du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) has introduced the eco-friendly free Tourist SIM to cater to the communication needs of world travellers. It offers various benefits including 1GB of free data for 24 hours, 5G network availability, and unlimited data plans with the option to make international calls. The Tourist SIM also promises a seamless activation experience and is fully recyclable and environmentally friendly, making it a unique solution for world travellers. With reliable connectivity offered by this Tourist SIM, travellers can easily stay connected, share their experiences, and communicate with loved ones in real time.

Karim Benkirane. Chief Commercial Officer at du said, “We are excited to introduce our eco-friendly free Tourist SIM, along with our commitment to sustainable connectivity. Our goal is to provide travellers with a seamless and uninterrupted connection, allowing them to fully engage in their journey and amplify their experiences with the global community. With our advanced 5G network and state-of-the-art infrastructure, we are confident that customers will enjoy unparalleled connectivity and outstanding value while helping them explore the world sustainably.”

By leveraging its robust network and infrastructure, du ensures that tourists visiting the UAE can stay connected, stream content, and stay informed about the latest developments without any disruptions. This commitment to reliable connectivity is not only convenient for tourists, but it also promotes sustainable travel practices. With du’s seamless connectivity, tourists can access information, navigate their surroundings, and engage in virtual experiences in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way.

The smartphone market is a battleground where manufacturers constantly vie for supremacy, each attempting to outdo the other with innovative features, powerful performance, and enticing designs. Xiaomi, a company known for delivering high-quality devices at competitive prices, has stepped into the arena once again with the Xiaomi 13T.

Positioned as a mid-range smartphone, the 13T promises a blend of impressive specifications and affordability. In this review, we’ll explore the device’s design, display, performance, camera capabilities, and overall user experience to see if it lives up to the expectations set by its predecessors.

Design and Build Quality
At first glance, the Xiaomi 13T sports a sleek and modern design that is reminiscent of its predecessors in the Xiaomi lineup. The device features a glass back with a glossy finish, contributing to a premium aesthetic. The aluminium frame adds a sturdy feel to the phone, ensuring durability without sacrificing elegance. However, the glossy back is a magnet for fingerprints, and users might find themselves frequently wiping it down to maintain its pristine appearance.

The placement of physical buttons is ergonomic, making it easy to reach the volume rocker and power button, on the right. A USB-C port is present at the bottom, flanked by a speaker grille and a SIM card tray. Unfortunately, Xiaomi has opted to forgo the 3.5mm headphone jack, a choice that may disappoint users who still rely on wired headphones.

Display
The Xiaomi 13T boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution, providing vibrant colours and deep contrasts. The inclusion of an AMOLED panel enhances the overall viewing experience, offering true blacks and excellent visibility even under direct sunlight. The display’s 144Hz refresh rate contributes to smooth animations and responsiveness, a feature often reserved for flagship devices.

You also get an aspect ratio of 20:9, a resolution of 2712-by-1220 pixels, and a pixel density of 446 ppi. It also supports AdaptiveSync, offers 2600 nits of peak brightness, and supports Pro HDR display, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDR10. There’s also a sunlight mode and the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

While the display is impressive in terms of quality, some users might find the bezels a tad thicker than expected, especially in an era where edge-to-edge displays are becoming the norm. Nevertheless, the inclusion of a high-refresh-rate AMOLED panel at this price point is a commendable decision by Xiaomi.

Camera System
The Xiaomi 13T features a versatile triple-camera setup on the rear, which is powered by a Leica professional optical lens. These cameras include the 50MP main camera with a 1/1.28” sensor size, offering an aperture of f/1.9, and supporting optical image stabilisation and autofocus. You also get a 50MP telephoto lens with a 1/2.88” sensor size, an aperture of f/1.9, and support for autofocus. In addition, there is a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 1/3.06″ sensor size, offering an aperture of f/2.2.

The rear camera setup offers some exclusive Leica features such as two Leica photographic styles (Leica Authentic Look, Leica Vibrant Look), Leica custom photographic styles, Leica filters, Leica classic shutter sound, Leica Watermark, Master-lens system, 35mm Documentary lens, 50mm Swirly bokeh lens, and a 90mm Soft focus lens. The camera on the Xiaomi 13T is capable of taking some amazing shots under good lighting conditions as seen below:

Even in low-light situations, the camera performance is very good, thanks in part to the Night Mode feature. The cameras can also shoot 4K (3840-by-2160 pixels) videos at 30 fps. The front-facing camera, housed in a small punch-hole cutout, is a respectable 20MP shooter with an aperture of f/2.2. Selfies are clear and detailed, and the portrait mode does a commendable job of accurately detecting and blurring the background.

Battery Life
The Xiaomi 13T is equipped with a sizable battery rated at 5000mAh, which also supports 67W turbocharging. Xiaomi includes a 67W charger in the box, which is a plus point. The capable battery, combined with the power-efficient processor, delivers a commendable battery life. During our review period, we were able to clock 1.5 days’ worth of battery life on a single charge.

