Lumia 930 v Samsung S5 - comparison

[Great deal]

Lol im all in with MS (my company actually supplies MS in Finland) was a hard journey to get here, was all in with Apple, then switched to Android (ive read that the OS lags on all their phones) and now Happy/frustrated with MS. Don't get me wrong, im not a spec ***** at all, I only compare 2 products separated by a few months and both aiming at the high end, both charging a lot only one has cheaper and older bits of electronics inside is all, just doesn't make sense to me. I completely understand the experience and OS side of things, that is still no excuse to release inferior hardware though.

 

[Squachy]

The 801 is NOT that much faster than the 800. The 805 maybe. The 808 and 810 next year possibly as well (and they're going to be 64bits).
your phone is not going to be a slowass piece of junk just because it has an 800 vs the 801.
Even in this time and age I would still likely get a Nexus 5 over any of those flagship phones. Pure Android > the bloat that the other brands have. Guess what? Its got a snapdragon 800, not an 801. Yeah sure it came out last year but its still potent. The 8xx chipset is a beastly little thing.

-Yes the 930 SHOULD have been released when the Icon was out (cuz its practically the same)
-Yes it COULD have benefited from the 801 processor to match the android flagships so that spec whores don't have any ammunition to use against it.
-No, the 800 is NOT outdated and NOT old hat. The 801 is EXACTLY the same thing with some minor tweaks and a clock speed boost. If the 800 is outdated and old hat, then the 801 is equally outdated and old hat. Same GPU (Adreno 330) Same CPU (Qualcomm KRAIT 400), same Image processor I think.

Blame MS for ungodly slow updates to the windows phone platform (it took until GDR3 to GAIN support for the snapdragon 800 chipset..and quad cores in general) Unless 8.1 has additional hardware support added to it (hopefully) then you're not seeing anything better than an SD800 in any of the best windows phones. Its not a bad thing with the SD800 chipsets, phones are stupidly overpowered nowadays. Again, that's MS's fault for being slow on the transition.

All flagships costs roughly the same price so it doesn't even matter (except apple, they tend to charge more for less...apple tax) which one you get or what specs it has. I don't know who's fault that ends up being, but Nokia really should follow suit with Nexus since they 'obviously' cannot compete on specs to some peoples eyes. The Nexus lineup was the only phones that gave flagship specs for cheap. It should have just demolished the competition but for whatever reason it didn't. Everyone I guess is too fixated on the Samsung Galaxies, HTC Ones and the LG G phones of the world.

 

[Roland Stoll]

I just want the best WP that's available - that's currently the Lumia 930 and 1520.
That's why both devices are currently the WP flagships - end of discussion!

Comparing that device to others with a different OS - senseless as all OS's have different requirements.
Sure there are things which can be compared:
- display size and quality
- camera resolution and quality
- apps availability
- etc.

But especially comparing the Lumia 930 (WP) to the Galaxy S5 (Android):
- how to compare performance/speed for two different OS multitasking systems (adaptive multitasking vs. sandbox multitasking)?
- how to compare different memory management of two different OS


and as far as I can remember: the 801 ist not yet supported by WP 8.1...

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

The 930 is the exact same phone as the 1520. Just smaller. The 1520 was released last year. The 930 has the 800 snap dragon because that's what's in the 1520. Comparing the s5 to the 930 is essentially comparing the 1520 to it. You're comparing an older phone to a newer phone and its still currently up to par.

 

[Great deal]

I just want the best WP that's available - that's currently the Lumia 930 and 1520.
That's why both devices are currently the WP flagships - end of discussion!

Comparing that device to others with a different OS - senseless as all OS's have different requirements.
Sure there are things which can be compared:
- display size and quality
- camera resolution and quality
- apps availability
- etc.

But especially comparing the Lumia 930 (WP) to the Galaxy S5 (Android):
- how to compare performance/speed for two different OS multitasking systems (adaptive multitasking vs. sandbox multitasking)?
- how to compare different memory management of two different OS


and as far as I can remember: the 801 ist not yet supported by WP 8.1...

I would agree if the price points were lower. Why pay similar to an S5 for inferior hardware irrespective of the OS. You seem to be very happy paying for inferior hardware when in fact the manufacturer and OS company can easily up the specs, keep the price the same and we get improved performance above and beyond what we have now. Look at the specs carefully, processor, thickness, weight, battery, hardware features. Are you telling me your happy to pay similar price for inferior hardware?

