The Redmi Note 13 is a bigger downgrade compared to the 5G model than you might think

Xiaomi’s strategy when it comes to the competitive affordable smartphone market seems to be to flood it with sheer numbers.

For further proof consider the Redmi Note 13, a variant on the already-reviewed Xiaomi Redmi Note 5G that omits – you guessed it – 5G connectivity.

That’s not the only difference to this model, however, which is why it warrants a completely separate review. Divergences in chipset, design, and perhaps most importantly pricing mean that it’s worth considering on its own terms.

One thing’s for sure: if you’re after the best screen possible for under £200, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 should be on your list of candidates. Unfortunately, however, some familiar criticisms keep it from being a straightforward recommendation.

Design & Build

• Flat design, but chunkier than 5G version
• IP54 water and dust resistance
• Gorilla Glass 3, not Gorilla Glass 5 like 5G model

The Redmi Note 13 broadly subscribes the same design language as its 5G brother, but it’s far from identical.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

You get the same kind of blandly flat-edged look, with a familiar plastic frame and glossy plastic rear panel. The basic camera layout is the same too, though the elevated plastic mounting plate of the Redmi Note 13 5G is nowhere to be seen.

There’s one clear reason for the latter difference, as far as I can see. The Redmi Note 13 is an altogether thicker phone at 8mm (vs 7.6mm). With a weight of 188.5g, it’s also 14g heavier, though there’s no clear reason for this.

Hold the two phones side by side and you’ll notice that this 4G-only model is a millimetre taller and half-a-millimetre wider. The reason for that seems to be thicker bezels, with a noticeably thicker chin making it look less premium than the Redmi Note 13 5G.

Another rollback compared to its better-connected brother is the use of the older and weaker Gorilla Glass 3 rather than Gorilla Glass 5. You still get IP54 water and dust certification, though, which is a step up from previous models.

Strangely, the fingerprint sensor here is an in-display solution rather than the 5G model’s power button alternative. This sounds like an upgrade, but in my experience it very much represents a backwards step.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Even after a couple of pairing attempts, I found that the phone consistently failed to read my right thumb. Weirdly, my left thumb registered relatively reliably. It’s worth noting that I’ve been using two other phones with in-display fingerprint sensors concurrently with the Redmi Note 13 without issue, so there evidently isn’t a problem with my thumb.

Like the 5G model, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack and an IR blaster on the top edge of the phone. The latter lets you control your TV and Hi-fi equipment using the Mi Remote app, which is potentially a pretty handy feature – especially if you’re rocking a lot of older audiovisual gear.

Screen & speakers

• Excellent 6.67-inch Full HD+ OLED
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Stereo speakers

The Redmi Note 13 is a subtly different beast to the Redmi Note 13 5G, but one of the components Xiaomi appears to have left more or less alone is the display. There’s a very good reason for that: this is undoubtedly an excellent display.

This 6.67-inch OLED was arguably the best thing about the 5G model, and so it proves here. It features a solid FHD+ (2400 x 1080) resolution, smooth 120Hz refresh rate and measured top brightness of 454 nits with auto-brightness turned off.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

That’s a tad dimmer than the 5G model, which I recorded as hitting 480 nits, but it’s not a hugely significant difference. It makes for comfortable indoors viewing, while activating auto-brightness will bring the high brightness mode (HBM) into play whilst outdoors. Visibility is good in almost all environments.

You don’t seem to get 5G model’s same level (1920Hz) of PWM dimming, nor its 10-bit colour support. But these are relatively minor concessions, especially in the name of getting that price below £200.

The main appeal of Xiaomi’s screen is how colour accurate it is. Similar to the 5G model, using the more natural-looking Standard colour scheme, I recorded a 100% sRGB gamut coverage and an average Delta E of 0.87 (close to 1 being the ideal).

One criticism I had of the Redmi Note 13 5G was its lack of stereo speakers. Bizarrely, the cheaper Note 13 does pack this feature. Go figure.

