Nokia Lumia 925 and its superb camera: hands-on

By Alex Angove

Last updated 26 July 2013

We finally got our hands on the Nokia Lumia 925. The full review is coming later, but for now here are some of our initial thoughts.

The Finnish phone-maker focused on improved low-light photography with the 925's camera. Our first impression was that low-light video-capture has been noticeably enhanced, while photos have benefited from reduced light-bleeding. We've scattered a few examples throughout the article below.

A more modern design

The Lumia 925 is everything that the 920 should have been in terms of physical design. Admittedly, we do miss the brightly-colored polycarbonate shell; it’s only available in black, white and grey. In terms of weight, bezel-size and overall slimness the Lumia 925 wins hands-down.

It’s comfortable to hold, use, and doesn’t suffer from the cumbersome weight of the 920. The rear of the device is made from a soft touch material that increases grip and the sides are of aluminium, adding to the whole ‘premium’ mystique.

The bezels are much smaller than they were on the 920. This is great to see, as it was a definite problem that needed addressing.

We still feel like cramming the power button, volume rocker and dedicated camera button all on to the right side makes it far too easy to hit the wrong key.

Specs

In general, the Lumia 925 sports the same specs as the 920. The AMOLED display is still 4.5 inches with the same 768x1280 resolution. The CPU is 1.5GHz dual-core and RAM is just 1GB. There’s 16GB of internal storage, although there will be a 32GB model available exclusively through Vodafone. Unfortunately there is no MicroSD for expanding storage; an ongoing problem with recent Nokia releases.

Support for 4G LTE is included but, curiously, wireless charging is not. Instead you will need to buy a protective case that enables wireless charging mode.

The 925 is compatible with all current Lumia NFC-based accessories.

Should you get it?

The Lumia 925 is almost definitely the best Windows Phone 8 device out at the moment. That being said, we very much feel that it’s more of a correction than a new release. It addresses the largest issues of the Lumia 920 without bringing enough added features to really be considered a totally new device.

Is it a good handset? Yes. But we feel like its hardware is becoming a little dated. If you’re after a new WP8 device then you absolutely shouldn’t go past this handset. As for competing with the GS4 and HTC One, we think the Lumia 925 is at a distinct disadvantage in everything but the camera department.