First of all, this phone costs significantly more in the aforementioned markets – around $850 equivalent, compared to some EU markets where one can get it for approximately $640. Second, in Nigeria and Chile, the Xiaomi 13T is being sold without the Leica-branded cameras (via GSMArena).
Naturally, this leads to a third negative – these devices also lack the Leica photo software features as well.
The reason behind this move is unclear at the moment, although it may be due to market restrictions or a part of the Xiaomi-Leica collaboration agreement that prohibits Xiaomi from selling Leica-branded products in some markets.
Instead of the Leica branding on the back cameras of the “regular” Xiaomi 13T, official promotional pages in Nigeria and Chile show a stock branding that reads 50 MP and, in finer characters beneath it – 1:1.9-2.2/15-50mm (these are additional camera specifications for the lenses’ apertures and focal lengths).
Here’s a picture, side by side with the Leica-featuring Xiaomi 13T:
Less than a month ago in Berlin, Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 13T and 13T Pro. Apart from the current “What happened to the Leica cameras?” situation the phones offer pretty nice features: a 6.7-inch CrystalRes display with thin bezels (up to 2600 nits peak brightness), and support for a 144Hz refresh rate.
The “engine” that’s driving the Xiaomi 13T is the MediaTek 8200-Ultra chipset, while the Xiaomi 13T Pro features the Dimensity 9200+ chip, which might be considered an upgrade from the Xiaomi 12T Pro’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The 13T series offers up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage for the Pro model. Both phones come with 5000 mAh batteries.
