Is the Xiaomi 13 Pro a worthy gaming device?

On February 26, Xiaomi launched its latest series of flagship smartphones, featuring the highly anticipated Xiaomi 13 Pro. With a starting price of 1299 Euros, this smartphone is the standard model in the collection, containing premium and Lite variants.

While the latest flagship series from the Beijing-based smartphone manufacturer focuses majorly on the camera segment, the Xiaomi 13 Pro and its variants are also equipped with modern performance specifications, making them more suitable for gaming.

That said, fans may wonder whether purchasing such an expensive Android device for mobile gaming is worth the cost. This article elaborates on the performance specifications of the Xiaomi 13 Pro and reveals how well it may deliver in gaming.

Xiaomi 13 Pro offers strong performance and competent cooling, making it one of the best mobile gaming devices in 2023

It's important to note that the 13 Pro is not a gaming phone. However, the device performs exceptionally in the CPU, display, cooling, and battery segments, all essential gaming smartphone features.

Equipped with the latest Qualcomm mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is a powerful beast capable of handling the heaviest of tasks pretty easily. The highly anticipated premium flagship is also powered by the Adreno 740 GPU, offering high-level graphics processing on the mobile platform.

The octa-core chip offers an impressive single-core performance with a maximum clock speed of up to 3.2 MHz. The phone also features 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which aids in its processing speeds. Here's what the CPU architecture looks like:

1x Prime core (X3-based), up to 3.19GHz
2x Performance cores (A715-based), up to 2.8GHz
2x Performance cores (A710-based), up to 2.8GHz
3x Efficiency cores (A510-based), up to 2.0GHz

In addition to a great processor, the Xiaomi 13 Pro boasts a highly efficient cooling system, an important gaming-centric feature on a mobile phone. The LiquidCool technology features a Super big VC and multi-layered graphite sheets to aid the cooling process.

Playing heavy video games can cause a smartphone to overheat, leading to performance drops and, in rare instances, damaging its circuitry. A good liquid cooling system helps control the phone's internal temperature, maintains the performance graph, and shields the device from heat-related damage.

Apart from the cooling system and processor, the Xiaomi 13 Pro features a 6.73-inch WQHD+ AMOLED screen that supports a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and can deliver a peak brightness of up to 1900 nits in HDR mode. The display on the 13 Pro will be a treat for mobile gamers who seek to enjoy titles on a bigger screen with an ergonomic grip.

Battery life and charging speed on the Xiaomi 13 Pro are also awe-inspiring. The phone features a 4820 mAh battery and supports 120W charging, allowing users to grab a fully-charged phone in 19 minutes (boost mode). It's definitely a huge selling point for gamers to consider.

Verdict

Despite being a non-gaming phone, Xiaomi's latest premium flagship smartphone is a win-win for mobile gamers with a knack for photography.

The biggest selling point of the 13 Pro is its alluring Leica-powered triple rear camera setup, which promises to deliver a near-perfect mobile photography experience at its price. However, you may want to consider other options if you aren't a photography enthusiast.

The company hasn't revealed the exact prices for the Xiaomi 13 series in the United States and has only revealed the starting price for Europe. The 13 Pro starts at 1299 euros, an extremely premium price for a smartphone.