Xiaomi 13 Pro, co-engineered with the iconic German camera-maker Leica, has launched at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023, marking a significant global debut for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer. This is the second Xiaomi flagship with a ‘Leica’ camera at the back. But last year’s Xiaomi 12S was limited to China, and that narrative is changing in 2023. With the Xiaomi 13 Pro, the company hopes to showcase its own prowess in the premium smartphone segment, especially in the camera department, where the brand hasn’t quite won the prestige that Samsung or Apple tend to enjoy. Xiaomi and Leica partnership Xiaomi also emphasises that this is not just a ‘marketing partnership’ with Leica. According to the brand, the efforts with Leica to create the camera experience on the Xiaomi 13 Pro have taken more than a year. It calls this an ‘engineering’ partnership, as there was significant input from the German camera manufacturer. According to Xiaomi executives, Leica was involved in the camera's hardware, software and tuning as well. "When you use your smartphone to take pictures, it may be a little different compared to a professional camera used in the studio. You can still distinguish between those, but our end goal is to blur the lines between the two,” Marius Eschweiler, Vice-President, Business Unit Mobile at Leica Camera AG had told indianexpress.com earlier. Xiaomi also hopes the brand will appeal to those who aspire to get a Leica camera - but can’t afford one, and don’t mind spending the same on a smartphone that can offer something similar. One major challenge for Xiaomi was how to bring the signature camera lens experience that Leica is known for to the smartphone. There was also the issue of maintaining the authenticity of colours as they appear on a Leica camera- which is typically more muted, while also giving smartphone customers the option of shooting in a more ‘vibrant’, ‘saturated’ mode. To solve that Xiaomi is letting users can shoot their still photos in the Leica authentic or a Leica ‘vibrant’ mode. Xiaomi 13 Pro’s camera comes with some unique features, especially with regard to the portrait mode- another area where Leica cameras are considered the best in class. Users can shoot portraits in various lens modes, which is not an option on most smartphones-another extension of the Leica experience. The Black and White mode shoots at 35mm. There's an option for Swirly Bokeh, which shoots at 50mm, and one for shooting in 75mm lens mode. Finally, the fourth mode lets users shoot portraits with a soft focus in 90mm. Xiaomi 13 Pro: What are the specifications? The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with a main 50MP camera, and the company uses the Sony IMX989, a one-inch sensor. This sensor was also seen on the previous Xiaomi 12S Ultra. Xiaomi also states it is using a Leica Vario-Summicron Lens (23mm) on the main camera, which also comes with what it calls ‘HyperOIS’ for more stable shots. All three rear cameras on Xiaomi 13 Pro support Portraits in Night modes. The main camera supports 8K video recording. Other cameras on the Xiaomi 13 Pro include a 50MP telephoto camera, which uses the 75mm Leica floating telephoto lens and it also comes with OIS. The third camera is a 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 14mm Leica Lens system. Keep in mind that all three sensors are via Sony, but Xiaomi is using lenses supplied by Leica. The Xiaomi 13 Pro also comes with a 32MP in-display selfie camera as well. The phone sports a 6.73-inch AMOLED display with 2K resolution (3200 x 1440, at 522 ppi). Xiaomi is using an LTPO 3.0 screen with the phone’s refresh rate going automatically from 1Hz to 120Hz, depending on the content. The display’s peak brightness is 1900 nits with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG formats. The phone has what Xiaomi calls a 3D bio-ceramic back with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front. Xiaomi 13 Pro comes in two colours Ceramic Black and White and weighs 229 grams, with the following dimensions 162.9mm × 74.6mm x 8.38mm. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with a maximum of 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. Xiaomi is using the faster LPDDR5X + UFS 4.0 storage on the phone. The battery on board is 4820 mAh, with Xiaomi’s 120W Hypercharge support and 50W wireless turbo-charging support. It also comes with 10W reverse wireless charging. The phone runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13. The Xiaomi 13 Pro also has dual speakers, along with Dolby Atmos certification. This is a dual-SIM smartphone with Wi-Fi 7 capability, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 and support for 5G. It will support both Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) 5G.
