So you want to buy a Xiaomi Midranger for roughly €300. Surprisingly, there are many options, but the two most likely to come across are the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro and the Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro.
The two share many specifications and provide a fairly comparable overall experience. The Redmi Note 13 Pro is technically cheaper, but only if you look at the base 128GB/8GB model. The base tier for the Poco X6 Pro is 256GB/8GB.
The Poco also boasts a more powerful chipset, although the Redmi may have an advantage in camera performance. But we will get to that in a moment.
POCO X6 PRO VS REDMI NOTE 13 PRO: SPECS COMPARISON
POCO’s X6 Pro has significant enhancements, resulting in a device that outperforms its predecessor. It has the same 120Hz AMOLED panel as the Redmi Note 13 Pro+, but it’s roughly twice as bright and performs well with Dolby Vision content. The internal hardware is substantially speedier, the phone is amazing for gaming, and it comes with a respectable camera on the rear, as well as excellent battery life and fast charging. Sure, the secondary cameras aren’t amazing, and video recording is only acceptable, and Xiaomi’s Android 14 skin isn’t what it claims to be. However, the X6 Pro is currently the finest option in Xiaomi’s sub-$400 range due to much-improved hardware and long-term updates, which is no small feat.
Even Xiaomi’s affordable sub-brand has a flagship model, the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus, which will be released in 2024. For £449, it includes a huge, colorful display, decent performance, lightning-fast 120W wired charging, and a pixel-packed 200MP primary camera. Of course, all of this was true for last year’s model, the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus. Fortunately, there have been some notable changes this time around, albeit not in the area that required it the most.
The 200MP rear camera produces clear, bright images in all lighting settings thanks to 16-in-1 pixel binning. The 5,000mAh battery will last two days of light use, while the 120W HyperCharge will keep you charged swiftly. This is one of the best AMOLED screens you’ll find for less than £500, with realistic colors and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
CAMERA
While POCO devoted attention to other areas, the cameras are not receiving a significant boost this time. The X6 Pro has a 64MP primary lens with OIS, an 8MP wide-angle lens, and a 2MP macro lens. I’ve complained enough about the login’s inclusion of a useless macro module, but the company seems adamant about it, so you’re stuck with a camera lens that’s more frustrating than beneficial.
Video recording remains the same as last year, and while MediaTek readily supports 4K video at 60fps, Xiaomi has not included the feature. The camera interface remains unaltered, and if you’ve ever used a Xiaomi phone, you’ll feel right at home. We’ve gained a lot of momentum up to this point, with adjustments and enhancements across the board, but Xiaomi has stuck with the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus camera setup. It appears to be precisely the same as previously.
Given how thrilled we were with the 200MP primary sensor, this is understandable. The 1/1.4″ sensor, with OIS and a 7P lens, produces clear, bright 12.5MP images without excessive oversharpening. It appears like Xiaomi has enhanced the focusing system this time around.
The main sensor also performed better when zoomed in, particularly beyond 2x. With no dedicated telephoto camera, all information is collected from the primary sensor and cropped in, however, the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus still performed well at 4x. Unfortunately, Xiaomi has retained the same lackluster 8MP ultra-wide camera as before. While it lacks resolution and dynamic range, it makes a good effort to keep the color tone consistent with the main sensor.
There’s also a 2MP macro camera, which is just as unnecessary here as it is in any other phone that uses one. The 16MP selfie camera is also subpar, lagging far behind the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G. Subject detail is weak, skin tones are smudged, and the camera appears to be completely unable to cope with light and shadow contrast. It also continues to use the ‘Beautify’ effect as a standard, which is an obscenity.
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
Both phones have essentially the same display. A 6.67-inch 120Hz display with 1220 x 2712px (FullHD+) resolution and 12-bit color. Both phones claim a maximum global brightness of 1200 nits and a peak brightness of 1800 nits. There is a minor difference in how Xiaomi touts HDR video capability between the two. The Poco expressly mentions HDR10+ alongside Dolby Vision, but this is irrelevant. What matters is that both phones provide good overall display performance for the class.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro features a little higher battery capacity than the Poco X6 Pro, with 5,100 mAh compared to 5,000 mAh. That’s not a huge difference, and in our tests, the Poco proved to be more efficient overall, earning a higher Active Use Score. It receives higher results in all battery testing components, making this a minor but significant victory for the Poco X6 Pro.
Both devices enable Xiaomi’s 67W rapid charging. It’s no surprise that both charge the same fee. We’re also pleased to announce that both phones come with a supplied charger and the requisite 6A-rated USB Type-A to Type-C connector. You’d need them to make full use of Xiaomi’s fast charging.
HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?
The two phones run on quite different chipsets. The Redmi Note 13 Pro features a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2. It is a 4nm chip with an octa-core CPU configuration. The global Redmi Note 13 Pro is offered in two LPDDR4X RAM + UFS2.2 storage variants: 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB. The base 8GB + 128GB configuration appears to be solely available in India, and we have yet to see the 16GB + 512GB edition for sale anywhere.
The Poco X6 Pro has an obvious advantage in the chipset sector. It’s based on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra. While it is also a 4nm part released in 2023, the Dimensity 8300 is a far more recent chip, with significantly newer ARM cores and a more modern design featuring a prime CPU core.
The memory configurations for the X6 Pro are 8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 512 GB. It is worth noting that the Poco employs substantially quicker UFS 4.0 storage. The Dimensity 8300 is the superior chip on paper. That is reflected in benchmark results, as the Poco X6 Pro routinely and dramatically outperforms the Redmi Note 13 Pro. The Dimensity 8300 processor also adds some new features, such as Wi-Fi ax/6 and Bluetooth 5.4 (compared to Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 5.2 on the Redmi).
Get the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro for:
- Victus features Gorilla Glass on the front.
- 3.5 mm audio jack.
- The main camera has slightly better performance.
Get the Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro for:
- Better battery life.
- Louder speakers.
- More than double the performance.
- The longer software support.
