By Chris Donkin
Xiaomi launches global challenge with latest flagship
Challenger manufacturer Xiaomi zoomed-in on high end camera features in its flagship 13 series at the smartphone’s global release, which the vendor announced alongside a pair of earbuds and smartwatch at a lavish launch on the eve of MWC23 Barcelona.
At the event yesterday, the Chinese vendor presented its latest products for the international stage, having first released the Xiaomi 13 and Pro in its home market at the end of last year.
In addition to the first two devices in the range, Xiaomi presented a lower-spec lite version aimed at younger users.
The two premier devices in the Xiaomi 13 Series lean on a partnership with well-known camera brand Leica, which it inked last year. The handsets features professional optical lenses and what the manufacturer described as advanced software capabilities, to further juice up the quality of pictures taken.
Both feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and Xiaomi’s surge battery management system. Other specs include a triple camera set-up featuring a main unit of 50MP. The Pro version has a larger screen at 6.73-inch, compared to 6.36-inch on the standard one, and a slightly larger battery at 4,820mAh.
The lite version runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, supports fast charging, uses a 4,500mAh battery, has a 6.55-inch display, 50MP main camera and dual front camera system. Xiaomi is pitching this handset at younger users with various features designed to appeal to heavy social media users.
Outside of handsets, the manufacturer unveiled its Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro and Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro, a pair of devices it claims will “transform the way people engage with technology”.
The two flagship smartphones go on sale outside of China next month, while the Xiaomi 13 Lite went on sale at the end of yesterday’s event along with the watch and ear buds.