Nokia Announces Lumia 1020 - 41 MP PureView and Windows Phone (Update: Hands On and Video)
by Brian Klug on July 11, 2013 10:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Nokia
- Mobile
- Lumia
- lumia 1020

Today at Nokia's Zoom Reinvented event, the handset maker announced the newest member of its Lumia family of Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 1020. The handset includes a PureView 41 MP system and 6-element optical system with optical image stabilization, making it similar to the PureView 808. The Lumia 1020 is Nokia's new flagship with the most advanced imaging that Nokia has to offer. I've put together a table with the specifications that have already posted
Camera Emphasized Smartphone Comparison | |||||||
Samsung Galaxy Camera (EK-GC100) | Nokia PureView 808 | Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom | Nokia Lumia 1020 | ||||
CMOS Resolution | 16.3 MP | 41 MP | 16.3 MP | 41 MP | |||
CMOS Format | 1/2.3", 1.34µm pixels | 1/1.2", 1.4µm pixels | 1/2.3", 1.34µm pixels | 1/1.5", 1.12µm pixels | |||
CMOS Size | 6.17mm x 4.55mm | 10.67mm x 8.00mm | 6.17mm x 4.55mm | ||||
Lens Details |
4.1 - 86mm (22 - 447 35mm equiv) F/2.8-5.9 OIS |
8.02mm (28mm 35mm equiv) F/2.4 |
4.3 - 43mm (24-240 mm 35mm equiv) F/3.1-F/6.3 OIS |
PureView 41 MP, BSI, 6-element optical system, xenon flash, LED, OIS | |||
Display | 1280 x 720 (4.8" diagonal) | 640 x 360 (4.0" diagonal) | 960 x 540 (4.3-inch) | 1280 x 768 (4.5-inch) | |||
SoC | Exynos 4412 (Cortex-A9MP4 at 1.4 GHz with Mali-400 MP4) | 1.3 GHz ARM11 | 1.5 GHz Exynos 4212 | 1.5 GHz Snapdragon MSM8960 | |||
Storage | 8 GB + microSDXC | 16 GB + microSDHC | 8 GB + microSDHC | 32 GB | |||
Video Recording | 1080p30, 480p120 | 1080p30 | 1080p30 | 1080p30 | |||
OS | Android 4.1 | Symbian Belle | Android 4.2 | Windows Phone 8 | |||
Connectivity | WCDMA 21.1 850/900/1900/2100, 4G, 802.11a/b/g/n with 40 MHz channels, BT 4.0, GNSS | WCDMA 14.4 850/900/1700/1900/2100, 802.11b/g/n, BT 3.0, GPS | WCDMA 21.1 850/900/1900/2100, 4G LTE SKUs, 802.11a/b/g/n with 40 MHz channels, BT 4.0, GNSS |
Quad band edge, WCDMA 42 850/900/1900/2100 LTE bands 1,3,7,20,8 |
From the outside, the Lumia 1020 looks a lot like the Lumia 920 but with a different camera module. The PureView system inside the 1020 takes either 16:9 and 4:3 pictures alongside a 5 MP oversampled version, rather than the either-or approach that the PureView 808 took. Nokia has also gone to its own camera application called Nokia Pro Camera which offers manual controls beyond the stock camera application from WP8. The Lumia 1020 also is compatible with an optional camera grip that includes a 1020 mAh battery, tripod mount, and two step camera button. There's also a wireless charging back add-on.
On the network side, the Lumia 1020 variant I've seen specs for have quad band GSM/EDGE and WCDMA, and LTE bands 1,3,7,20,8. Obviously the AT&T version coming will have LTE bands 4,17.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available starting July 26th for $299.99 with a 2 year agreement, and preorders on att.com will start July 16th.
We're going to get hands on with the Lumia 1020 shortly.
Update: Just got to play with the Lumia 1020. It's thinner than expected, and doesn't have much of a camera bulge at all. Nokia's camera application is buttery smooth and has excellent manual controls. I'm impressed with how easy it is to get around and quickly dive into custom exposure time, ISO, focus, and so forth, and reset those changes to default. It's somewhat similar to the Galaxy Camera, but whereas that UI was somewhat slow occasionally, the Lumia 1020 is very smooth and fast.
The camera grip feels very solid, not flimsy at all. The two stage camera button is communicative and works just like the button on the device and activates the application if you hold it down just like one would expect. I can see the camera grip being a popular accessory for people who want to extract every bit of camera from the Lumia 1020. I played with the rest of the camera UI and gallery, and on the whole it's essentially what you'd expect – like a better PureView 808 but running Windows Phone. On the whole smoother and more refined, in the chassis of a 920. Shot to shot latency is a bit long, but that's expected given the gigantic image size and processing, I suspect it might get faster if you disable the full size image storage and only keep the 5 MP oversampled versions, which there is an option for.