Whatever the reasoning behind this inclusion, it makes the Redmi Note 13 a better all round media player than its brother. Sound output is nice and clear, and certainly benefits from the stereo separation, though as we’ve come to expect of cheaper phones it lacks any great sense of depth or low-end rumble.

Specs & Performance

• Slow Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 chip
• 6 or 8GB of RAM
• 128 or 256GB of expandable storage

Another fundamental way in which the Redmi Note 13 differs from its 5G brother is the processor that’s been chosen to power it. There’s a Snapdragon 685 running the show here, as opposed to the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 on the 5G version.

This is a more mainstream choice for the 4G model, but not necessarily a superior one. In fact, our benchmark tests reveal that the Redmi Note 13 5G is a much stronger performer in both CPU and GPU terms.

Of course, the 5G model costs at least £50 more. However, both the £199 Samsung Galaxy A15 5G and the £169 Samsung Galaxy A15 also beat the Redmi Note 13 quite handily in each benchmark, as does the £180 Moto G84 5G. The Redmi Note 13 4G is really not a particularly strong performer, even within its price bracket.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 benchmarks

Sure enough, it can feel a little sluggish in the hands. Jumping into the settings menu or opening up a new app takes a beat longer than I would like, while hopping between open apps in the app switcher leads to a moment or two of stuttering.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

General navigation is adequate, with slick scrolling that makes the most of that 120Hz refresh rate, and the fingerprint sensor unlocks reasonably snappily too – when it works. But cracks start to appear when pushing the phone beyond these super-basic tasks.

Like the 5G model, console racer Wreckfest will run, but you’ll want to drop all the settings down to Low if you want anything resembling a consistent frame rate.

You do get either 6- or 8GB of RAM backing that Snapdragon 685 chip up, which is a solid amount for the money. Storage options, meanwhile, are 128- or 256GB options, with Micro-SD card expansion potential also added in.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

One critical spec that’s missing here, of course, is 5G connectivity. Contrary to what your network operator might tell you, though, this still shouldn’t be a huge deal for most people. While 5G access has improved, it’s still far from ubiquitous, and getting the full speed and latency benefit isn’t a given, even when it is available.

Camera

• 108Mp main sensor
• Reasonable results in good lighting, terrible night shots
• Decent selfie camera

It seems Xiaomi has installed exactly the same camera system in the Redmi Note 13 as it has in the 5G model, so all of my comments from that earlier review apply here, even with the change in processor.

This set-up is led by the same 108Mp 1/1.67″ main sensor, which seems to be the trusty old Samsung Isocell HM6. It yields predictably solid shots with decent depth and dynamic range. The colours might be a little punchy for some, but exposure and detail are on point.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

That’s the case in ideal lighting, at least. As soon as the light drops, the Redmi Note 13’s photographic performance drops off a cliff. Without OIS (optical image stablisation) to keep things steady and extend shutter times, ‘Night mode’ shots are a grainy, noisy mess.

In my Note 13 5G review I floated the possibility that the MediaTek chip might have some image processing limitations, but these Snapdragon 685-driven shots are no better.

Once again, despite the lack of a dedicated telephoto camera, Xiaomi encourages you to zoom at 2x or even 3x, effectively using all those extra pixels to crop in. Any further will really highlight the drop in detail, but I was quite happy with the results at these lower zoom levels.

Where you’ll really notice the drop-off in quality during the day is when you switch to the dedicated 8Mp ultrawide, which brings with it a big loss of both detail and exposure. There’s also a dedicated 2Mp macro sensor on the back, which is just about as pointless as it ever is.

Feed the 16Mp front-facing camera plenty of light, and it’s capable of producing solid selfies. On a slightly drab day, it did wash the colours out somewhat, but it does a reasonable job.

The video offering from that main sensor is very limited to a mere 1080p and 30fps. Meanwhile, the lack of OIS means that you won’t be getting particularly steady shots.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• Slightly better battery life than 5G model
• Solid 33W charging

Xiaomi has stuck with a familiar battery and charging setup here. Once again there’s an ample 5000mAh cell, which will power you through a full day of moderate to heavy usage.

