Hey guys, this is Austin and today I’m here with a comparison between the
Apple iPhone 5, Google Nexus 4 and Nokia Lumia 920.
As the flagship phones running iOS, Android and Windows Phone each
has a lot to offer so let’s take a look.
To start with let’s go over the designs.
The iPhone 5 hasn’t changed too much since 2010 but it still holds up
very nicely.
It’s got a single sheet of glass up front and a piece of aluminium on
back with a pair of glass windows top and bottom.
It’s all wrapped up nicely with a metal band that wraps
around the phone which contains the buttons as well as doubles as the
antenna.
The word here is definitely premium, the build quality is unmatched
and the fine details really set it apart.
Say what you want about Apple but design is something they have down.
Moving onto the Nexus 4 at first glance it looks just like its predecessor, the Galaxy
Nexus.
Take a closer look and you’ll see it’s a big step forward with
an entirely unbroken front panel without logos or even physical buttons.
Like the iPhone 4 and 4S the front and back are all glass but the similarities end
there.
The Nexus is a much larger phone overall and features some very solid
build quality with gently tapered curves and a soft touch rubber strip around
the edges.
The back is covered in a series of shimmering dots which change depending
on the lighting and give it a very unique look.
The Lumia 920 on the other hand looks nothing like the
other two.
Wrapped in a yellow polycarbonate shell it certainly draws
attention although you can opt for more tame colors if you’d like.
It immediately gives a sense of solidness with
a much thicker and heavier frame and while this isn’t for everyone I like
it.
The front is a bit awkward with the screen and capacitive buttons which are offset
from the bottom but it does feature a dedicated camera button which is
a nice addition the others lack.
Part of the reason the Lumia is thicker is to house that camera which is
absolutely a high point of the phone.
It features an 8.7 megapixel sensor with optical image stabilization which is a first
and delivers spectacular low light performance compared to the iPhone and Nexus.
As it runs Windows Phone 8 you’ll find the live tile interface which
is a nice mix between app icons and widgets that can update on the fly.
The entire OS is easily among the most responsive experiences out there as well which
is a big plus.
While there are lots of Android phones Nexus devices have
a couple advantages with support for major software updates and an entirely
unskinned interface.
Android 4.2 is definitely one of the best mobile operating
systems out there with a wide range of apps available and a customizable
interface.
It also features top notch integration with everything Google which
can be a big plus if you’re already in the ecosystem with email, search,
media and much, much more.
You can’t talk about the iPhone without mentioning the insane amount of
apps available at over 700,000.
That by itself isn’t too impressive as Android has a similar number but the overall quality
really does tend to be a step ahead.
iOS itself, while a bit outdated in some ways compared to the others is
still a solid OS.
Everything just tends to work and like the hardware there are
little details that add up to make a better experience.
If you’re a big gamer iOS has hundreds of excellent titles to choose
from and the iPhone 5 is no slouch when it comes to power.
Specwise these are three very different phones.
The iPhone 5 is rocking a dual core Apple A6 processor clocked at
1.3GHz.
The Lumia 920 sports a dual core Snapdragon S4 processor coming in
at 1.5GHz where the Nexus 4 smashes both with a quad core Snapdragon S4
Pro at 1.5GHz.
The Nexus 4 also has twice as much RAM on board at 2GB
compared to 1GB a piece for the others.
The phones aren’t without faults however.
While it does have LTE, the Lumia 920 is an exclusive to AT&T in the
United States.
More of an issue than that is the lack of apps.
Take one look at the top paid apps and you’ll see nothing
but random apps you’re probably not interested in.
Even free apps are often lacking as there’s no Gmail, YouTube
or any other Google app besides a basic search app and the list goes on.
Windows Phone itself is quite good but you’ll be forced to deal with poor
third apps for a lot.
It’s a good phone, but right now it’s simply outclassed by
the others.
With both LTE as well as options on almost every carrier
worldwide the iPhone 5 is a solid choice but it too has its faults.
For starters, while iOS is still leading the way in some
areas like apps and the level of polish it’s still very clearly the same
operating system that launched on the iPhone 2G back in 2007.
Notification Center is a poor imitation of what’s on
Android, doing something as simple as turning off Wi-Fi requires you to dig
through the settings menu and the home screen isn’t customizable at all.
The Calendar app changes to show what day it is
but there’s no support for widgets or anything interactive, forcing you
to open an app to see what Android and Windows Phone can display on your
homescreen.
The iPhone 5 is undoubtedly a good phone but is it the
best here?
You can’t talk about the Nexus 4 without mentioning the biggest drawback:
no LTE.
Put simply, this isn’t acceptable for a flagship phone at
the end of 2012.
In some areas data speeds can be reasonable but almost always
you’ll be dealing with much slower speeds than the Lumia or iPhone.
On the same note, while it’s great that it’s an unlocked phone it only works
on GSM carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile.
Worldwide this isn’t much of a problem but in the US if you’re on
Sprint or Verizon you’re out of luck.
All of that said, the Nexus 4 is my pick for the best of the best in this one.
Android 4.2 has come a long way and is in my
opinion the best mobile OS out there.
The hardware isn’t quite up to the iPhone 5 but it is unique and thanks to that
much larger screen it’s a better option for doing many things like watching
video.
Unlike practically every other Android phone out there it’s supported
directly from Google meaning you can expect updates to hit it first for
the next couple years.
Factor in the absurdly low price and the Nexus 4 gets the
nod in this one.
Disagree with me?
Be sure to sound off in the comments about which of these is your
favorite and as always be sure to hit up that Like button and Subscribe if you
enjoyed!
If you’re interested in more on each of these phones I’ve reviewed
them all fully so feel free to go check those videos out!
Anyway I will catch you guys in the next one!
Something I found strange is that iOS really doesn’t take advantage of the
larger screen.
The first thing you’ll notice is just how quick and responsive the
phone is.
No matter how fast you try to go through the interface it keeps up
and easily matches the best from iOS and Windows Phone.
You can also resize the tiles and rearrange them as much as you’d
like.
Just like Windows 8 you can customize the color of the entire OS.