So a friend has been searching for an affordable second phone.
Something, he said, that won’t consume his entire 13th month pay.
But also something that:
1. does not look cheap; and
2. at least has good, even if not flagship, features.
This is where Redmi 13C enters the picture.
And we unbox it right now.
To start:
Redmi 13C comes in a white with red box that contains the basic specs you may want to know.
By the way, this unit – the 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM – sells for PhP5,499.
As FYI:
There is a 4GB + 128GB version exclusively available from Shopee and Lazada. This sells for PhP4,999. Meanwhile, the 8GB + 256GB version sells for PhP6,499.
Opened, the box contains:
– the Redmi 13C itself
– SIM card ejector
– cell phone charger and adapter
– quick start guide + warranty card
– safety info that you wish used bigger font to be readable
The unit itself is… surprisingly better-than-okay looking.
You have here a unit measuring 168 mm x 78 mm x 8.09 mm. So you, basically, get a 6.74″ unit, bearing a MediaTek Helio G85 processor.
And this one weighs 192 g.
We have here the Midnight Black (basically black, yes). Though other colors include: Navy Blue, Clover Green, and Glacier White.
On top of the unit, you get a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
At the right side: there’s the power button/side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and the volume button.
At the left side: you get the dual SIM and microSD slot. Storage, by the way, is expandable up to 1TB.
And at the bottom: you have the loudspeaker, mike, and the USB-C port.
At the front of the unit is the 8MP front camera. And according to Xiaomi, this can record full HD 1080P videos.
At the back are two rear cameras – the 50MP main camera, and the 2MP macro camera. And yes, this can similarly record full HD 1080P videos.
Redmi 13C has a non-removable 5000 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery, with 18-watt Power Delivery charging using a USB Type-C charger.
Turning on the unit, the initial setting up took around 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
Oh yeah, it has fingerprint and face unlock.
Resolution is 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio, 260 ppi density, so… no pixelated look here.
One thing that’s worth mentioning:
Out of the box, Redmi 13C comes with bloatware, including Netflix; Lazada, Shopee and Amazon Shopping; FB; TikTok; and those games that you may not be into. You can trash them though.
Software used, by the way, is MIUI 14.0.2 based on Android 13.
And nope, this isn’t a 5G unit, but uses GSM, WCDMA and LTE for connectivity.
But so far – and this is knowing this isn’t a flagship phone – this Redmi 13C is looking fine… particularly considering its PhP5,499 tag.
We say: consider this one.
UPGRADE MAGAZINE WILL TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT REDMI 13C SOON… SO STAY CONNECTED.
