Gadgetory

stuck deciding between one of the most promising smartphones of all time and one of the most popular let us help you with that I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is Nokia Lumia 1020 vs. samsung galaxy s4 maybe it's fitting that the two most visible flagships of the Android and Windows Phone platforms couldn't possibly be more different but it also means we have a lot to compare and not a lot of time to do it so let's dive in we'll start with the least relevant aspect of these devices from the perspective of the average buyer and we'll work our way up to the more important stuff that means we're starting with specs with a quick pit stop to remind you to follow pocket now on social media so you don't miss future coverage on the Lumia 1020 and other mobile devices so the Galaxy s4 is absolutely the clear winner here in terms of processing horsepower our AT&T branded device packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 a quad-core SOC running at 1.9 gigahertz and backed up by 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of on-board storage the RAM is matched by the Lumia but the processing power is not the 1020 gets its power from an older dual-core Snapdragon s4 running at 1.5 gigahertz and while the Lumia is 32 gigs of on-board storage outclasses the 16 gigs on this particular Galaxy s4 the Samsung phones capacity is expandable via microSD while the Lumias is not that holds true for the replaceable 2600 milliamp hour battery on samsung's galaxy s4 which outclasses the 2000 milliamp hour battery embedded in the Lumia and then there's the AMOLED screens the Samsung panel at 4.8 inches and 1080p trounces the 4.5 inch WXGA display on the Lumia and this bloodbath isn't even taking into account the octa-core and expanded memory variants of the Galaxy s4 so look if you're buying exclusively on specs you can stop here Samsung wins but two things one we've still got a camera section to get to and 2 in this case sar pretty irrelevant so let's start talking about what really matters the user experience that experience starts the first time you pick a phone up and each of these devices is incredibly distinctive at 130 grams and 7.9 millimeters thin the Galaxy s4 is an ultra light super pocketable smartphone it's so lightweight that sometimes it doesn't even feel real its build is polycarbonate and Gorilla Glass 3 but its body is also finished in Samsung's glossy hyper glaze coating and accented with faux metallic trim the net effect is a phone that looks quite nice on the table but which loses some of its premium feel when picked up the Nokia device is put simply none of that it's polycarbonate build is naked and matte instead of glossy the material almost feeling like bone or a blackboard or something the gorilla glass display protection also third-generation here curves ever so slightly toward the sides where the keys are aluminum and include a dedicated camera shutter and speaking of that camera it's huge the aluminum PureView module sticks out like a moon crater from the backside of the 1020 boasting its thickness to ten point four millimeters and its mass to 158 grams this phone is neither subtle nor dainty in the hand it's decidedly more awkward than the more conventional s4 but to some it'll also be more intriguing by virtue of that strangeness whether that holds true for the Lumias Windows Phone 8 software experience compared to the galaxy s4 Xandra jellybean OS will depend on you the differences in interface are apparent from the first power on Microsoft's Windows Phone emphasizes glanceable information in flipping live tiles and a Spartan minimalism that not only keeps it classy but keeps it fluid despite the Lumias last generation guts on the flipside Samsung's TouchWiz UI atop Android jelly bean is so heavy and loaded with features that it tends to bog down at times despite the galaxy s4 s powerful where you'll need to decide whether you're interested in a more customizable legitimately feature-packed experience with Android or a more restricted but also more consistent interaction with Windows Phone part of that question can be answered by which ecosystem you value more Google's is significantly larger in terms of app count but Windows Phone 8 as the third largest mobile platform has been growing aggressively and now features a very high percentage of the most popular titles out there the decision is a big one and frankly it's one you should make before visiting your retail store see our full reviews of both the galaxy s4 and Windows Phone 8 for more insight into that platform question now for the reason you're watching this video the camera comparison there's no reason to mince words here if you're considering buying the Lumia 1020 odds are it's because of the camera at 41 megapixels with optical image stabilization lossless zoom low-light enhancements and full manual control of focus ISO and shutter speed and three separate stock camera apps aboard there's not even a contest the Lumia 1020 camera wipes the floor with the galaxy s4 s in terms of specs here's the thing though in conventional terms the galaxy s4 s camera is great it's a 13 megapixel BSI sensor with 1080p video recording and a ton of useful shooting modes and fun filters all of it packed into one of the easiest to use view finders ever and highly customizable in its own right the galaxy s4 doesn't lose this section because it's got a bad camera it loses because nothing even comes close to the Lumia 1020 s hugely overpowered one that shines through in the results in normal light the galaxy s4's camera does very well some of its shots actually came out better than the Lumias in our testing due mainly to operator error when learning the 1020 s intelligent but advanced interface but true to Nokia's reputation for excellent low-light photography once the Sun Goes Down the advantage of the 1020 s huge sensor and adjustable shutter speed become clear round all that up and garnish it with some excellent on device tutorials a powerful xenon flash and a suite of software that tops even Samsung's feature set in the 1020 is essentially unbeatable in the optics category we haven't yet spent enough time with the 1020 to get a solid battery performance rating so stay tuned for our full review for more on that and other in depth metrics in more superficial testing and in the context of this comparison the Lumia 1020 behaves on par with its predecessor the 920 colors said we sounded better on the nokia device in all testing conditions and we preferred the Lumia for phone calls as well and though we wish its speaker were as loud as the s4 s for loudspeaker calls and media playback headphone audio was solid on each device though we really liked the out of box Dolby EQ options on Nokia's Lumia devices for tweaking our listening experience reception over Wi-Fi and cellular seemed on par between the phones and we're really looking forward to testing out those barometers in a future video if you promise to watch that is which one you should buy is more than a question of which ecosystem you're looking to invest in it's a question of how much you care about your camera if you need professional-grade photo quality and you're unwilling to carry a camera separate from your smartphone the Nokia Lumia 1020 is the best option that's ever existed and it's camera is so good it might even make you switch platforms if you're not already on Windows Phone certainly that's Nokia's hope on the other hand if you're happy with a solid enough smartphone shooter then you don't want to drop to 9999 on contract with ATT the galaxy s4 is available on almost every carrier you can think of and it's a member of the more mainstream Android community if that makes your life easier just don't expect to snag the kind of quality photos that new Lumia owners are about to start showing off all over the internet when the 1020 goes on sale at the end of this week folks we have so much more on each of these devices both at pocketnow.com and here on our youtube channel page but before you go anywhere please drop us a like if you enjoyed the video leave a comment if you have something to say subscribe if you really enjoyed it and thank you so much for watching we'll see you next time