Nokia Lumia 930 Review
by Brett Howse on September 8, 2014 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Microsoft
- Nokia
- Mobile
- windows phone
- Lumia
Introduction
Nokia has once again refreshed its Windows Phone lineup with the release of the Lumia 930, which is the spiritual successor to the Lumia 920 which first launched with Windows Phone 8.0 way back in November 2012. But like the Lumia 630, it takes cues from more than just the Lumia with the closest model number. The Lumia 930 is an interesting combination of many of the other Nokia Windows Phone designs from over the years all wrapped up into a striking package that certainly gives it a new take on the polycarbonate bodies of all of the higher end Lumia devices over the years.
The Lumia 930 was first launched in the USA in February as the Lumia Icon. The Icon is practically identical, with only a few key differences. Being a Verizon exclusive, the Icon of course must support the Verizon CDMA network and has the correct LTE bands for that provider. The Lumia 930 has support for different frequencies due to it being designated for a more international audience. The other key difference is the Lumia 930 ships with Windows Phone 8.1 and the Nokia Cyan firmware, while the Icon first shipped with 8.0 and Nokia Black firmware and the update to the latest OS and firmware version is currently “under testing”. Those two differences aside, the Icon and the 930 can be mentioned practically interchangeably.
The Lumia 930 is the highest end offering currently available from Nokia, with a 5” 1080p AMOLED display driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, which in this case is the 2.2 GHz quad-core Krait 400 version with the model number MSM8974VV. The Snapdragon 800 platform also includes the Adreno 330 GPU at 450 MHz, support for up to a 21 MP camera, and the cellular baseband built in. The Snapdragon 800 platform is certainly something we are used to seeing, with it powering most of the flagship smartphones from last year.
Nokia Lumia 930 | |
SoC | Qualcomm MSM8974VV 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Krait 400 |
RAM/NAND | 2 GB LPDDR3, 32 GB NAND |
Display | 5" 1920x1080 Pentile ClearBlack AMOLED |
Network |
Cat 4 LTE 150 Mbps DL 50 Mbps Upload LTE network bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 WCDMA network 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 2100 MHz WCDMA DC-HSPA 42.2 Mbps DL, 5.76 Mbps UL GSM network 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz |
Dimensions | 137 x 71 x 9.8 (mm) |
Weight | 167 grams |
Camera |
20 MP rear camera, 1.1 µm pixels, 1/2.5" CMOS size, F/2.4, 26 mm focal length, Dual-LED Flash, OIS 1.2 MP front camera, wide angle, f/2.4, 1280x960 |
Battery | 2420 mAh 3.8 V (9.196 Whr) |
OS | Windows Phone 8.1 with Cyan Firmware |
Connectivity | 802.11 b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0 LE, USB2.0, MPT, DLNA, NFC FM Radio |
Location Technologies | Cellular and Wi-Fi network positioning, A-GPS, A-GLONASS, BeiDou |
SIM Size | nano SIM |
Hardware wise, the Lumia 930 actually shares a platform with more than just the Lumia Icon. The Lumia 1520 which was launched in late 2013 is a 6” Windows Phone with identical hardware specifications. Practically everything except the display, battery and form factor are shared between the 1520 and the 930 with the exception of microSD card support which is present in the 6” 1520, but not available in the 5” 930. Other than microSD, the Lumia 930 ticks most of the other boxes for a high end smartphone, with built in 32 GB of NAND, a 20 MP camera with Zeiss optics, Qi wireless charging, NFC, Wireless AC, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and something that is unique to the Lumia line at the moment – four High Amplitude Audio Capture (HAAC) microphones which allows not just stereo audio recording, but Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 as well. The HAAC microphones have been a staple of the higher end Lumia series for a while, and they enable a higher dynamic range of audio to be recorded without distortion. We’ll see how it works later in the review.
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Myrandex - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
You realize the high end Lumia 1520 has SD card slot support...as well as Glance support that was a major loss in the authors eyes right? Too bad it was never reviewed at AT. That LCD screen on it is really nice.Luke4 - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
Just buy the upcoming 730 instead.Chriz - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link
Will the 930 support T-Mobile LTE? It wasn't really clear which provider Brett was using to test with.Brett Howse - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link
I was testing on TELUS, but as it was an international phone it did not support all of the LTE bands for North America. The specific LTE bands this phone is capable of are listed in the specs on page 1. T-Mobile appears to use band 4, which is not available in the 930.krutou - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The Lumia 930 (aka Lumia Icon in the US) is a Verizon exclusive. There will be no US GSM versions (ATT&TMobile), aside from international editions of the 930.Myrandex - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The 1520 supports TMo LTE though ;)Boogaloo - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link
About the wifi graph on page 7: If I'm reading this correctly you tested the 930 with a router that only supports up to 802.11n despite the fact that the phone supports ac, and then published a graph that includes phones that were tested with routers that DO support 802.11ac.Let me know if I understood correctly please.
Brett Howse - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link
Yes, I only have access to a 802.11n router. I updated the graph to point out the connection speed was based on 802.11n. I hope to get a 80.211ac router soon but I have been waiting for the new wave of ac routers that are just starting to appear.jenesuispasbavard - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
Still isn't clear that the other phones were tested with 802.11ac...georgehan - Monday, September 8, 2014 - link
I went to the Microsoft store last week, and every single Lumia Icon on display had a ridiculous amount of mura. Solid colors had a rough linen texture even at high brightness levels.Maybe Samsung's selling Nokia rejected Galaxy S4 panels?