Xiaomi has announced the Redmi Note 13 series locally. Shortly before that though, the company has passed us the base model so that we could share our early impressions of the device.
That being said though, the Redmi line of devices are not usually the ones to make big waves, especially for the base model in a series that has a Pro and a Pro Plus model. Which pretty much describes the Redmi Note 13. Probably worth mentioning at this point that even the base model has an LTE variant, and a version with 5G support, and the one we’re looking at is the former.
With all that out of the way, the look of this particular version of the Redmi Note 13 is as basic as it gets. It’s the only one to not have a camera island for its rear cameras. Which does work in its favour in terms of visual flair.
As a base model, the Redmi Note 13 eschews the fancy curved edges for the more conventional blocky sides. It feels pretty light in hand, helping with long term use comfort. The buttons are where you expect them, and as an added bonus, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack up top. There’s also an IP54 rating for the device, which is nice.
The one element that goes beyond what the base model status of the Redmi Note 13 would suggest is the 120Hz refresh rate for the 6.67-inch Full HD+ display. The scrolling experience is very smooth as a result, at least while the device is new anyway.
On camera performance, the Redmi Note 13 is once again, providing passable results with its 108MP + 2MP camera combo. Shots with good lighting outdoors do very well in terms of detail retention, but that’s the base expectation these days. In low light, on the other hand, the camera understandably struggles. Under ambient lighting, there’s no getting around the noise levels.
And that’s a quick look at the base Redmi Note 13. In case you missed it, the phone launched with a starting price of RM749.
