• Xiaomi kicked off its Mobile World Congress 2023 press conference by unveiling a new lineup of flagship phones.
• The Xiaomi 13 series features a regular and Pro model, both of which have been co-engineered with Leica.
• It is the second lineup of devices to be co-engineered, but may be the first to land in SA from the pair.

Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC 23) officially kicks off this week, and yesterday saw a number of press conferences take place for new devices. Typically referred to as day zero, Xiaomi too had a press conference, where the company’s new flagship phones were shown off – the Xiaomi 13 series.

What makes this new lineup of phones noteworthy is that the Chinese manufacturer is deepening its relationship with Leica, as the Xiaomi 13 series has been “co-engineered” with the help of the German photography experts.

This is not the first device to feature such a collaboration, with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra doing the same. That device, however, has not been launched in South Africa yet, but there is a good chance that the Xiaomi 13 series will, given that previous iterations have found their way to our shores.

So what is on offer?

Well first there are three models – a regular 13, 13 Lite, and 13 Pro (seen in the images on this page).

All three devices feature similar designs, which remind us quite a bit of Galaxy S phones of a few years ago. The key difference, however, is the rear camera housing which features the Leica branding.

On the regular 13, a FullHD+ 6.36″ AMOLED display is present that supports 120Hz and HDR10+ content. The 13 Pro supports the samer functionality, but has a larger WQHD+ 6.73″ AMOLED screen. As for the 13 Lite, it too is large at 6.55″ and yields a FullHD+ (2400×1080) resolution.

Shifting to some of the internals and both the 13 and 13 Pro are running the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, while the 13 Lite is one generation behind with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. In terms of battery capacity, the Lite and regular models have 4 500mAh units, with the Pro being slightly larger at 4 820mAh. Dual SIM compatibility and 5G connectivity are also features across the lineup.

Now for the photography, and starting with the Lite, it has a 50MP wide-angle option as its primary shooter. This is paired with an 8MP ultra wide-angle, 2MP macro, 8MP depth sensing, and 32MP selfie lenses.

As for the 13 and 13 Pro, both house Leica-designed arrays, although the Pro is slightly better. Here a VARIO-SUMMICRON 1:1.9-2.2/14-75 ASPH system is present, which features a 50MP wide-angle, 50MP telephoto, and 50MP ultra wide-angle lenses, along with a 32MP selfie option.

The regular 13 is powered by the VARIO-SUMMICRON 1:1.8-2.2/15-75 ASPH, where a 50MP wide-angle, 12MP ultra wide-angle, 10MP telephoto, and 32MP selfie cameras.

Local availability and pricing are yet to be confirmed, but give you an approximate idea of what they could cost if they arrive in SA, the 13 Pro retails for €1 299, the 13 for €999, and the 13 Lite is at €499.