Software and User Experience
The Xiaomi 13T runs on MIUI 14.0.10, Xiaomi’s custom Android skin on top of Android 13 OS. While MIUI has its merits, it also comes with a fair share of pre-installed apps and a user interface that may take some getting used to, especially for those transitioning from a stock Android experience. Xiaomi has been working on refining MIUI, and it has come a long way, offering smoother animations and improved system stability compared to earlier versions.

The device supports 5G connectivity, future-proofing it for the evolving network standards. The inclusion of an in-display fingerprint sensor and face unlock adds a layer of security and convenience, and both features perform reliably.

Performance
The phone comes packed with a mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultra. You also get 8GB of RAM (and 4GB of virtual memory), and 256GB of onboard storage. This combination lets the Xiaomi 13T strike a balance between performance and power efficiency. Everyday tasks such as web browsing, social media, and multitasking are handled with ease, showcasing the device’s capability as a reliable daily driver.

Gaming performance is good too, with the Mali G610 GPU providing smooth graphics rendering for most titles. However, users seeking a device specifically for intensive gaming might find themselves longing for the performance offered by flagship devices with more robust processors.

In order to check the real-world performance of the Xiaomi 13T, we put it through a couple of benchmarks. On Geekbench, it performed quite well as seen below:

Even on 3DMark, the performance was quite good as seen below:

Conclusion
The Xiaomi 13T is a compelling mid-range smartphone that manages to balance performance, design, and affordability. It excels in several areas, including its vibrant AMOLED display, reliable camera system, and commendable battery life.

For users seeking a device that offers a premium feel without breaking the bank, the Xiaomi 13T is a strong contender in the mid-range segment. It competes well with other devices in its price range, providing a reliable and feature-packed smartphone experience.

Price: AED 1599

Photography by Ryan Chris

Motorola launched the newest addition to its edge family: the Motorola Edge 30. Coming in at 6.79mm, the edge 30 is the thinnest 5G smartphone in its class so it takes up less room in your pocket, fits comfortably in your hand, and is still packed with amazing technology inside. Motorola has also given it an eye-catching look, with subtle, jewel-like patterns that shift and change as you tilt the phone from side to side for complexity and depth.

The Motorola edge 30 features a powerful 50MP camera system, an ultra-smooth 144Hz 6.5″ FHD+ OLED display, multidimensional Dolby Atmos sound, and the power-efficient Snapdragon 778G+ 5G Mobile Platform, the new edge device has everything you could want to be packed into a sleek, modern design.

The edge 30 boasts a 50 MP Ultra-wide camera sensor, 32 MP dedicated front-facing camera, and Motorola’s most advanced 50 MP high-res camera that uses the new flagship standard for autofocus and Instant All-Pixel Focus. Whereas traditional focus technologies use around 3% of pixels, Instant All Pixel Focus uses 100% of pixels in both vertical and horizontal patterns to get faster, more accurate performance in any light and enables you to shoot with 32x more focusing pixels.

Other camera benefits include being able to capture sharp details in the daytime, and then as night falls, the camera lets in more light by combining every four pixels into one massive ultra pixel. Plus, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), eliminates unwanted shakes, so you’re set to shoot the best photos in a whole new way. And the brilliance goes beyond photos – you can record HDR10 videos with over a billion shades of colour for more lifelike storytelling than ever before.

Often, camera quality suffers in 3rd party apps like TikTok, WhatsApp, and Instagram, but with the edge 30, Motorola paid special attention to performance in areas like facial rendering, front camera video recording or video chats, and significant noise reduction when capturing still images – making it a content creator’s dream device.

Your favourite shows and games can also come to life thanks to the 6.5″ OLED display with 144Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ that meets DCI-P3 cinematic standards for colour range, brightness, colour accuracy, and contrast level, so you can view everything in over a billion shades of colour. The two large stereo speakers, packed with the multidimensional sound of Dolby Atmos, accompany the screen and will help deliver a more immersive viewing experience.

You will experience a huge performance boost in everything from the games you play to the videos you record thanks to the power of the Snapdragon 778G+. Download, stream, and video chat without lag and connect to the fastest Wi-Fi 6E1 networks with an advanced modem. The newest edge has up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage2, ensuring you never slow down on the go.

With Motorola edge 30 you can also unleash your device with Ready For3, which amplifies everything your phone is capable of. Simply connect wirelessly to a monitor or your TV and you’re ready to go. The Motorola edge 30 also features a lasting 4020 mAh battery that supports the impressive 5G experience and app usage. The powerful 4020 mAh battery is built to last and support the impressive features of the Motorola edge 30. If you need power fast, TurboPower™ 30 gives you hours of power in just minutes of charging.5

The Motorola edge 30 is available from today in Meteor Grey and Aurora Green colourways priced at AED 1,599 at Etisalat, Motorola.ae, and all relevant retailers.