The Realme 13 Pro series is here. These phones succeed the Realme 12 Pro series which was known for its great design and good camera performance.
However, this new series comes with a price increase, leaving us wondering what significant upgrades justify the added cost.
Did Realme truly need to refresh this series so soon? Let’s dive in and find out.
Realme 13 Pro Plus & Realme 13 Pro Cameras
We have to start with cameras, because these two basically aim to be the best camera mid-range smartphones.
By the way, the camera island includes the only tiny visual difference between the two phones. The Pro+ has 3 lenses, while the Pro has two lenses, with the third one being a hollow cutout.
Anyway, earlier this year, the Realme 12 Pro earned the honour of one of the most affordable smartphones with a telephoto camera. The 13 Pro, however, ditches that.
Yup, this smartphone does not have a telephoto lens anymore. It gets just two camera sensors: a 50MP main with a Sony Lytia 600 sensor, and an 8MP ultrawide.
The Pro+, on the other hand, still impresses. It is, in fact, India’s first smartphone with two Lytia sensors: you have the Lytia 701 behind the main camera, and the Lytia 600 behind the 3x telephoto lens. Completing its triple camera setup is an 8MP ultrawide lens.
These two phones also come with HyperImage+, which is Realme’s new AI algorithm for camera post processing.
By the way, both phones also have the same chipset, so theoretically, the image processing should be pretty similar on both.
Please watch the video to see camera samples.
But, that’s not the case, since the Pro+ images showcase better detail and dynamic range in most cases. Notice how both phones give a saturated boost.
Nighttime photos are a clear lead for the Pro+ because of its superior noise control and better details in shadows.
Ultrawide shots have matching colours in a few shots, but different in others. I assume it's the same 8MP sensor on both phones, so the difference in colours is kind of surprising here.
Then, obviously, the 13 Pro+ takes sharp portrait photos with a contrasty look and great edge detection.
The 13 Pro takes 2x digital zoom portraits from its main sensor. But I’m kind of surprised that the in-sensor zoom doesn't work really well, leading to soft portrait photos.
Video is not a strong point of either of these phones, but the pro+ has a lot of potential.
It can shoot at the 4K 30fps with good detail, but stabilisation is only available at 1080p which is a bummer.
The Realme 13 Pro, on the other hand, has exposure jump issues.
Also the 32MP selfie camera isn't much to brag about. Photos taken from it are fine, but on the softer side.
So, it is totally worth it to spend that extra money on the Pro+ if you want a good camera setup.
You also get AI assisted post processing options in the gallery app. There’s the AI object eraser, which works really well most of the time. Then, there’s the new AI Ultra Clarity, which does make your facial expression quite weird.
Now, Realme made some bold claims about the 13 Pro+'s telephoto lens rivaling DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras, so we put it to the test against a Sony Alpha 6500. I must say, the 13 Pro+ results were quite impressive.
Realme 13 Pro Plus & Realme 13 Pro Battery & Chargimg
Alright, beyond cameras, there is one more difference between these two phones, and that’s their charging speed. The Pro+ gets 80W fast charging, while the Pro gets just 45W.
I say ‘just 45W’ because the Realme 12 Pro supported 67W fast charging, in fact Realme’s own cheaper Narzo 70 Pro has 67W charging, so I don’t really know why the 13 Pro gets just 45W.
On the other hand, both smartphones have excellent battery life with a screen time of around 9 hours with mixed use thanks to their big 5200mAh batteries.
Realme 13 Pro Plus & Realme 13 Pro Design & Display
With differences out of the way, let’s touch upon other important aspects.
You cannot argue that these are great looking smartphones. Beyond the sleek curved glass sandwich design, the back panel is inspired by the work of French artist Oscar-Claude Monet.
This Monet Gold colour features a matte surface with a sand-like shimmery texture that looks truly beautiful. But for those who prefer vegan leather, Realme still offers the Emerald Green colourway.
The frame here is made of plastic, which is acceptable given the price. Additionally, the phone has an IP65 rating for added durability.
The new display on these phones is also impressive for the most part. The 6.7-inch curved AMOLED panel has great colours and viewing angles. But, more importantly, it is now very bright with a peak brightness of 2000 nits and an HBM brightness of 1200 nits.
This is a major upgrade over the Realme 12 Pro series, which came with just 900 nits of peak brightness.
But, there is no HDR support here, which, honestly, is a very strange omission. At least there’s a pair of good sounding stereo speakers for your TV show binge sessions.
Realme 13 Pro Plus & Realme 13 Pro Performance & Software
Moving on, these two smartphones use the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. That’s an upgrade for the Pro model since the 12 Pro had the Snapdragon 6 Gen1. However, for the Pro+, this chip remains unchanged from its predecessor.
Anyway, by mid 2024 standards, this chipset is pretty mediocre for either of these smartphones. In fact, the Realme GT 6T with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 is literally the same price as the Realme 13 Pro+.
So, it’s like Realme is letting you choose: you either get a performance phone or a camera phone.
Still, smooth daily performance and short gaming sessions should not be a problem for the 7s Gen 2.
The Realme UI 5 powering the two models is also a familiar affair: a feature-rich software with a decent amount of bloatware, including hot apps and hot games folders. You will have to dedicate some time to declutter things here.
Realme 13 Pro Plus & Realme 13 Pro Review
Here’s the deal, if you like the Realme 13 Pro+, just go for it. It excels in many areas, and its camera system is pretty potent overall.
The Realme 13 Pro is also a good daily driver but its camera performance could have been better. So, try looking for a discount on the Realme 12 Pro instead, if your budget is under ₹25,000.