I understand the point of the OS working differently and having different requirements, im not comparing OS im comparing the actual hardware, something you cant seem to understand. Maybe you sleep with your windows phone next to your pillow, sorry but I don't care who makes the hardware as long as it does what I want it to do and I feel that in a 24 month contract it will stand the test of time. Yes the 930 will do what I want it to do, but MS are competing with Samsung and iPhone with this device...they simply cant. Perhaps the Mclaren(or whatever the name will be) can at which point I will happily trade up from 1020....930 though? no way, I wouldn't even upgrade to it from my other 920.

 

[Great deal]

The 930 is the exact same phone as the 1520. Just smaller. The 1520 was released last year. The 930 has the 800 snap dragon because that's what's in the 1520. Comparing the s5 to the 930 is essentially comparing the 1520 to it. You're comparing an older phone to a newer phone and its still currently up to par.

Exactly!!!!! The 1520 was released last year!!!! so then Microsofts competitor released a much better phone....then what did Nokia/MS do? did they try to beat their competitor? NO...did they even try to match the competitor given that they knew what it had inside? NO... they repackaged old technology into a smaller form factor and re released it at a high price point. Sorry but I love WP but im not a mug. If anyone wants a WP then get the 930, just wait until its cheaper at which point it makes sense.

 

[Br1an_g]

i think moaning about 1 iteration of tech is like moaning about the rain in scotland! it really doesnt matter

If you handed someone both the S5 and the 930 i would pay you a million pounds if they could differentiate the difference in tech behind the scenes. people seem to read the box and worry that they have old tech when they should be more concerned about how the phone performs and the features it has.
and waiting for the next iteration is a never ending cycle..just get the device you want just now with the features you need.

the same people will always buy the highest spec laptop or PC if they are buying one. i have a surface 3, but its the i5 version not the i7, I reckon it will last me 3-5 years before i have the urge to upgrade. phones are the same for me, i am still using an htc one x which is doing its job and i just fancy trying windows phone as it will fit with my IT eco system well. the 930 is the first one that has ticked all the boxes for me so i am going to get it. dont get me wrong i still look at the spec to an extent but its not the deal breaker that the OP has made it to be.

 

[Silviu Bogusevschi]

OP, go buy yourself an Android and stop raging please.

 

[niki999]

I think that Nokia 930 has no problem with S5 but with Nokia 1520. Essentially 1520 is cheaper, offer on par or superior performances and it is on the market for a relatively long time for smart phones today. Only advantage 930 has is it's superior design and more acceptable screen size (tough it is not logical that smaller is more expensive then larger...but in this world everything is possible )

 

[maverick786us]

Lumia 930 has a camera, that is superior to S5 in app department except for 4K video recording.
Lumia 930 has a much better design, superior build quality except for water resistant.
Lumia 930 has Wireless charging.
WP 8.1 is much more optimized compared to buggy Android.

An incremental upgrade of 801 over 800 will not make any noticiable difference. In fact Lumia 930 will be smoother compared to S5 because of OS. If you compare previous generations, example 920 vs S3, there was a huge difference in the hardware, and still 920 was on par with Galaxy S3 in terms of performance. Now the difference is reduced. Once I get Lumia 930. I will always consider myself superior to those who own Galaxy S4, Note 3 and S5

 

[Chregu]

Once I get Lumia 930. I will always consider myself superior to those who own Galaxy S4, Note 3 and S5

Feeling superior to others based on possession. Good for you!

I don't see the issue in the fact that the Lumia 930 is not very exciting and features hardware that is outdated for a wannabe high-end phone being released just now. The issue is that Microsoft tries to sell it at the same price point as the Galaxy S5 or the HTC One M8 has (30 - 40 Swiss Francs cheaper in the cheapest store in Switzerland, but still not enough to make a difference).

That might be good enough for people who love Windows Phone, but it will most certainly not bring anybody to the platform looking for a new high-end device. Compared to the Xperia Z1 Compact that pretty much features the same hardware except of the screen and the wireless charging (I personally think is a gimmick, I don't care about the two seconds I could save with that), it's still almost two hundred Swiss Francs more expensive.

 

[Chregu]

Hell, my provider sells the 930 for the same price as the LG G3.

 

[Great deal]

OP, go buy yourself an Android and stop raging please.

LOL, what makes you think i prefer Android? its not raging if your put your ****** ego and emotion to one side for a moment and use your brain to think it through then the conclusion is that they are taking you and everyone else out there for a ride with this particular phone. Anyways im off to do some more business with MS lol.

