Peering into the phablet market, there’s a one constant
that seems to take precedence each and every time. It should be no
surprise to anyone that Samsung’s Galaxy Note line continues to be the
class-leader in the space – and it looks to stay like that with the
Samsung Galaxy Note 4. In the Android space, it’s clearly the phone to
beat, but it still has competition from the Windows Phone side. To be
more exact, not only is the Nokia Lumia 1520 deemed as a phablet worthy
enough to give any Android smartphone a good run for its money, but it’s
arguably the best phone representing Microsoft’s platform.
Design
Even
though Samsung is able to sprinkle a subtle premium element to the Note
4’s design, our eyes can’t get away from the Lumia 1520’s stylish
design – more so when it’s available in a palette of colors. Sure,
they’re both constructed primarily out of plastic, but Nokia Lumia
1520’s plastic build has a more solid feel to it. Throw in the Lumia
1520’s tapered edges, there’s no arguing that there’s a higher degree of
style to Nokia’s offering. In contrast, though, the Galaxy Note 4 opts
to favor a more sophisticated look.
Certainly, there’s little
hiding the fact that these two are regarded as phablets, due to their
immense sizes of course. However, our hands are better able to cope with
the slimmer confines of the Galaxy Note 4 – thanks in part to Samsung’s
engineering in shaving off more of the bezel surrounding the display.
Handling both phones require two hands for a more comfortable feel, but
we’re still better able to handle the Note 4 more than the Lumia 1520.
Nokia’s offering is seriously a beast of a phone – both in size and
weight.
Display
Without going into the details
regarding the specs of their displays, our own two eyes are able to tell
us which of the two displays is the superior one. Frankly, it’s
one-sided victory for the Galaxy Note 4’s 5.7-inch 1440 x 2560 Super
AMOLED display, seeing that it produces the sharper looking details.
Looking back, the Lumia 1520 is notable for being the first Windows
Phone to feature a 1080p resolution display, which is paired with a
6-inch screen. From a normal viewing distance, it’s still effective
enough to match the sharpness and clarity of its rival’s display, but
upon closer inspection, there’s no denying the crisper looks of the Note
4’s display. Furthermore, we can attest from the short time handling
the Note 4, that its display is noticeably brighter – giving it more
visibility under various lighting conditions.
In the end,
considering that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the newer device, it
benefits from having the more prized and attractive display. In fact,
it’s looking like it’s going to beat the Lumia 1520’s display in nearly
every category.
Interface and Functionality
Sporting
the latest Samsung TouchWiz experience, we’ll gladly be honest and
mention that the customized Android experience of the Note 4 is still a
step up from the Windows Phone 8.1 experience of the Lumia 1520.
Microsoft has made considerable strides with its latest software
experience, but at the end of the day, when it comes to getting stuff
done, the Note 4 is equipped with a ton of software features that make
it conducive to the needs of productivity conscious users. Heck, the
Note 4’s multi-window mode is enough to blast the multi-tasking
execution of the Lumia 1520’s offering.
Visually, though, we’re
more favorable to the Windows Phone 8.1 experience of the Lumia 1520 –
primarily for its modern looks and dynamic feel. In comparison, TouchWiz
continues to look very much cartoony, so it’s long overdue for a major
redesign to match the contemporary looks of Windows Phone 8.1.
Processor and Memory
Outfitted
with Qualcomm’s newest chipset, a Snapdragon 805 SoC coupled with 2GB
of RAM, we notice that the Note 4 exhibits a slightly more fluid
response – albeit, the Lumia 1520’s Snapdragon 800 is still powerful
enough to handle similar tasks. Despite packing hardware deemed as
last-gen, the Lumia 1520 is still a highly effective phone for gaming.
On the flip side, we surely know that the Note 4 is more than equipped
to handle the most demanding things. Games included!
We really
can’t complain about their storage capacities, as they both offer a
spacious 32GB, which can be supplemented by their microSD card slots.
However, since the Lumia 1520’s slot requires a special tool to access,
we find the Note 4’s slot to be more accessible.
Camera
Shutterbugs
might want to listen up, that’s because these are two formidable
photo-taking devices. Don’t count out the almost year-old Lumia 1520, as
it continues to be a trailblazer with the impressive quality put out by
its 20-megapixel PureView camera, which is arguably one of the best in
the category. Well, the Note 4 packs some heat of its own in the form of
its updated 16-megapixel camera, one that is now greeted with optical
image stabilization – a feature that’s also available on the Lumia 1520.
In the past, we’ve been astounded by the sheer amount of details
captured by the Lumia 1520’s camera, but it’ll be interesting to see how
the Note 4 is able to compare.
Expectations
Competition
is in abundance everywhere we look, so it’s no surprise that these two
prized smartphones are on a crash course collision towards one another.
Thanks to availability of Windows Phone 8.1, the Nokia Lumia 1520 can
now match the Android’s diversified portfolio of software features –
albeit, the Note 4 receives some additional enhancements to give it yet
more functionality than its rival. At the same time, the Galaxy Note 4
as a whole has all of the bells and whistles to make it every bit of a
flagship device. There’s no arguing the popularity surrounding Sammy’s
Note line, but we can’t neglect the Nokia Lumia 1520’s impressive tally
as well.
