13 reasons why you might want to buy Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus — but should you-

13 reasons why you might want to buy Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus — but should you?

The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus officially goes on sale in India today, along with the rest of the gang that includes the classic Redmi Note 13 and Redmi Note 13 Pro. If you’re on the look-out for a new phone and keeping track, chances are, you might have heard about these phones. One of them could be on your wish-list, too. We’ve reviewed the top-of-the-line Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus and called it a “slam dunk from Xiaomi.”

This piece right here is more of a TL;DR version giving you a quick look at the phone’s top specs and features that we liked, and all the stuff that could be better. We hope that it helps you take a more informed decision before making a purchase, and so, you’re getting your money’s worth.

Ample RAM and storage: The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus ships with 256GB of fast UFS3.1 storage by default on all models while RAM can go up to 12GB.200MP camera takes great photos: The 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP3 sensor backed by an f/1.65 optically stabilised lens is a big-ticket feature of the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus. And it performs brilliantly in most conditions and even though low-light shots can be a hit or miss sometimes, we’ll still call the phone’s main camera a hit.Good sound: The dual speakers on the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus can get nice and loud, and support Dolby Atmos.Great haptics: An even bigger note-worthy feature is the phone’s tight haptics that simply put, feel flagship grade.NFC— finally: Need we say more?Quick charging: You get 120W fast charging in this phone and per our experience, it takes just under 25 minutes to charge it from 0-100 percent using the bundled charger.Longer software support: Xiaomi is committing to longer software support, up to three years of major OS and four years of security, on the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus, a step up over the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus’s two and three. We can’t stress enough how important that is.HyperOS readyBut should you buy it?

That last bit comes with both good news and bad news attached. Even though the phone is HyperOS ready, Xiaomi doesn’t have an update on when it’s coming. You won’t be wrong if you expected the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus to launch with HyperOS in the first place and so, not having a definite timeline for rollout is frankly disappointing, to say the very least. What this also means is that the phone is launching with Android 13, when Android 14 should be a given at this point. We can see how that could irk some buyers, too, especially when Poco is set to launch the Poco X6 Pro with Xiaomi’s latest software “out of the box” on January 11.

The hardware is not without its quirks, too. The main camera tops out at 4K@30fps and the auxiliary cameras (and also the selfie camera) are just about serviceable. There is no headphone jack, or storage expansion. And the battery doesn’t last as long as we were expecting.

But the biggest problem is the pricing. The new Note starts at Rs 31,999 for 8GB/256GB and can go up to Rs 35,999 for 12GB/512GB. And so, it finds itself smack in the middle of stiff competition. Whether it is the iQOO Neo 7 Pro or Moto Edge 40 or OnePlus Nord 3, options galore, and while Xiaomi’s hardware choices are immaculate, a Redmi Note at these prices just doesn’t add up.

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