 

[Silviu Bogusevschi]

LOL, what makes you think i prefer Android? its not raging if your put your ****** ego and emotion to one side for a moment and use your brain to think it through then the conclusion is that they are taking you and everyone else out there for a ride with this particular phone. Anyways im off to do some more business with MS lol.

The way I think is that the OS is the main thing you consider before you buy a phone (or camera, nothing else), and in order to have an awesome experience with this OS you need specific hardware minimum.
On Android/iOS once you get better hardware - you get better OS UX. I didn't use Android, but iOS is exactly like this (own an iPhone 4).
On WP you get EXACTLY the same UX on whatever hardware you phone has (either 520 or 1520).

Next step is the phone price. You cannot make an objective comparison of some phones based on different OSes (or even different phone makers), because different companies put different efforts on developing (like coding, marketing, support, upgrade, updates etc).
In case of WP (and/or iOS), what do you pay for is smoothness (it's smooth on every WP device), privacy and security (any news about WP being hacked?), continuous updates (EVERY single WP 8 device will receive the Cyan update).
In case of Android, what do you think you pay for? Marketing! The biggest expense of the Android phone maker is the marketing. Google is the one who made us bother about specs, and 'lags', and features.

Should I continue?

 

[Chregu]

The way I think is that the OS is the main thing you consider before you buy a phone (or camera, nothing else), and in order to have an awesome experience with this OS you need specific hardware minimum.

Why don't you consider ecosystem as something to consider when buying a phone? Apps are a big deal for most people. You should have written "the main thing I consider".

On Android/iOS once you get better hardware - you get better OS UX. I didn't use Android, but iOS is exactly like this (own an iPhone 4).
On WP you get EXACTLY the same UX on whatever hardware you phone has (either 520 or 1520).

This is a good thing for people buying low cost phones. I don't dispute that. But why should that make me pay more for my high-end device?

Next step is the phone price. You cannot make an objective comparison of some phones based on different OSes (or even different phone makers), because different companies put different efforts on developing (like coding, marketing, support, upgrade, updates etc).
In case of WP (and/or iOS), what do you pay for is smoothness (it's smooth on every WP device), privacy and security (any news about WP being hacked?), continuous updates (EVERY single WP 8 device will receive the Cyan update).
In case of Android, what do you think you pay for? Marketing! The biggest expense of the Android phone maker is the marketing. Google is the one who made us bother about specs, and 'lags', and features.

So what you are saying is that Microsoft subsidize its low cost phones and all the other low cost phones it gifts the WP licenses to by increasing the Lumia 930 price? How does that make any sense?

And better marketing might actually be a good thing for Windows Phone...

Should I continue?

Yes please continue with explaining the above things to me.

 

[Sport Driver]

Hell, my provider sells the 930 for the same price as the LG G3.

LG G3 is dirt cheap. Here are the prices from biggest Slovene carrier on 2 year contract:
Nokia Lumia 1520 : 526?
Nokia Lumia 1020: 408?
HTC ONE (M8) : 552 ?
HTC ONE (M7): 372
Samsung Galaxy S5 : 552 ? ( since yesterday you get a free Gear FIT with it)
Samsung Galaxy S4: 372 ?
LG G3 :469 ? !!!
LG G2 : 342 ?
Sony Xperia Z2 : 576 ? ???
Sony Xperia Z1: 288?


So price around LG G3 would be Ok but Nokias are generally overpriced here, much like Samsungs ( Note 3 is still on 552? price). And I have no idea what happened with price of Xperia Z2, it's in the iPhone price range now.

 

[Silviu Bogusevschi]

Why don't you consider ecosystem as something to consider when buying a phone? Apps are a big deal for most people. You should have written "the main thing I consider".

I thought an OS (WP in this case) is part of an ecosystem (Windows/XBOX) ... Or Android and Mac OS are part of the same ecosystem?

This is a good thing for people buying low cost phones. I don't dispute that. But why should that make me pay more for my high-end device?

As I said above, you pay for support. Can you get latest updates for a 2 years old Android? I doubt so. iOS has the same thing, but apparently nobody cares.

So what you are saying is that Microsoft subsidize its low cost phones and all the other low cost phones it gifts the WP licenses to by increasing the Lumia 930 price? How does that make any sense?

And better marketing might actually be a good thing for Windows Phone...

