Xiaomi 13T Pro
The 13T Pro seeks to offer a speedy flagship experience with a lower price tag than the 13 Pro. It’s switched out the Snapdragon chip for a powerful Mediatek Dimensity 9200+, and it charges really quickly too.
Xiaomi 13 Pro
The Xiaomi 13 Pro features an impressive 1-inch sensor in its main camera capable of delivering stunning, sharp images in most conditions. It’s joined by two other strong cameras and built from a stunning ceramic material on the back.
In 2022, Xiaomilaunched ‘T’ versionsof its flagship 12 series phones, delivering flagship specs but in a phone that costs less than its main top tier phone. For 2023 the company is following the same playbook with the Xiaomi 13 series.
The Xiaomi 13T Pro seeks to bring high levels of performance, speed, and a great display to a phone that’s not as expensive as the ultra-premium 13 Pro, but leaves you with a few compromises. So how does the 13T Pro compare to theregular 13 Pro, and what compromises do you have to make?
Price and Availability
The Xiaomi 13T Pro hits the market in September 2023, with prices starting from just £649 in the UK, making it considerably cheaper than the Xiaomi 13 Pro which has been around for a few months already and will set you back near enough £1100.
Looking at the backs of the phones, there’s a very clear difference in design, and it’s more than just about the look of the phone. There’s a difference in material too, withthe 13 Profeaturing a more expensive ceramic back whether you go for the black or the white model. The 13T Pro features either a glass back on the Black and Meadow Green or vegan leather on the Alpine Blue version.
The displays are coated with different glass too. Xiaomi’s more expensive 13 Pro offering has Gorilla Glass Victus on the front, but the 13T Pro has the older, less durable Gorilla Glass 5. Both are water and dust-resistant to high levels, however,with IP68 ratingsfor both models.
Regardless of material, the 13 Pro is narrower and slimmer than the 13T Pro, but is taller and - crucially - quite a lot heavier because of that ceramic back.
Display and software
Switching to displays, and there is a clear difference in spec here between the two phones, but they’re both highly capable panels. One of which - on the 13 Pro - is a Quad HD+ resolution (3200 x 1440) screen and the other - on the 13T Pro - is FullHD+ (or rather, an unusual 2712 x 1220) resolution.
The 13 Pro does have a larger screen, however, meaning the pixel density at its highest is only about 60ppi different, and means you’re unlikely to be able to see huge differences in sharpness between them.
It’s a similar storywith refresh rates, except the newer 13T Pro has a higher maximum refresh option and can reach as high as 144Hz where the 13 Pro reaches 120Hz. Again, this slight difference will be hard to spot with the naked eye. Both will - in truth - seem fast, fluid, and sharp even when animated.
As for brightness, both have enough contrast and brightness to be certified for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Both also have a typical brightness of 1200 nits, but the 2600 nit peak on the 13T Pro is brighter than the 1900 nits peak on the 13 Pro.
Camera and video
Part of Xiaomi’s cost-cutting efforts for the 13T Pro has hit the camera department. That’s not to say it’s a bad camera system, it’s just not quite up to the level of the Xiaomi 13 Pro. In fact, most phones aren’t when it comes to pure hardware.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro’s 1-inch 50-megapixel sensor in the primary camera is a phenomenal sensor, delivering amazing detail and depth. The 13T Pro still has a 50-megapixel sensor, but it’s a slightly smaller one. That usually means a little less clarity, and diminished low light performance because of the smaller pixels. Time will tell if that’s the case.
Like the 13 Pro, however, it’s joined by a 50-megapixel telephoto zoom camera. It is a very different zoom camera, however, maxing out at a 2x zoom optical zoom equivalent, where the 13 Pro has 3.2x zoom and features a great macro capability for close-up shots thanks to its floating lens design.
Both also feature an ultrawide camera. Here - again - the 13 Pro has the 13T Pro beat, with its 50-megapixel sensor. The 13T Pro has a 12-megapixel sensor here.
As far as video goes, the two are very similar. You can shoot 8K video up to 24 frames-per-second on both phones, and can shoot 10-bit LOG files which means more colour depth and more flexibility when it comes to colour grading and correction. You can also shoot HDR10+ at 4K resolution up to 30 frames per second.
Hardware, performance and battery
In the smartphone market,Qualcomm’s Snapdragon brandhas become synonymous with the most powerful and expensive flagship Android devices. With the Xiaomi 13T Pro, the manufacturer is showing that there is an alternative. In this case, that comes in form of the MediaTek 9200+. MediaTek might not be as well-known as Snapdragon brand, but in terms of raw power, performance and efficiency, you’re not likely to see any difference in day-to-day tasks.
Even if you were to benchmark the two chipsets using popular benchmarking tools, you’ll find similar performance, with the MediaTek chip slightly ahead in a few areas.
Where you do get objectively more from the 13T Pro is in memory and storage. The 13 Pro has either 8GB or 12GB RAM, where the 13T Pro has either 12GB or 16GB, making it more capable of running multiple highly intense tasks. Storage is a similar story. The 13T Pro comes with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB storage. The 13 Pro has up 128GB, 256GB or 512GB.
As far as battery life goes, it’s hard to compare without testing, because both have similar capacities. The 13T Pro has a 5000mAh battery and the 13 Pro has a 4820mAh capacity. That additional 80mAh isn’t likely to be what makes any difference, but the different displays, cameras and processors will have more impact here.
The two are similar when it comes to charging speeds too, because they both have Xiaomi’s superfast 120W HyperCharge technology that can refill a battery from empty in under 20 minutes. Where the 13 Pro has an advantage is in wireless charging, because the 13T Pro doesn’t feature wireless charging at all and the 13 Pro does - with support for Xiaomi’s fast 50W wireless tech.
Conclusion
Which you go for in the end will almost certainly come down to budget. But if money is no object, we were pretty blown away at the camera performance, display and design of the Xiaomi 13 Pro. It’s a phenomenal phone if you’re happy to cough up the cash for it.
The top choice
Still, at a price comfortably below what most flagships cost, the Xiaomi 13T Pro still has a lot to offer. We like the vegan leather feel on the back, the big, bright display and the super fast charging speeds.
A more affordable alternative
