How future proof is the Lumia 1020?

[Japie Fourie]

Ok, so I owned the N97 for 7months after my upgrade date because I waited for the Lumia 800. Forward a few months and with the launch of WP8 my Lumia 800 went from a teenager to a pensioner over night. With GDR3 enabling bigger resolutions and the Lumia 1520 running Snapdragon 800, how long before the Lumia 1020 won't be able to run the newest games, or upgrade to the newest software? I don't mind if that period is a year and a half, but I'm not owning ancient hardware again after 3 months! So my question is again: How future proof is the Lumia 1020?

 

[SwimSwim]

I'd say at least a year.

Sure, the 1520 is coming out with an improved processor, but it'd be one amongst many. There are still plenty of apps and games that support even low-end hardware like the Lumia 520. The 1020 runs like a dream, it will be supported for quite some time. That includes software updates too, as Microsoft promised support for WP8 devices for at least 2 years, so the Lumia 1020 will be getting software updates until at least November 2014.

If you're interested in the Lumia 1020, I'd say go for it. I love mine, and it runs like a dream.

 

[gsquared]

I do not see MSFT leaving behind too many devices going forward. The riff between WP7 and WP8 was painful for a lot of people. The 512 MB devices may be limited on future upgrades but anything L820 and up should not have any issues.

 

[jmshub]

I think you will be good for a year, at least two. All updates for at least 18 months will run on 1020 hardware. And Windows Phone runs fantastically without needing the most current or high end processors.

 

[Blacklac]

I think the 2GB RAM will make the 1020 better off than most of the current devices.

 

[SwimSwim]

I think the 2GB RAM will make the 1020 better off than most of the current devices.

To my knowledge, I think that only 1GB of RAM is accessible by the system, the other 1GB of RAM is reserved solely for that amazing camera. Not 100% sure though, nothing's confirmed one way or another, and Nokia's lips are sealed.

 

[Blacklac]

To my knowledge, I think that only 1GB of RAM is accessible by the system, the other 1GB of RAM is reserved solely for that amazing camera. Not 100% sure though, nothing's confirmed one way or another, and Nokia's lips are sealed.

That would be interesting. What even brought that notion up?

 

[DalekSnare]

If you want a sharp screen or 3 column start screen then wait. Otherwise, it's a good phone. You are getting year-old internals though, so if you wait another 2 years to upgrade the processor will be like 3 years old. The processor is fine except I found the framerate of Nova 3 to be unenjoyably slow on the 920 which is similar. If you are worried about running demanding apps, you might want to wait to see what comes out in the next 6 months.

 

[chezm]

Wait for Nokias event later this month before deciding. Potential for 1080p in all 8.1 phones (including 4-4.5" screens) and HW updates are high.