On lighter usage days, I got to the end of a day with 50 or even 60% left in the tank. As ever, it all comes down to how much media you consume.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

One interesting point to note is that the Redmi Note 13 performed better than the Redmi Note 13 5G in our usual PC Mark Work 3.0 battery test, lasting a good 50 minutes longer.

This would seem to suggest that the Snapdragon 685 processor runs more efficiently than the Mediatek Dimensity 6080, though you can never count out the deleterious effects of 5G connectivity.

Whatever the case, I feel comfortable in stating that the Redmi Note 13 has slightly more dependable battery life than its 5G brother.

The charging provision is identical, though. You get the same 33W charger included in the box, which I recorded getting the Redmi Note 13 from empty to 63% in 30 minutes. You can expect a full charge to take a little over an hour, which isn’t bad at all.

Software

• MIUI 14 over Android 14
• Excessive bloatware
• Busy notification menu

Here’s a curiosity for you: while the Redmi Note 13 5G that I reviewed used Xiaomi’s new HyperOS 1.0 UI, the plain Redmi Note 13 uses the older MIUI 14.

They’re both layered on top of Android 14, though, and they both subscribe to Xiaomi’s fussy approach to software. You still get those big charmless icons and an ugly split notification menu, for example, even if a few of the shortcut toggles have been juggled around.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

The latter sit on a horizontally scrolling carousel, rather than all being bundled onto the main menu like in HyperOS. The older approach used here is less streamlined, but also less cluttered. You also still get a Settings menu shortcut here on MIUI 14, which I missed in the Note 13 5G’s switch to HyperOS.

Elsewhere, Xiaomi still insists on filling its phones with annoying bloatware, including a whole folder dedicated to ‘More apps’ such as Trip.com, LinkedIn and Amazon Music. There’s also one containing a bunch of terrible games that all seem to riff off better, more famous examples.

Xiaomi seems to be offering three major Android updates and four years of security patch updates across the Redmi Note 13 range, which is reasonable for a cheap phone.

Price & Availability

Xiaomi is offering two models of the Redmi Note 13 here in the UK and Europe, which you can buy direct from the Xiaomi UK website.

The entry model gives you 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for a price of £199, while the 8/256GB model sells for an RRP of £229.

In the UK, the phone is also available from Amazon, Currys and Very. But no networks are selling it on contract, so you’ll have to buy outright and pair with a SIM-only deal.

And as usual, there’s no availability in the US unless you want to risk importing one.

Wherever you buy it from, the Redmi Note 13 is considerably cheaper than the Redmi Note 13 5G (£199). It seems to be in closer competition with the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G (£199) and the Moto G54 5G (£180). Both those rivals supply 5G connectivity and slightly superior performance, but not such an impressive display.

Should you buy the Redmi Note 13?

The Redmi Note 13 is an interesting proposition, as despite the name it’s not merely a Redmi Note 13 5G without the advanced network connectivity.

For a good £80 less (at full price) you’re getting the same excellent display and decent camera system, plus identical 33W charging speeds. You’re even getting slightly superior battery life and stereo sound, as well as an in-display fingerprint sensor rather than side-mounted one.

However, you’ll have to accept a bulkier and less premium design, as well as markedly inferior performance alongside that obvious 4G network limitation.

On balance, the Redmi Note 13 doesn’t really represent better value than its 5G sibling, despite the lower price. It’s still a very solid cheap phone with a standout OLED screen, but one that’s weighed down by ugly software and poor performance.

Specs

• Android 14 with MIUI 14
• 6.67in, FHD+, OLED, 120Hz, flat display
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 685
• 6GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 128GB/256GB storage
• 108Mp, f/1.8 main camera
• 8Mp ultra-wide camera
• 2Mp macro camera
• Up to 1080p @ 30fps rear video
• 16Mp front-facing camera
• Stereo speakers
• Hybrid dual-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.1
• 5000mAh battery
• 33W charging
• 162.2 x 75.55 x 7.97mm
• 188.5g
• Launch colours: Midnight Black, Mint Green, Ice Blue