Xiaomi 13 vs Xiaomi 12: how different is the new Xiaomi flagship from its predecessor

After months of leaked details and teasers, the Xiaomi 13 is now official – becoming among the first smartphones to be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Unveiled in China on December 11th, the Xiaomi 13 was launched alongside a ‘Pro’ version of the smartphone as well. With the new smartphone now at hand, we expect the company to make an announcement regarding its India launch timeline in the coming weeks.

The Xiaomi 13 now replaces the older generation Xiaomi 12, which was launched almost exactly one year ago. With this in sight, here’s looking at how the two generations of the top Xiaomi phones compare with one another.

Xiaomi 13 vs Xiaomi 12: price, availability

The Xiaomi 13 is priced onward of CNY 3,999 (around Rs 47,500) for the version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Its other variants are priced at CNY 4,299 (around Rs 51,000) for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, 4,599 (around Rs 55,000) for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, and 4,999 (around Rs 59,000) for 12GB RAM and 512GB storage respectively. As of now, there is no word on the availability of the Xiaomi 13 in India.

In comparison, the Xiaomi 12 was launched at CNY 3,699 (around 44,000) for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, 3,999 (around Rs 47,000) for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and 4,399 (around Rs 52,000) for 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. There was no 256GB storage option with 12GB RAM. The smartphone was launched globally in March this year, three months after its China unveiling, while India got only the Xiaomi 12 Pro in May this year — which presently sells at Rs 55,999.

Xiaomi 13 vs Xiaomi 12: design, display, performance, camera

Design

The Xiaomi 13 looks a little sharper than the Xiaomi 12, bearing small margins of differences from its predecessor. This includes slightly more noticeable side bezels, albeit not something that would bother you. The rear camera module has a new design, with a rounded square unit distributing the three cameras, LED flash, and Leica branding symmetrically. The smartphone is 8.1mm in thickness and weighs 189 grams.

In comparison, the Xiaomi 12 offered tapered, curved rear edges, and super slim side bezels as well. The rear camera module was an elongated rounded rectangle, with the primary camera bearing a larger lens size. The smartphone was 8.2mm in thickness and weighed 180 grams. In many ways, the Xiaomi 12 resembled the older generation Samsung flagships — which the Xiaomi 13 does not.

Display

The Xiaomi 13 gets a larger display than its predecessor, and also a different panel. It gets a 6.36-inch display with an OLED screen panel, which offers full HD+ screen resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It continues to come with the Dolby Vision certification for its display, and now offers 1900 nits peak brightness rating. However, it is not clear as to what standard of screen protection it comes with.

In comparison, the Xiaomi 12 featured a 6.28-inch AMOLED panel, which otherwise had similar specifications as well. However, it only offered 1100 nits peak brightness, but at the same time, offered Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen protection.

Processor, RAM, storage

The Xiaomi 13 brings to the table the latest generation flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 by Qualcomm. The latter claims that the new chip is 35% faster in CPU performance with its new TSMC 4nm Cortex-X3 core design by ARM, while the Adreno 740 GPU is 25% faster than before. This is combined with four variants of RAM and storage, starting with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and going all the way up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. It also uses UFS 4.0 storage standard for all variants apart from the single 128GB model.

The Xiaomi 12, meanwhile, offers the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, which brings with it the Adreno 730 GPU. The Xiaomi 12 has identical RAM and storage options but lacks the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant that the Xiaomi 13 now offers. Unlike the new phone, all variants of the Xiaomi 12 used UFS 3.1 storage.

Camera

The Xiaomi 13 gets Leica branding on it as one of its big differentiating factors and states that it uses Leica-certified lenses. In terms of the sensors, the primary camera uses a larger Sony image sensor with 50MP resolution, and with a wider f/1.8 lens. It gets phase detection autofocus, and optical image stabilisation. The 10MP telephoto camera now shoots 3.2x optical zoom, and has PDAF and OIS — along with an f/2.0 lens. The 12MP ultrawide camera gets an f/2.2 lens, which is wider than before. The setup can record up to 8K 24fps or 4K 60fps videos.

In comparison, the Xiaomi 12 featured a 50MP sensor in the primary camera, but with a smaller sensor size. The telephoto camera only offered 2x zoom, used an f/2.4 lens, and did not offer either PDAF or OIS. The 13MP ultrawide camera featured an f/2.4 lens. None of the camera units featured Leica certified lens, although, on paper, the video qualities of the camera setup remain the same.

To the front, while both phones feature 32MP cameras, the Xiaomi 13 gets a much wider f/2.0 lens, over the f/2.5 lens on the Xiaomi 12.

Battery

The battery configuration of both phones has remained the same. This means that both the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 12 get 4500mAh Li-Po batteries with 67W wired fast charging that juices up the phone to full in an advertised 38 minutes. The phones support Power Delivery 3.0 and QuickCharge 4 standards, and also have 50W wireless and 10W reverse wireless charging support.