We are putting the Xiaomi Redmi 13 through its paces and just completed the battery life test. The results from the $180, 4G mid-ranger are mixed. The phone is equipped with a 5,030mAh battery, which is good, but the Helio G91 Ultra chipset (which is fabbed on an ancient 12nm node) is proving to be an issue.
The Redmi 13 did surprisingly well in the video test – 15:00h – considering that it has a large 6.79” IPS LCD (90Hz). It’s not all that bright at 550 nits max, but we test all phones at the same brightness setting of 200 nits, so they are on a level playing field.
The voice call test also shows a good score of 36:22h, a solid result given how old its modem is – you’re unlikely to drain your battery chatting on the phone. But once you put pressure on the CPU and GPU, things start to fall apart.
The related Redmi Note 13 Pro and Poco X6 (both 5G phones with 5,100mAh batteries) place lower with 10:11h and 10:16h, respectively. This is due to lower Call and Video test times, but even their meager Game times of 6 hours or so are better than the 5:29h that the Redmi 13 managed. Their Web browsing results are similarly 30 minutes higher.
Looking at a similarly priced Samsung Galaxy A25 (5G, 5,000mAh), the overall result is worse at 10:19h, but the Web (8:11h) and Game (7:08h) scores are better. The Honor 90 (5G, 5,000mAh) has the exact same Active use score as the Redmi 13, 10:28h. However, while its Call and Video results are lower, it posts better Web and Game scores. The Honor is a pricier phone, though.
The Redmi Note 13 4G is not that different from the Redmi 13. Despite being a “Note”, it has a smaller 6.67” OLED display. The battery is nearly the same at 5,000mAh (33W charging) and the Snapdragon 685 4G chipset is fairly old, though even that is fabbed on a 6nm node. As with others, the Call and Video tests are lower than the Redmi 13, while the Web and Game endurance is superior.
Finally, we will look at the Redmi 13C, aka Poco C65. This phone has the Helio G85 (the G91 is a variant of the G85), a 6.74” IPS LCD (90Hz with only HD+ resolution) and a 5,000mAh battery. The Call time is massive – 45:15h! – and the Video result is a bit better than the Redmi 13. The lower screen resolution seems to have helped the Web test, but not so much the Game test, which is only a few minutes off.
The Redmi 13 certainly has its strong points in terms of battery life, but it disappoints in two key categories. Don’t forget that you can use the sliders to adjust the Active use score calculations to your usage patterns. Expect the detailed review soon.
