T-Mobile AT&T Verizon Sprint Nokia Windows iOS Apple

Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Apple iPhone 5

posted by John V. / Jul 31, 2013, 4:43 AM

Introduction:

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.

Design:

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.

The construction of both devices is great, but the iPhone 5’s aluminum casing has that premium feel - Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Apple iPhone 5

The construction of both devices is great, but the iPhone 5’s aluminum casing has that premium feel

Display:

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.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is on the left while the iPhone 5 is on the right - Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Apple iPhone 5

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is on the left while the iPhone 5 is on the right

Display measurements and quality

	Maximum brightness Higher is better	Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better	Contrast Higher is better	Color temperature (Kelvins)	Gamma	Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better	Delta E grayscale Lower is better
Nokia Lumia 1020	317 (Average)	15 (Poor)	unmeasurable (Excellent)	6692 (Excellent)	2.06	4.26 (Average)	3.54 (Good)
Apple iPhone 5	535 (Excellent)	5 (Excellent)	1:1168 (Good)	7385 (Good)	2.22	3.54 (Good)	3.75 (Good)

View all

The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.

	Maximum brightness Lower is better	Minimum brightness Lower is better	Contrast Lower is better	Color temperature Lower is better	Gamma Lower is better	Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better	Delta E grayscale Lower is better
Nokia Lumia 1020	50.8%	80%	unmeasurable	18.6%	0%	85.9%	273.7%
Apple iPhone 5	No data	No data	80.7%	2.8%	9%	1.1%	44%

View all

The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

These measurements are made using SpectraCal's CalMAN calibration software.

View all

FEATURED VIDEO

Options

55 Comments

3. bubbadoes

Posts: 1225; Member since: May 03, 2012

Any logical person with cell phone knowledge reads all of Pa s phone reviews with a grsin of salt...you are all biased towards apple....prob all you have iphones from 07 to now which clouds your knowledge from the start

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 4:56 AM 1

25. tashreef

Posts: 476; Member since: Nov 24, 2012

Biased towards Apple? i think that's changing lately, now it's Samsung "Any logical person with cell phone knowledge reads all of Pa s phone reviews with a grain of salt" Well said...

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 7:57 AM 0

38. Shatter

Posts: 2036; Member since: May 29, 2013

All the Apple fanboys are switching to Samsung and making everyone who favors Samsung look like idiots.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 12:14 PM 0

45. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

Interesting theory, but I think Samsung fanboys (and really all fanboys) are all cut from the same obnoxious cloth. Samsung fans just have the ammunition now, as did Apple fans from 2007-2011.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 3:51 PM 0

32. kabhijeet.16

Posts: 884; Member since: Dec 05, 2012

Thumbs Up

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 10:12 AM 0

4. Johnnokia

Posts: 1158; Member since: May 27, 2012

Lumia 1020 wins in all aspects.. Viva Nokia.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 4:57 AM 17

7. MrKoles

Posts: 368; Member since: Jan 20, 2013

Well, no.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:13 AM 5

9. the_best

Posts: 139; Member since: Oct 14, 2012

Well John says that the lumia is better or equal in all except apps. But then at the end suddenly the only thing that speaks for the lumia is the camera, and how the iphone is a much better all around phone. If thats true why dont you prove that when you compare them John V?

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:24 AM 1

15. jackhammeR

Posts: 1548; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

how is it better? Because it is APPLE?

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:52 AM 4

30. Droid_X_Doug

Posts: 5993; Member since: Dec 22, 2010

One year old iP5 vs. L1020 isn't exactly a fair comparo. PA should have waited to do a more balanced review against the iP5S. There are plenty of more 'current' comparisons that can be done. GS IV is one that comes to mind. Moto Droid Ultra is another.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 9:14 AM 1

53. DFranch

Posts: 526; Member since: Apr 20, 2012

I think it's more a problem that Apple releases 1 phone a year. The IP5 still the newest phone they make, and it still costs $300 for the 32GB version. I'd say it is still fair to compare them. What are you supposed to stop comparing against the IP5 once it gets 4-6 months old?

posted on Aug 02, 2013, 8:27 AM 0

6. itsdeepak4u2000

Posts: 3718; Member since: Nov 03, 2012

1020 is the king in Camera dept. but still I like iCrap's photos also.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:12 AM 1

10. StreetNerd

Posts: 870; Member since: Dec 08, 2010

we all know they are pro apple -_-

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:26 AM 0

12. papss unregistered

I just got my l1020 last night.. Too soon to give my thoughts but the camera is amazing and l don't think its awkward to hold. John must have small sissy hands. I get cramps holding the tiny iPhone my wife has.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:39 AM 4

13. rassouli5 unregistered

Dude you're drunk!!!! You call iPhone 5 a beautiful DESIGN!!!! My parrot can design it better! It's just a longer iPhone 4! Apple doesn't even know what DESIGN is!!! Microsoft and Windows Phone rule and will rule the world forever! No one can compete with Microsoft's eco-system!

