Xiaomi phones may not have any official US presence, but they’re still very much on our radar, and the top-end Xiaomi 12 series made it big in Europe and other international markets, going head-to-head with some of the best flagships out there. The Xiaomi 12 Pro was quite impressive in its own right and left us hopeful about its follow-up. That sequel is finally going official this week, with the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro set to debut with some major camera upgrades in partnership with Leica.
The company confirmed that the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro will be unveiled on Thursday, December 1 (via Android Authority). The two phones will first go official in China before presumably being announced elsewhere, but given Xiaomi’s track record, international availability shouldn’t take long.
The announcement post mentions that both flagship phones will come with two big upgrades.
Firstly, they’ll come running MIUI 14 out of the box. While there isn’t much information about Xiaomi’s unreleased software so far, it is expected to be based on the latest Android 13 version. Secondly, Xiaomi is continuing with its Leica association on the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro after testing the waters with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
In his Xiaomi 12S Ultra review, Ben Sin of XDA found that Leica’s color science gives the images a distinct, contrasty look. The photos turned out to be good in all lighting conditions, and low-light shots were particularly less grainy. Considering the Xiaomi 13 Pro is rumored to borrow the same 50MP 1-inch IMX989 main sensor, you can expect a similar look from the upcoming phone as well.
Thanks to the renders produced by OnLeaks, we’ve already had a good look at how the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro are likely to appear. The non-Pro model takes heavy design inspiration from recent iPhones with a very flat front and back. Those symmetrical display bezels and a single selfie camera in the center give it a reasonably minimalist look, though we do still get a triple-cam setup on the back.
In contrast, the Xiaomi 13 Pro will get you that premium touch with its curved display and back for a better in-hand grip. A massive camera bump houses the new sensor, while Qualcomm’s top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor hides under the hood. Other rumored specs include Samsung’s new E6 LTPO display, up to 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and super-fast 120W charging.
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