Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Apple iPhone 5

Nokia undoubtedly has an upward battle on its hands, as the company is still trying to reach the same pinnacle of its glory days. With the recent introduction of its flagship smartphone, the 41-megapixel PureView camera packing Nokia Lumia 1020, it seems to have a good chance at bringing down the mighty iPhone 5 to its knees. Although it might seem like an insurmountable task to achieve, especially when past Lumia smartphones failed to make a massive dent in the market to meet the level of its esteemed rivals, this one is arguably the best of the best that Nokia can deliver at the moment – even more when its camera alone is so far out there versus everything else.

Let’s get down and dirty with it folks, these two beloved smartphones employ the characteristic design elements that we all know and love from their respective lines. The Lumia 1020 looks similarly to past flagship Nokias, while the iPhone 5 looks like, well, an iPhone. Between the two, we can’t argue about how Apple’s pride and joy is the easier device to handle, since it’s both lighter in weight and skinnier in frame than its rival. It’s not to say that the Lumia 1020 is bad, but the hump in the rear where its camera is housed, makes for some awkwardness when it’s being held. Needless to say, the construction is fantastic with both, but there’s that sense of premium attached to the iPhone 5’s brushed aluminum casing. 

Technically speaking, the Lumia 1020 has a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ 768 x 1280 display with ClearBlack AMOLED. The iPhone 5 has 4-inch Retina Display, with a resolution of 640 x 1136 pixels. To tell you the truth, their displays are sharp and detailed enough to distinguish even the finest of text in a zoomed out view in the web browser. However, the Retina Display of the iPhone 5 produces the more realistic colors and offers better visibly outdoors, mainly because its display utilizes IPS-LCD technology. In contrast, the Lumia 1020’s display is still an attractive one, especially when it has that iridescent glow with its saturated color reproduction. Something that’ll prove to be useful come winter, the sensitivity of the Lumia 1020’s display will be appreciated by those people who want to keep their digits frozen-free, as it allows to be used with winter gloves.

It’s that age old comparison between Windows Phone and iOS, the respective platforms of each device. Obviously, the Windows Phone 8 experience of the Lumia 1020 has the more attractive interface, as its Start Screen is filled with many dynamic looking Live Tiles that aggregate pertinent content – significantly more pleasing than the static look of iOS. However, with so much development put into its existence, we still see many areas where iOS is ahead of Windows Phone. For example, its notifications system is light years ahead of what Windows Phone 8 offers. Meanwhile, iOS simply has a vast apps ecosystem that’s unparalleled and hosts apps that have better functionality and style than its Windows Phone 8 counterparts. At the end of the day, the two platforms work, so it merely comes down to preference.

No comparison whatsoever! The Lumia 1020’s camera app blows away the elementary one on the iPhone 5, since it hosts a deep set of photo effects and precise manual controls to make it an ideal choice for serious photogs. To the iPhone 5’s credit, it does offer HDR photos and excellent panoramic shots, but that’s about it!

Looking at their respective cameras, a monster sized 41-megapixel PureView camera on the Lumia 1020 and an 8-megapixel iSight camera on the iPhone 5, some people would be inclined to believe that bigger is better. Although it’s not the case all the time, but with this, it’s absolutely the closest thing to the truth. Not only is the Lumia 1020 packing some serious camera hardware under the hood, but the results from everything coming together delivers snapshots that make the equally strong competitor in the iPhone 5 appear inferior. Out of everything, it’s just the impeccable level of noise-free detail captured by the Lumia 1020 that stands out the most – while its low lighting performance warrants some adulation too. We’ll give credit to the iPhone 5 for also producing some amazing photos, but it can’t outclass the Lumia 1020.

Likewise, we can say the same thing about the Lumia 1020’s 1080p video recording quality, seeing that it’s sharper and boasts many different looking shooting modes. It also captures better quality sound. Just like before, the iPhone 5 is a strong competitor in this category, but it simply can’t touch the Lumia 1020.

Honestly, the music players on each device haven’t changed much since their inceptions, but regardless of that, they still have a lot of appeal to them. On the iPhone 5, its Cover Flow mode continues to be its shining staple – whereas with the Lumia 1020 and Windows Phone 8’s music player, it’s notable for the Modern UI it’s sporting. Hands-down though, the Lumia 1020’s speaker emits the stronger tones between the two.

On the surface, playing high definition videos isn’t an issue with these two beauties, as they play smoothly with no instances of sluggishness. However, due to its larger sized display and iridescent glow, our eyes become more affixed to the Lumia 1020 than the iPhone 5 – so it’s the preferred device for video watching on the go.

Generally speaking, voices on both ends of the line have enough emphasis and clarity to make them audible to the ear. However, the weak output of the Lumia 1020’s earpiece makes it challenging under noisy conditions, which requires us to mash it closely to our ear for better results.

Even though they’re able to get us through a solid 8 hour work shift with no issues, it’s the iPhone 5 that’s able to produce the better longevity with its battery life. In fact, with our normal usage, we’re able to get through a single day with a full battery. In comparison, the Lumia 1020 becomes completely depleted around the 18 hour mark.

Let’s take a quick look at pricing, since it’s always a major factor for any buying decision. From the onset, the Lumia 1020 is sporting a pricey $300 on-contract cost, which might be a concern for some people. Yes, it’s an expensive price point, but when you think about how it’s sporting 32GB of internal storage, it’s actually the same price as the 32GB iPhone 5. Well, you still can pick up the 16GB model for less at $200.

Besides cost, the second thing you need to ask yourself is whether or not photo quality is highest on your list. If that’s absolutely the case, then it’s a no-brainer decision to go with the Nokia Lumia 1020, as it’s undeniably the class leader in this particular space. However, the iPhone 5 still has that all-around appeal that we crave with a flagship device. Not only does it have a beautiful design and performs admirably in all areas, but iOS has that rich ecosystem that puts Windows Phone 8 to shame at the moment.