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:39 AM 15

14. jackhammeR

Posts: 1548; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

Lumia has 225 adreno, not 220. Correct it, please.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 5:50 AM 0

16. Cesar

Posts: 140; Member since: Aug 16, 2012

iPhone 5 best for gaming and apps

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 6:01 AM 3

17. TakashiDeo

Posts: 26; Member since: Jul 20, 2013

even Nokia's v.p is not satisfied with w.p apps growth lol atleast iphone is superior in terms of features and apps and does not lag too :D

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 6:01 AM 1

19. boosook

Posts: 1442; Member since: Nov 19, 2012

PA, the Nokia 1020 are 5MP images and the iPhone 5 are 8MP images. So, if you want to make a fair comparison on sharpness, you should first downsample the 8mp shots from the iphone to 5mp. Or (even better) start from the 41mp raw image and downsample it to 8mp. PA is great for news, but comparisons and reviews are so superficial...

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 6:08 AM 8

22. Nathan_ingx

Posts: 4769; Member since: Mar 07, 2012

iPhone cameras don't do downsampling, not just yet. It's just a down shift in resolution if they have to go from 8 megapixel to 5.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 6:36 AM 1

54. DFranch

Posts: 526; Member since: Apr 20, 2012

I disagree. you're comparing the output from both devices as they are produced. IP5 produces 8MP images, so use that to compare. 1020 takes a 38Mp image and shrinks it to 5Mp. Don't mess with the results produced by the camera. If you want to compare the original 38MP against the 8Mp of the IP5, that's fair as well. Though I've read that the 5MP image looks better than the 38MP.

posted on Aug 02, 2013, 8:33 AM 0

26. UdhaiyaPrasanth

Posts: 76; Member since: Sep 05, 2012

My reaction after seeing, Picture no. 25: Is that Hogwarts? Picture no. 26: Nah! Its just an old entrance!

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 8:00 AM 0

27. Nathan_ingx

Posts: 4769; Member since: Mar 07, 2012

And i thought Harry Potter-osis didn't exist.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 8:26 AM 1

28. deburocks

Posts: 126; Member since: Apr 20, 2013

if we exclude the apps and games that ios boasts of, then m really sorry but lumia is the clear winner. Better and bigger display then ios , refreshing windows o.s with nokia,s customised apps, malware free, hulk body, sexy and astounding design, available in different colors and so many other plus points( n m nt counting camera). Yeeh and i read p.a,s comparison of nokia vid other manufacturers vid a pinch of salt. Cos its always biased towards iphn and samsung......

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 8:44 AM 1

29. Just.Me

Posts: 23; Member since: Apr 24, 2013

do i really need a 41Mp camera phone ?

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 8:53 AM 1

33. jackhammeR

Posts: 1548; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

don't buy it. look somewhere else, problem solved,...and please..just read about this technology. it shouldn't damage your brain tissues

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 10:20 AM 2

31. skyline88

Posts: 697; Member since: Jul 15, 2013

wow, the best Windows cameraphone vs. a toy-like outdated junk. can't even beat any Android flagships, and now trying to beat the best Windows flagship? go home iJunk, you're seriously drunk.

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 9:32 AM 4

41. monkeytown

Posts: 125; Member since: Jul 26, 2012

lol, good stuff xD

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 1:45 PM 2

35. Muzhhur

Posts: 261; Member since: Sep 14, 2012

high buitl quality made for both SP but i prefer the nokia specs and apple services

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 10:55 AM 0

36. Samsungadroidrules

Posts: 104; Member since: Jul 28, 2013

Its funny how These Nokia Fandows Bash Samsung Innovative Phones (specially the S3-S4) and the iPhone. Hello, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 Samsung S3 and the Amazing Samsung S4 are the Top picked and advanced smart phones. Not only that Samsung and Apple are the top 2 companies battling for number 1 but they are just WAY WAY Better than any Nokiass Windows phone. Come on, Glory days of Nokiass has gone. And Samsung rules nowadays and for the next 20 years. Nokia? Oooops . i wonder what will happen to Nokia After 2 years from now, probably shut down. hahahaha

posted on Jul 31, 2013, 12:07 PM 1

* Some comments have been hidden, because they don't meet the discussions rules.

view all comments