If you’re looking for a smartphone under Rs 20,000 in India, chances are you will stumble upon Xiaomi’s new Redmi Note 13 5G (review) and OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (review). Both phones are available for a starting price of Rs 17,999 (128GB storage). The two phones also feature a 5,000mAh battery, 5G support, and provide up to 12GB RAM.
In terms of camera, both the Redmi Note 13 5G and OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G feature a 108MP primary camera. The camera performance is relatively better on the Note 13 5G, as you will find more information in this article. As for pure performance based on benchmarks, continue reading.
| Redmi Note 13 5G | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G SoC |
| Cores | 6nm octa-core (2x Cortex-A76 at 2.4GHz and 6x Cortex-A55 at 2GHz) | 6nm octa-core (2x Cortex-A78 clocked at 2.2 GHz and 6x Cortex-A55 clocked at 17GHz) |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MC2 GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 619 GPU |
| RAM | Up to 12GB of LPPDR4X | 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM |
Table of Contents
Geekbench
The Redmi Note 13 5G variant we are testing offers 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G unit, which we are comparing, offers the same memory configurations. Both are priced at Rs 19,999 in India.
In the Geekbench test that evaluates the chipset’s performance, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G fetched slightly better single-core scores, while the Note 13 5G achieved better multi-core scores, but by a negligible margin. It indicates that tasks relying on the single-core would run better on the OnePlus smartphone. However, tasks relying on multiple cores, such as heavy multitasking and gaming, may exhibit similar performance.
AnTuTu
In the AnTutu test that evaluates multiple aspects of the smartphone, including CPU and GPU, the Snapdragon 695-powered Nord CE 3 Lite 5G performed slightly better than the Redmi Note 13 5G.
Again, the difference isn’t substantially wide. This means users may find it difficult to notice the differences in performance. Do note that the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G consumed more battery than the Redmi Note 13 5G to achieve this score.
CPU Throttle test
The Redmi Note 13 5G and OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G performed exceptionally well in the CPU throttle test. We ran the test by increasing the threads to 50 for 30 minutes. Both devices kept the throttling to within 90 percent of peak performance, which is great.
Gaming
Both the Redmi Note 13 5G and the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G can easily run popular titles, including Candy Crush, Subway Surfers, and so on, without lags and stutters. Moderately powerful titles, such as Asphalt 9, can also run smoothly.
Switching to BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India), both phones provide identical graphics settings. After playing the game on both devices for 30 minutes, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G consumed more battery. The gaming experience was more or less the same on both devices.
Verdict
Based on the benchmarks, the Snapdragon 695 SoC-powered OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is slightly ahead of the Redmi Note 13 5G. The differences in scores in various benchmarks are too narrow. Even in real life, both smartphones exhibit similar performance, and the difference will be difficult to notice.
Objectively, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is better in performance, but the Redmi Note 13 5G is relatively more power efficient. Our previous test shows that the Redmi Note 13 5G offers better camera performance. Therefore, if you prioritise decent performance plus cameras, the Redmi Note 13 5G might be a better choice.
Before making the final decision do keep these in mind:- Both phones are running on Android 13-based custom UI. The Nord 3 CE Lite 5G offers a cleaner Android experience.
- OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite’s charging speed is faster.
- The display experience is better on the Note 13 5G, thanks to the AMOLED display panel. On the other hand, audio without headphones on the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is better, thanks to stereo speakers.
