching HDR content.

The Note 13 Pro+ is the first in the series to feature an optical fingerprint sensor under the screen, greatly enhancing the speed and convenience of unlocking your phone. Another win for the Note 13 Pro+ comes with Gorilla Glass Victus, which protects the display from scratches and daily wear and tear.

Cameras

Like the Note 12 Pro+, the 13 Pro+ also features a 200MP primary camera. However, it employs a new Samsung HP3 sensor that provides a significant improvement, allowing for incredibly detailed shots and the ability to crop in without losing quality. The primary camera also offers in-sensor 2x and 4x lossless zoom, enabling close-ups, and supports OIS for 4K (30fps) video recording.

During the day, the primary camera delivers sharp and natural-looking pictures. However, at night, it tends to blow out highlights and struggles to capture textures. The Night mode somewhat mitigates these issues by subduing the highlights and maintaining richer details.

There's also an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera that perform well for landscape shots or close-ups in macro mode.

Just point and shoot, and you'll get Instagrammable pictures straight from the gallery. The camera app is pretty straightforward, featuring over 12 filters and many different modes to experiment with.

Performance

Powered by the new Dimensity 7200 Ultra chipset, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ offers an upgrade in performance over the previous generation with faster cores, better efficiency, and an enhanced GPU.

The phone felt fluid and fast in my daily use, whether browsing the internet or scrolling through my Instagram feed. In games such as Call of Duty, BGMI, and CarXStreet, to name a few, the phone performed consistently without any frame drops or lags and managed every task without stress.

This was evident in the benchmark scores of AnTuTu, Geekbench, and CPU throttling tests, where the Note 13 Pro+ performed admirably. Overall, these scores translate into the phone's balanced and sustained performance, making it a dependable performer for daily use.

While the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ runs on MIUI 14 based on Android 13, it's set to receive HyperOS soon, the company's new OS for phones and smart home systems. Xiaomi claims this phone will receive three years of OS updates and four years of Security Updates, ensuring its relevance for the next 4-5 years.

Battery & Charging

The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ packs a 5,000mAh battery that supports 120W fast charging. Xiaomi claims that the phone can fully charge in under 20 minutes. In my experience, the Note 13 Pro+ averaged 19-20 minutes for a full charge from 0-100%, which is exceptionally fast.

Depending on your usage, the phone can last over a day with aggressive use and even longer if you're a light user.

Verdict

This phone truly excels with its incredible display, powerful internals, versatile cameras, and advanced features like IP68 protection. It seems the Redmi team was on a mission with the 13 Pro+ to address almost all the previous quirks highlighted by users.

The Note 13 Pro+ has made a remarkable entrance in the sub-Rs 35,000 price segment, offering a well-rounded package that will be hard to beat this year! The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is an excellent upgrade for existing Redmi Note users and anyone looking to try a dependable mid-range phone. It offers a familiar experience but enhances it in every aspect. Despite its tech proficiency, at the end of the day, it is a Redmi Note phone, and it remains to be seen whether buyers get accustomed to the idea of spending upwards of ₹30,000 for a Redmi Note smartphone.