I agree, marketing is the biggest issue for Microsoft. And there is no subsidizing btw. Of course you will pay more for a better hardware, but don't forget about the firmware, which is made independently for each device. Secondly, there is the OS architecture, which is slowly and surely changing in order to work properly on a range of hardware. I don't know much about NT core, but I guess MS is putting some additional effort to support (nearly) high-end hardware (just a reminder, Android does support MediaTek, WP does not).

Yes please continue with explaining the above things to me.

What exactly you are interested in?

Edit 1: I forgot that the same phone has very different prices in different countries (just compare USA with EU). I don't know much about VAT policy..

 

[maverick786us]

Feeling superior to others based on possession. Good for you!

I don't see the issue in the fact that the Lumia 930 is not very exciting and features hardware that is outdated for a wannabe high-end phone being released just now. The issue is that Microsoft tries to sell it at the same price point as the Galaxy S5 or the HTC One M8 has (30 - 40 Swiss Francs cheaper in the cheapest store in Switzerland, but still not enough to make a difference).

That might be good enough for people who love Windows Phone, but it will most certainly not bring anybody to the platform looking for a new high-end device. Compared to the Xperia Z1 Compact that pretty much features the same hardware except of the screen and the wireless charging (I personally think is a gimmick, I don't care about the two seconds I could save with that), it's still almost two hundred Swiss Francs more expensive.

Yes I agree that the price should be way less than 1520. Because...
1) Less manufacturing cost because of small screen size, and lack of micro SD
2) No Glance Screen

 

[Chregu]

I thought an OS (WP in this case) is part of an ecosystem (Windows/XBOX) ... Or Android and Mac OS are part of the same ecosystem?

The Microsoft ecosystem is amazing on iOS. Apps are generally pretty bad on Windows Phone. Those are thing I'll certainly consider when buying a new phone in fall.

As I said above, you pay for support. Can you get latest updates for a 2 years old Android? I doubt so. iOS has the same thing, but apparently nobody cares.

Google want to really change these issues with the new program they've announced. iOS7 supports the iPhone 4 which is 4 years old. iOS 8 will support the iPhone 4S which will be 3 years old when it's released. This is longer than Microsoft promises us to support the hardware. Also, Windows Mobile wasn't upgradable to Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 7 was not upgradable to Windows Phone 8. That's not much of a trust advance.

I agree, marketing is the biggest issue for Microsoft. And there is no subsidizing btw. Of course you will pay more for a better hardware, but don't forget about the firmware, which is made independently for each device. Secondly, there is the OS architecture, which is slowly and surely changing in order to work properly on a range of hardware. I don't know much about NT core, but I guess MS is putting some additional effort to support (nearly) high-end hardware (just a reminder, Android does support MediaTek, WP does not).

So you say that it's hardware to make a firmware for a high-end device than for a low-end device? Also, the 1520 features the same hardware as the 930 to a large extent, according to your theory the 930 should be very inexpensive.

You still haven't given me any good reason why the 930 should be so damn expensive, and I have been using Microsoft phones for 12 years now. Try to explain this to anybody not using Windows Phone...

 

[Silviu Bogusevschi]

The Microsoft ecosystem is amazing on iOS. Apps are generally pretty bad on Windows Phone. Those are thing I'll certainly consider when buying a new phone in fall.

Give me a link to the App store for Cortana please.

Google want to really change these issues with the new program they've announced. iOS7 supports the iPhone 4 which is 4 years old. iOS 8 will supprot the iPhone 4S which will be 4 years old when it's released. This is longer than Microsoft promises us to support the hardware. Also, Windows Mobile wasn't upgradable to Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 7 was not upgradable to Windows Phone 8. That's not much of a trust advance.

So you agree both Microsoft and Google had (Google still has) big failures regarding updates.

So you say that it's hardware to make a firmware for a high-end device than for a low-end device? Also, the 1520 features the same hardware as the 930 to a large extent, according to your theory the 930 should be very inexpensive.

You still haven't given me any good reason why the 930 should be so damn expensive, and I have been using Microsoft phones for 12 years now. Try to explain this to anybody not using Windows Phone...

Yes, one is firmware. Although it looks like 1520 and 930 are absolutely similar, in reality it's not like this (simply compare the screens. And there are more marketing expenses since 930 is a new device.

Try to explain this to anybody not using Windows Phone...

Q: Who developed Android core? A: -
Q: Who developed Windows Phone core? A: -

I think that's enough so far.