With the iPhone 5S launching later this week, there is no shortage of choices for those in the market for a top tier smartphone. With the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia 1020, it’s worth exploring the options out there, especially if the decision will not be based on operating system preference alone.
Here’s a blow-by-blow breakdown of how these three devices stack up in terms of hardware, software, design, and pricing.
Build and Design
While the iPhone 5S, Samsung Galaxy S4, and Nokia Lumia 1020 are all premium smartphones, they are hardly cut from the same cloth. Let’s start with the iPhone 5S, which has the smallest footprint of the three. The latest Apple flagship measures 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches.
As for the Galaxy S4, that device measures 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches. The Lumia 1020 is in many ways the largest of the three at 5.13 x 2.81 x 0.41. It does not, however, feature the largest display.
In terms of build quality, the three phones each highlight a different base material. The iPhone 5S features a unibody aluminum construction with plastic accents. The Lumia 1020 is build from polycarbonate with a matte finish. The Galaxy S4 is mostly made of plastic.
The iPhone 5S is available in silver, ‘Space Grey,’ and gold. The Galaxy S4 comes in black and white with a variety of carrier exclusive colors from brown to purple. The Lumia 1020 is available in white, black, and yellow.
Display
The three phones feature display sizes ranging from 4 inches all the way to 5 inches. The smallest of the group is the iPhone 5S with it’s 4-inch Retina display. The 1136 x 640 resolution features a pixel density of 326 ppi. It’s the same as the iPhone 5, which can be seen compared to the GS4 in the above image.
Next up is the Nokia Lumia 1020 with its 4.5-inch display. Its 720p HD AMOLED display gets a pixel density of 334 ppi. The 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display of the Galaxy S4 is easily the biggest, and it also sports the highest pixel density at 441 ppi.
Hardware
Premium devices should feature premium hardware, and the iPhone 5S, Galaxy S4, Lumia 1020 don’t disappoint. While performance can’t be gauged on a spec sheet alone, it gives us an idea of what to expect from each of the phones.
Apple’s iPhone 5S utilized their new A7 processing platform with co-processing courtesy of a new M7 chip. Samsung and Nokia opted to go with Qualcomm silicon and feature the dual-core Snapdragon 600 and quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, respectively (in international markets, the S4 features Samsing’s proprietary Exynos CPU).
Samsung and Nokia’s phones feature 2GB of RAM. The iPhone 5S is likely in the same ballpark, but Apple has not released that information (we’ll have to wait for a teardown). The 5S comes in 16, 32 and 64GB options. The Galaxy S4 has the same size options but also sports a microSD card reader. The Lumia 1020 ships with 32GB or 64GB of storage. All are LTE-enabled.
Camera
In terms of camera hardware, it’s pretty hard to best the Lumia 1020 and its 41 MP sensor. It takes some stunning photos and Nokia has worked hard to get the most out of the sensor, developing and innovative digital zoom technology that offers great close ups by cropping a much larger image and enlarging the desired area to full size. In this case, all those megapixels are what makes it possible.
In contrast, Samsung’s GS4 features a 13 MP camera, while the iPhone 5S carries a paltry 8 MP sensor, but don’t let that fool you. Apple has redesigned the iPhone’s camera hardware to utilize bigger pixels to better capture photos. Samsung’s sensor is adequate, but comes up a bit short in terms of picture quality and performance.
All are capable of 1080p video and each comes with a suite of enhanced features on the software side. Things like slow motion video and burst mode are common among the bunch, but Samsung’s camera also has a few tricks up its sleeve (like the ability to magically erase unwanted subjects from a photo).
The iPhone 5S’ True Tone flash also helps in low light conditions to reproduce more favorable color temperatures. The GS4 has a LED flash while the Lumia carries a Xenon bulb.
Battery
Battery capacity is a spec Apple rarely mentions, but they have given an idea of expected battery life for the iPhone 5S. For 3G talk time users can expect about 10 hours of power. Standby ranks at about 250 hours.
The Lumia 1020 promises about 13 hours of 3G talk time and 384 of standby power with its non-removable 2000mAh battery. The Galaxy S4 claims 17 hours of 3G talk time and 370 hours of standby with a 2600 mAh battery.
Software
While the Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 1020, and iPhone 5S are by no means identical in their hardware configuration, software is perhaps the most easy level upon which to differentiate the handsets. The Galaxy S4 runs on Google’s Jelly Bean build of Android with a custom software layer by Samsung. The Lumia 1020 runs Windows Phone 8. The iPhone 5S ships with iOS 7, naturally.
Each comes with its own list of pros and cons. Apple’s platform seeks to be simple and intuitive, following the “just works” mantra that has been associated with the company for some time. Android is an open system that features a high degree of customizability but a slightly steeper learning curve. Windows Phone features a sharp, clean interface seeking to make information and applications easily accessible via a system of “tiles.”
Then there are apps. Apple is well known as hosting perhaps the best-developed applications market. Developers tend to favor the platform, so most big app launches come to iOS first. Apple’s strict standards typically equate to apps executed with a higher level of polish.
Android’s Google Play Store is nothing to scoff at, either. While app quality doesn’t always rival what we see on the iPhone, there is no shortage. With Android’s massive platform size, developers no longer ignore Google’s giant. Windows Phone, on the other hand, has a much smaller ecosystem. Many major services have yet to release compatible apps, so that could be a deciding factor.
The best way to decide which is the best fit is to spend time with each, as the differences are often subtle and decided by user preference.
Pricing and Availability
While the Lumia 1020 and Galaxy S4 remain great smartphone options, they have been on the market longer than the iPhone 5S, meaning a deal is easier to find on the two. The Galaxy S4 is available on nearly any carrier you can think of with prices that often drop to as low as $99. The Lumia 1020 isn’t as widely available. It’s an AT&T exclusive. The good news is it recently saw a price drop from $299 to $199.
The iPhone 5S will be available on all major carriers in the US and sees pricing start at $199 for a 16GB model. A 64GB variant costs a whopping $399 with a wireless contract.
So which is the right phone for you? That’s a decision only you can make. Hopefully this rundown gives you a better idea of what you’re looking for going in, but ultimately spending time with each device will make the choice easier.
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TAGS: nokia lumia 1020, Samsung Galaxy S4
