Xiaomi has announced the upcoming availability of the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Lite in France. During MWC 2023, we were able to hold their hands.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro disappoints a bit with its price of 1,299 euros, clearly far from the initial philosophy of the brand (good value for money). So, our eyes are already turning to its little brothers, the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Lite. That’s good, they were both at the Chinese manufacturers’ conference organized on the sidelines of MWC 2023. Here are our first impressions. Spoiler: not bad.
Xiaomi 13: a mantra, lightness
With a cost of 999 euros, the Xiaomi 13 already seems a little more accessible. Especially since it keeps the telephoto lens by getting rid of the somewhat cumbersome size of its larger one. He prefers a format that is reminiscent of the iPhone, but also of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S23.
Objective: flat edges, featherweight between 185 and 189g depending on the colors and we play the flirty object card. Frankly, in the hand, it works very well. The lightness strikes immediately. Be warned, though, if the iPhone resemblance is even to the side buttons, it stops there: the phone has chosen a much more plastic, much glossier coating that doesn’t really make the same impression.
Source: Frandroid
Source: Frandroid
Source: Frandroid
Source: Frandroid
Source: Frandroid
If you are looking for the premium side of the iPhone with its noble materials, you will not find it here. That said, we can also prefer his interpretation by giving more weight to… precisely lightness. For the rest, we will have to wait for our test, but the phone seems reasonable in what it offers, it seems fluid and the screen seemed very similar to the Pro model to the naked eye.
Xiaomi 13 Lite: did you say Dynamic Island?
Even further down the price list is the Xiaomi 13 Lite. With an entry price of 499 euros, we moved there to the mid-range, an area in which the brand is more comfortable, but where it has yet to prove its worth. With a price of half a thousand euros, we expect more than just a good technical sheet.
And let’s face it, we also found the Xiaomi 13 Lite to be quite promising on paper. It won’t have escaped you in the photo below, it actually borrows the shape of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island as the center punch. Calm down though, we haven’t seen any animation directly or indirectly related to this hit.
For the rest, the Xiaomi 13 Lite is also quite interesting in terms of its design. Curved screen, glossy back, fairly neat photo block, try to give yourself the characteristics of a slightly more expensive smartphone if you ask us. But why not ? Why ingenious designs should be limited to expensive smartphones?
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
It’s also very light, fits nicely in the hand, and seems quite responsive to use with your Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. If we’re to talk about tradeoffs, it fits a small chin, and of course we expect a less overpowered photo score than on Xiaomi. 13 and 13 Pro, but again, the phone, at least in this first impression, seemed quite presentable to us.
To follow us, we invite you to Download our app for Android and iOS. You can read our articles, archives and watch our latest YouTube videos.