Whether you have/had a Lumia 1020 or 930 or 950, one of the core 'must haves' for you is probably cutting edge imaging - the absolute best photos possible from a phone. iPhones have been gradually 'coming up on the rails' in this regard and with the new iPhone 11 Pro I showed a few weeks ago that its cameras are right up there, and even exceeding those of the Lumia 1020and Lumia 950. I'll revisit the subject when the 11 Pro's 'Deep Fusion' update hits, but in the meantime here's a feature comparison across the board between the flagship iPhone 11 Pro and the similarly sized previous camera champion, the Lumia 950. Cost notwithstanding, maybe the time is now right to move to an iPhone (and not just the cheaper '11')?
With some social applications, comms apps and Microsoft services being phased out through 2019 and beyond, I thought a ready reference table of where Windows 10 Mobile stands would be useful. And I'll try to revisit this every few months to update each section as needed. In summary, there's likely to be little disruption to 'normal' activities this year but a few more caveats in 2020, when Windows 10 Mobile will be out of official support. Anyway, see below for details!
I have to say that I find it quite amusing that the tech industry is falling over itself in 2019 to embrace concepts that were commonplace back in the early days of Windows Phone - from well over six years ago. For every naysayer that slams Windows Phone for its weaknesses, remember that it also led the world in several ways, not least UI responsiveness, dark themes, and augmented reality mapping!
Yes, yes, another imaging feature... I wasn't planning on including the (now) six year old Lumia 1020 in my round of relevant iPhone 11 Pro imaging comparisons, but AAWP readers asked for it and so here goes! As it happens, there's common ground, since both offer zoom, both offer reframing (in different ways), and both phones are, I argue, unashamedly camera-centric.
When considering smartphone imaging, there are two end goals, depending on who you talk to. The populist opinion, catered to by the likes of Samsung and Huawei, is that the photos you take should 'pop', with exagerated edges and detail, enhanced colours, and so on. My view, even though I enjoy hyper-real images as much as the next man, is that photos should accurately portray the world you see, and with as little enhancement as possible. In other words, photos from a phone should be natural and with scope for enhancement later in software without worrying about starting from an edge-enhanced, over sharpened base...
Having eschewed zoom completely in my previous feature, it's all in on zoom again for this one(!) With zoom being a big feature of the original Lumia 1020 (albeit at lower output resolution), it's always interesting to see how far the modern 2019 competition have got in terms of bringing subjects 'closer', optically and in software. With the arrival of the 'OPPO Reno 10x Zoom' for review, and armed with the 1020, the also venerable Samsung Galaxy K Zoom, and my Huawei P30 Pro on latest firmware, let the fight begin!
This has been mentioned a few times over the last six months - the odd reader would complain that the Office UWP application under Windows 10 Mobile would suddenly start demanding an Office 365 sign-in, when theoretically any device 'with display under 10' should have full creating and editing capability. I have a theory - and a walkthrough for people seeing the titled warning and have qualifying phones or accounts...
In a week of 'tangential' articles for AAWP, here's another - Windows 10 live tiles seem to be on the way out. No, not on Mobile, that UI is fixed in stone and only getting security updates each month. But on the Desktop. A leaked future build of Windows 10 showed a Start menu with simple icons and this does seem to make sense - of all the relatives and friends you've helped set up Windows 10 on a laptop, how many have ever customised their tile layout? Exactly.
Yes, the likes of the Huawei P30 Pro have brought 5x telephoto lenses to the smartphone world. But for casual, real world zooming, i.e. modest zoom on likely subjects at 2x and 3x, what are the pros and cons of computational versus optical zoom in smartphone cameras? I explore this, with the help of the Lumia 1020, a modern Pixel 3, a modern Samsung, and that aforementioned P30 Pro...
Four totally different smartphones, with two things in common - they can all be obtained for less than £400 and they all still - justifiably - claim to have world class imaging. And, with some decent weather in the UK for once, it's a golden opportunity to do a four way camera shootout. Can the AAWP champion Lumia 950 be bettered by such 'budget' Android imaging pretenders? Let's find out.