Source: Nokia
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sherlockwing - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
Slim Body??? This phone is over 10cm thick, the GS4 is only 7cm.sherlockwing - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
Correction: mm, not cm.Roland00Address - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
The iphone 4s is 9.3 mm thick. Yes their are thinner phones on the market now, but there are very little thin phones with such camera optics.michaelljones - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
When you say 'not full HD' what do you mean? That the screen isn't 1080p? Cause the camera is BEYOND HD, hell it's beyond 4k at 7712 x 5360 pixels, and the video is 1080p.And I'll say the same thing to you I said to jjj about the SOC: who cares? It's one generation behind the latest, but name something on a Windows phone where that would make a difference?
sherlockwing - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
I think the High storage versions of Note 2 sells for $300 on ATT.bakedpatato - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
That's the first reaction I had to the price but then again, this is a unique product.Everyone from DPReview to AnandTech loved the 808 but hated Symbian...therefore, combined with carrier backing, this guy could do well, not SGS4 well but Optimus G "well".
I could see it becoming very popular among the camera nerds to even average Joes if Nokia manages to market it well enough to show that it has better quality than the average P&S.
michaelljones - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
I agree. And I agree with the lady in the audience that asked Elop how they were going to market this thing as they've not done a very good job to date. It's all on Nokia to make the sale.That said I'm sorry that they continue to see AT&T as their premier launch partner in the US.
michaelljones - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
Not sure what you mean?As Windows phones go, this is top end. Comparing it to Android phones in the context of processor, etc. is a bit unfair. Further, the people saying this isn't HD are just wrong. Sure the screen is only 768 pixels wide, but the last time I looked 720p is still considered HD (go look it up, I'll wait), and the pictures are FAR beyond that and the video is 1080p. Who cares that the 4.5" screen isn't 1080p. For a screen that small it's mostly a worthless spec. If you like carrying around lots of 'spare' capacity that you can't use, then be my guest, but I don't think a lot of phone buyers make a decision that way.
As to the sensor size, I challenge anyone to find a camera that has a 41MP sensor that they consider 'affordable'. Hell, the top of the line Canon EOS-1D X is on 19MP and costs $6,000 bucks! Now, it's important what you DO with that sensor (see HTC One for instance), but even if it holds up to a pro-sumer camera, you are still talking about an ~$600-$700 camera INSIDE the phone you are already carrying.
Kill two birds with one stone? You bet. I spent $300 on the last Canon Digital Elph I bought 3 years ago at Costco with a 10MP sensor at the time, and I hardly ever carry the thing anymore because it's just one more thing to pack around.
The only thing I'm a little disappointed in is the lack of memory expansion. It would have been nice if the camera body held extra storage along with the battery, etc., though we have no idea yet how many pics can be saved on the camera or what the file size is from anything I've seen. The 32GB will help a little, but I'm currently using about 14GB of the 32GB on my Lumia 928, so hard to say how fast I'd fill up 16GB before I'd need something to empty the phone too. However, this is one place where the underlying platform is a bit of a problem as Windows Phone isn't really made for using 'removable' media. So that's MS's fault (and one I hope they correct in WP 8.1). It hurts Nokia a little in that regard though, I agree and is something to watch.
jjj - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
By your logic the best FF OS phone is high end despite the very low end specs. Maybe we should all get that at 100$ off contract, that's great for a high end smartphone.This is sold as a phone and that's what the consumer will judge it as , the camera is an upside but Nokia starts with a bunch of handicaps as it is. WP , the brand, no SD, the specs. 200$ would fly despite the negatives but 300$ is crazy. The average ATT user has no clue what a megapixel is anyway and his iphone is cheaper and good enough to take selfies.
They will be forced to lower the price in 2-3 months max but that's far from ideal.
michaelljones - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - link
No, by my logic the best phone is the one that does what you want it to do, somewhat regardless of the specs. My father doesn't care what the processor is in any phone he's ever owned (and he's on his 3rd iPhone at the moment), same for my wife who is on her second Windows Phones, and on and on and one. So I think the majority of people by phones on capability and ecosystem, not on a spec sheet. You and I are NOT typical.As to your second comment about this being sold as a phone and consumers will judge is as, I disagree. That said I think it's up to Nokia, as Elop noted, to tell that story, and so far they've done a 'meh' job of it. But you look at a grandparent and say 'with this phone you can take pictures of your baby grandkid that are as good or better than a separate camera, AND it is your phone and it costs less than either of those devices singularly', then I think that's a story that CAN resonate with a part of the consumer population. I agree it won't be iPhone big, but is it big enough to be popular? Time will tell.
I also disagree about ATT users not knowing what a megapixel is. I bet if you looked at a cross section of ATT users, many of them probably have a P&S camera or better that clobbers the phone capability in just about any current phone over a wider range of photo opportunities. I'm talking about a camera in the $250+ range mind you, not the $100 throw aways everyone has to say they have a $100 camera. I'd say the average ATT user probably has ZERO clue however about what the hell the processor is inside their phone, nor do they care.
The SD card one I can't disagree with you on though. That one is still a pain point depending on the size of those JPEGs.
Beyond that you haven't given any justification beyond the processor as to why you consider this a middle of the road smartphone from a specs reason.
The iPhone 5 is 1136x640 (not even 720p there), has an 8MP camera, and at 32 GB of storage, no SD card slot, and costs the same as the Nokia.
The HTC One has a Snapdragon 600 vs a Snapdragon S4 here (but in performance terms, they aren't all that different (http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Qualcomm-Snapdragon-S4-Pro... a 1080p screen, a 4MP camera, and no SD Card, and granted it's only $99 upfront. So price may win there.
And the list goes on and on.