What’s the difference between the Nokia Lumia 920 and 925?

Nokia Lumia 920 vs Lumia 925 – what’s the difference?

Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 range has been substantially fleshed out in recent months with offerings across pretty much every price point. From the entry-level Lumia 520 to the high-end flagship Lumia 920, Nokia are clearly trying to make a Lumia model available for everybody. June saw the launch of the Lumia 925 – mostly a redesign of the 920 that has addressed a few issues and criticisms that were brought up in reviews of the original when it launched  in 2012.

At a glance

First off, most of the specifications have stayed pretty much the same so performance will be very similar; a lot of the changes are aesthetic although there are a few hardware tweaks.

• Screen – same size and resolution at 4.5 inches and 1280 x 768  but the 925 has traded the original’s IPS LCD for AMOLED technology
• Camera – same 8.7 MP sensor and ISO up to 800, but the f/2.0 Carl Zeiss lens has had  a sixth glass element added. Also some software changes.
• Battery – same size although much improved battery life, possibly due to AMOLED screen. No wireless charging built-in to the 925 – charging cover required
• Dimensions – roughly the same length and width though 925 is about 2mm thinner and drops 46 grams to 139g
• Colours – Lumia’s crazy pastel variants are out for a muted monochrome black, white and silver with the 925

Follow the break for more a more detailed comparison of these two Windows Phone 8 powerhouses

Display

Aside from the physical size, one of the most important changes in the Lumia 925 is the inclusion of an AMOLED display, the original 920 used an IPS LCD screen. The debate will forever rage between the two technologies; IPS LCD for more vibrant black/white sharpness, AMOLED for more natural colour progression but the fact is the change has been made.  The resolution remains the same at 1280 x 768 so the difference between these two could well come down to personal tastes. If you watch a lot of movies and other multimedia or enjoy taking pictures with a lot of colour depth then the 925 could well be the choice for you on-screen alone. Those spending a lot of time reading articles online, composing emails and generally using their device for work may find the 920′s screen more suitable although of course both are high-end. One final point here is that the AMOLED screen on the 925 could well be attributed to the increase in battery life – LCD uses the same power level for each pixel regardless of colour whereas AMOLED varies – with a dark WP8 theme, a significant power saving could be made here. 

Camera

Nokia made a lot of noise about the camera on the Lumia 920 during its initial marketing and rightly so; the pictures obtained from the 8.7 megapixel shooter are nothing short of fantastic. Despite the now quite average megapixel rating when compared to other flagship devices, Nokia has  ensured top quality sensor and lens technology with Carl Zeiss for optimum light capture, followed with best in class post processing that still holds up at the top end of the smartphone industry several months later. Very little has changed moving on to the Lumia 925 although a sixth glass lens element has been added to the 5 lens Carl Zeiss ‘floating lens’ technology. Along with some software modifications and new compression algorithms this is designed to create more clarity and colour representation, especially in the low light conditions the 920 camera was famously proficient in. The result is definitely visible with a good eye and decent subject matter although for the casual user, the differences are slight enough to be negligible

Battery Life

This is one spot where the original 920 floundered ever so slightly. As an untested OS, no-one really knew what to expect of the 920′s battery life at launch and reviews painted a mixed picture. The general consensus was that it was enough to get you through the day unless you were a serious power user and with Nokia marketing the Lumia range as capable business devices, battery life was a bone of contention for some. The Lumia 925 keeps the same battery size and basic hardware so one would be forgiven for thinking it would suffer the same issues as the original. Surprisingly though it is able to last a good few hours longer in benchmark tests and real life use and there are plenty of reputable reviews that corroborate this. As mentioned before this could well be down to the use of the AMOLED screen but there could also be some hardware modifications at a deeper level stretching the life out of the 2,000 mAh cell.

Connectivity

As both devices are Windows Phone 8 flagships, there is no discernible difference between the two of them in terms of connectivity. Both offer identical network compatibility, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC etc. The same performance can be expected from both of them in any task requiring these technologies. One caveat at the time of writing is in the 4G LTE capabilities of both devices. Due to certain restrictions in the UK concerning network providers with LTE capability and exclusivity rights, the international models we are selling with model numbers (920/925).1 have their LTE radios disabled by the firmware. Once more network providers in the UK have LTE offerings then we fully expect Nokia to provide a firmware update to enable the LTE radios for devices with this model number. If you are outside of the UK and/or looking at either device on a contract, check the model numbers to ensure LTE compatibility in your area. The 925 does drop one big feature though and that is Qi wireless charging. Wireless charging is still supported, but like the 820 and 720, requires an additional inductive charging case to be clipped onto the back of the phone. Removing the feature could also have helped with the drop in thickness.

Size & Design

The most radical changes to the flagship are here and this is what the average consumer is going to see as the difference between these two fantastic smartphones. The 920 measures in at 130.3 mm x 70.8 mm x 10.7 mm and 185 grams next to the 925′s much more svelte 129 x 70.6 x 8.5 mm and 139 grams. Keeping the 4.5″ screen means leaving the height and width relatively unchanged but the extra 2mm off the thickness and 46g diet make a real difference in the hand. Also of note is the change in materials. The Lumia range to date has been a colourful affair with polycarbonate shells in a myriad of hues all vying for our attention. Whilst on the most part looking pretty and definitely making a bold statement, I was never completely won over by them. Of course this is mostly subjective but I do prefer the more muted monochrome approach for the 925 with its black, white and silver options which are in my opinion a bit more professionally styled and more suited to the approach Nokia seem to be taking in their most recent marketing. Nokia have also opted for a lightweight aluminium shell rather than the polycarbonate found on previous WP8 Lumias. Again a much better choice in my opinion, immediately feeling better in the hand. I don’t like overusing the term ‘premium’ but when comparing these two phones it’s an apt adjective for the 925.

Storage

Short and sweet here, Nokia have chopped the internal storage for the 925 in half. It now has 16 GB installed rather than the original 920′s 32 GB and neither device has access to microSD expansion. It smacks a little of corner cutting and making minimal production savings but in the end will only affect those that like to store a lot of local media or possibly install large games, which the Windows Phone ecosystem is for the most part still lacking in. It’s a little disappointing from Nokia but there’s nothing to be done and is a difficult to locate blemish in the 925′s otherwise near perfect changes from the 920.

Pricing

Having been around for over half a year now, the Lumia 920 has dropped significantly in price since launch and is now available to buy on the Clove website at 335 GBP ex VAT in all red, yellow, black and white. The 925 has launched at 400 GBP ex VAT and all things considering is more than worth that money – it is cheaper than the 920 was on launch day and a practical alternative to competing Android flagships. We have the Lumia 925 in stock and available to buy from Clove  here.

Conclusion

The two smartphones are, as expected, extremely evenly matched. The Lumia 925 is after all more of an iteration of a successful device than a true upgrade and no-one was expecting miracles from it. The updates are definitely welcome though, addressing both the size and battery performance issues highlighted in various circles. If you’re looking for the best value for money then the original Lumia 920 is definitely the device to go for coming in cheaper and offering more storage for the price too. The very slightly lower performing camera doesn’t detract from the experience either. However if the size of the original 920 or those garish colours ever put you off then the 925 is undoubtedly the best Windows Phone 8 smartphone on the market today and well worth every penny

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