The Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Nokia Lumia 920 are two of the best smartphones of the moment, and in this article (and the attached video) we’re going to pitch one against the other and see which is the better pick right now and why.
The two are premium members of two different ecosystems: on one side there’s the Android powered Galaxy S4, and on the other there’s the Windows Phone 8 running Lumia 920.
Windows is, surprisingly for something coming from Redmond, simple and responsive, but it lacks some features and third party support is rather poor. Android is highly customizable but also a bit sluggish from time to time, especially on the Galaxy S4 that is skinned with TouchWiz UI and bundled with a rather large selection of Samsung apps and features.
S Health, S Translator or the WatchON TV app are just a few worth mentioning. And then you do get a whole bunch of gestures, from Air View, that lets you control the content on the screen with your finger, without actually touching the glass, to Air gestures and the eye tracking capabilities of this handset, that lets you interact with the phone just by moving your head. These gestures and special features only work in a few apps right now and they might be considered a gimmick by some of you, but they can also be a strong selling point for the S4.
On the other hand, the Lumia 920 bundles the few gems offered by the Windows Phone environment, like Office for instance, that integrates with Office 365 and Skydrive and lets you access and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations. But you also get the suite of Here apps, including Maps, Drive and Lens, and together they provide the best in-built navigation features available on any phone right now.
All in all, both phones can easily handle the basics, but also multimedia content and more. Yes, the Android powered S4 does offer more features, while the Lumia is lacking even things like a Smart dialer or good HD games, but if you don’t care much about that, you’re probably going to be just fine with this Windows Phone 8 device.
What sets them apart
Anyway, there are other things setting these two apart. First, let’s talk about the ones that could steer you to the Nokia, like its very good main shooter. There’s only an 8 Mpx camera on the Lumia, as opposed to the 13 Mpx one on the Samsung. As a result, good and fair light shots are comparable, the S4 having the higher resolution and the more natural looking colors and contrast on its side, as the Nokia does tend to skew colors badly in this case. When it comes to indoor or poor light shots, the PureView technology on the Lumia does work wonders though. Also, the optical Image stabilization on the Nokia does help with videos, as I got quite shaky footage with the Samsung, while the one coming out of the Lumia is far smoother.
Pictures and clips aside, the S4 offers a way more complex camera interface then the 920 and lots of extra features and shooting modes, like Dual-Shot, Drama Shot, 360 and many more. So all in all, while the main shooter on the Lumia does offer better pics in poor-light and more stable videos, the S4 is a versatile camera-phone as well.
Next, the Nokia Lumia 920 is one of the best smartphones you can use for taking calls these days, with a clear earpiece, good microphones and splendid noise cancelling. The S4 is good too, unless you’re using it in crowded, noisy conditions, when you’ll hardly be able to hear the person at the other end of the line. Both phones can handle chatting and messaging as well, and here’s where the Switfkey powered keyboard on the S4 is going to impress you, offering what I consider a better experience than the stock keyboard on the Nokia.
Both are top smartphones, yet so different
And then there are the screens. On one side there’s a 5 inch display with a Super AMOLED panel on the S4, on the other there’s a smaller 4.5 inch display with an IPS panel and ClearBlack technology on the 920 . Even so, the blacks on the Nokia are not as deep as on the Samsung, which completely turn off the pixels when displaying black content, but the whites are richer and the screen is also brighter, which makes it more suitable for outside or strong light use.
Samsung enriched the screen on the S4 with a Professional Photo color mode and as a result, the S4 does produce vibrant, but more natural looking colors. Even so, they do seem a bit over-saturated next to the ones on the Lumia. The S4 does offer a Full HD screen though, while there’s only a 768 x 1280 px one on the 920, which means that texts and fine details will look sharper on the Galaxy. But you’ll almost never feel the difference during everyday use.
Oh, and there’s one more thing worth mentioning: both phones pack Super sensitive touchscreens, so they can be used with gloves and other objects. And both are protected by a layer of Gorilla, although the S4 does pack the latest Gorilla Glass 3, while the Lumia settles for last year’s generation.
How they feel in hand
Anyway, time to turn turn our attention to how these two devices feel and look. Both phones will be available in several different colors, and the Galaxy S4 is for sure the more slender handset here, being slimmer and significantly lighter than the Lumia 920, while only a tad longer, and that despite packing a 5 inch screen. But it is also not as solid-built as the Nokia, which is tough as a brick and should handle everyday hassle easily. The Galaxy, with its glossy plastic body though, just asks for a case to cover its fragility and prone to scratches back cover.
Still, the S4 is the more comfortable to use of the two and just sits better in hand. I did enjoy the rounded side edges of the Nokia too, but I for one couldn’t get used to its raw massiveness and weight. Maybe you will.
Anyway, both will require a bit of hand gymnastics during everyday use and I did find it a bit easier to cover the screen on the Nokia with my thumb, but just because it’s smaller. Also, I did enjoy the button placement on the two phones, although if I were to choose, I’d take Samsung’s layout over Nokia’s.
The Samsung handset does stand out when it comes to practicality, as its rear cover is removable and allows you to access a user-replaceable battery and a microSD card slot, both features missing on the Nokia. It also offers more sensors than the Nokia, with an IR blaster, a thermometer and a pedometer, better connectivity options and a superior front-facing camera, plus a notification LED that I did find very useful, despite being dimmer than it was on the S3.
And then, the S4 packs faster hardware then the Lumia 920, which does show in benchmarks and while loading complex apps. But the Lumia is actually more responsive and does offer a more consistent everyday experience, without the occasional stuttering encountered on the Galaxy..
Last but not least, the S4 does last longer on a charge. It offers a higher capacity 2600 mAh battery, while there’s only a 2000 mAh on the Nokia. Both phones can last through the day with average use, but the Galaxy can reach the end of the second in most cases. Besides that, the S4 packs an easily replaceable battery that you can swap for a new one if needed. The Lumia 920 tries to compensate with wireless charging support offered by default, but you can get this feature on the S4 as well, just not out of the box, you’ll have to buy a different rear-panel for that.
Wrap up
All these being said, it’s time for the conclusions. Of course, when setting to compare a 6 months old phone like the Nokia Lumia 920 with the brand new star of the Samsung armada, we were expecting the Samsung to prevail. And it does, if you’re a heavy smartphone user and want to benefit from all the features offered from such a device these days, the S4 is going to be the better pick out of the two, even though its design is a bit dated, the case feels a fragile and probably you will end up never using most of the extra features offered, like the gestures and camera modes.
What would you pick between the two?
But the Lumia 920 is not a bad phone at all either. If you can get used to its bulky and heavy body and the limitations of the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem, you’re probably going to like it. This one is definitely a good pick for the outdoorsy kind, thanks to its brick-sturdy body, bright screen and good camera, but there are other many features that you’ll love about it too. Still, I’m waiting for the next Nokia flagship, which will for sure prove to be a tougher competitor for the S4 during the rest of 2013.
Alright, and that concludes today’s video. You’ve seen which one of the two I’d pick right now and you’ve seen why. But how about you, which one would you spend your hard-earned buck for? Please leave your replies below, and if you’re interested in more details about the premium smartphones of the moment, you should check out all the other clips on my Youtue channel and my articles here on the site. Stay close.
