After the powerful mini mobile that was the Xiaomi 12, we’re already looking to see what the future may hold: and unless mathematics fundamentally changes in the next few months, it’s likely the Xiaomi 13 which is up next.
Unlucky for some? Not really, as four is the number deemed as bad luck in China, where Xiaomi is from.
We don’t know too much about this phone just yet, as there are plenty of Xiaomi phones we’re expecting to see before it, including the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, Xiaomi 12T and plenty of Redmi and Poco devices too.
But as the next true flagship handset from the company, the Xiaomi 13 is naturally where our thoughts are drifting, especially because it’ll be a big competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S23 and iPhone 14.
This article is where we’ll list any big leaks or rumors when they occur, but before any of those show up, we’re also going to post a wish-list of what we want to see in the Xiaomi 13.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next flagship Xiaomi phone
- When is it out? Either late 2022 or early 2023
- How much will it cost? Several premium phones at different prices
Xiaomi 13 release date and price
Xiaomi often launches its new flagship phones at the end of the year in China, but waits until February or March before making them available worldwide – and that’s just for the ‘main’ phone, with Lite and Ultra versions often launched later.
For that reason, it’s hard to pin down a vague release window for the phones, let alone a more concrete release date – but we’ll likely start to hear leaks that give us more information before too long.
Because Xiaomi’s phones come in a family, there will be a range of mobiles hitting various price points. You can expect a Lite version for budget users, a 13T series towards the end of 2023 at a mid-range price, and the Xiaomi 13, 13 Pro and 13 Ultra will likely all be premium handsets, with the Ultra touting a super-high price.
Xiaomi 13 news and leaks
We haven’t heard many leaks about the Xiaomi 13… but we have heard some.
The key one so far is that a fan website called Xiaomiui (opens in new tab) has found model numbers for four upcoming Xiaomi flagships (two of which are Chinese versions of the other two) – it claims these are for the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro, and further suggests that the discovery of these model numbers suggests that the handsets will be launching sooner than expected.
We’re not entirely convinced that these are for the Xiaomi 13 series, or at least that the devices will launch early – that wouldn’t give the Xiaomi 12T series enough time to breathe – but it shows that excitement is growing for the new series.
What we want to see in the Xiaomi 13
Here’s our wishlist for the Xiaomi 13, looking at previous phones from the company and other things going on in the mobile industry.
1. A telephoto lens
Xiaomi tries to position its phones as being champions for photography and videography, but the lack of a telephoto lens really hampers their chops in these departments.
Telephoto lenses are generally used for zoom photography, but they’re also great because they create a more attractive depth effect, and also let you close the distance to subjects without having to move. Both these reasons are just as important for filming as they are photographing.
While Xiaomi sometimes does pack telephoto lenses in its top-end phones, the standard Xiaomi 12 didn’t get one, and Lite and T versions usually don’t either. But we’d like to see Xiaomi commit to more widespread use of zoom lenses to really give its phones a chance at competing with the Samsung Galaxy S series.
2. A lower minimum price
Xiaomi offers Lite versions of its flagships for people who can’t afford the pricier family members, but it doesn’t launch them at the same time. You’re often left waiting months for a budget alternative, and usually about six months for the T version, which is a mid-range spin on the flagship.
To give phone fans on a budget something to buy straight away, we’d like to see the standard Xiaomi 13 start for less than the $749 / £749 that the Xiaomi 12 started at. It’s okay if that’s a Xiaomi 13X (there was a 12X but it didn’t go on sale globally) – we just want a mid-range phone to tide us over until the T series.
3. Cleaner software
We’ve moaned about Xiaomi’s MIUI Android fork since recorded history began, and though fixes have been made (and Xiaomi is no longer the worst offender), the smartphone operating system still isn’t perfect.
One issue we have is bloatware, as the company’s phones usually have a few pre-installed third-party apps that you generally end up deleting. The other issue is that the phones can often have quite buggy software, with functions crashing or breaking more frequently than they do on rival phones.
For the Xiaomi 13 to be a true flagship that rivals the Galaxies and iPhones of the world, Xiaomi needs to make MIUI a premium operating system that’s clean, has useful extra features and doesn’t fall apart all the time.
4. Continued design improvements
The Xiaomi 12 was the first flagship from Xiaomi that could really catch the eye – it had a softly-textured rear, came in lovely pastel colors and utilized a two-tone design that made for an appealing look.
We’d like to see Xiaomi continue this trend of making attractive smartphones, perhaps with some bolder color choices (we’re always fans of red or gold devices), or with a redesigned camera bump that made more of a statement.
5. A simultaneous launch
While the Xiaomi 12 series launched in China in December 2021, it was only months later that it went on sale in the rest of the world – by that time, the hype had died down for the phone after its initial debut.
Xiaomi isn’t the only company which launches early in China, and it’s not the only company which suffers due to this derailing of the hype train.
That’s especially the case with Xiaomi trying harder and harder to be a bigger player in the phones space – Huawei only became a giant when it realized it needs to debut its product with a big fanfare for the entire world, not just for one region.
With that in mind, we’d like to see the Xiaomi 13 launched, and released, for all regions of the world in one go – like how Samsung and Apple operate. We don’t want to be bored of the phone before it ever goes on sale.
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