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Nokia Lumia 925 (T-Mobile)

 & Alex Colon Executive Editor, Reviews

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Which phone is better? Well what do you prefer: Aluminum or plastic? - Mobile Phones
3.5 Good

The Bottom Line

The Nokia Lumia 925 is a good-looking and well-built Windows Phone, but can't push itself to the top of the smartphone ranks.

Pros & Cons

    • Well-built.
    • Lots of useful software added.
    • Easy to use.
    • Most features track somewhat behind industry leaders.
    • Windows Phone still lacks some popular apps.

Nokia Lumia 925 (T-Mobile) Specs

CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 Dual-Core
Dimensions 5.01 by 2.77 by 0.33 inches
Screen Resolution 1280 by 768 pixels
Screen Size 4.5
Nokia Lumia 925

Nokia quietly unveiled the Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless last week, but one-upped itself this morning when it took the wraps off of its Lumia 925 at an event in London. Which phone is better? Well, that largely depends on you. What do you prefer: Aluminum or plastic?

It's been over half a year since we first tested the Lumia 920, Nokia's previous Windows Phone 8 flagship device. Not much has changed in the Windows Phone space since then, and the 925 and 928 are largely incremental upgrades. By and large, the hardware and specs are nearly the same across all three phones. What has changed is the design. The 925 and the 928 are smaller and lighter than the bloated 920, and the 925 is the first Lumia to feature an aluminum body.

But before we get to the changes, here's what stayed the same. The 925 and the 928 (and the 920, for that matter) are all powered by a 1.5-GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 processor. Each phone features a 4.5-inch screen (the 925 and the 928 are OLED, compared with the LCD on the 920) with the same 1,280-by-768-pixel resolution and the same 334 pixels per inch. Each phone has a 2,000mAh battery, support for wireless charging, Bluetooth 3.0, as well as GPS and NFC support. For the most part, these are all nearly the same exact phones.

Name Nokia Lumia 925 (T-Mobile) Nokia Lumia 928 (Verizon Wireless)
 
Lowest Price %displayPrice% %seller%
Editor Rating
Dimensions 5.01 x 2.77 x 0.33 inches 5.24 x 2.71 x 0.44 inches
Weight 4.9 oz 5.71 oz
Operating System as Tested Windows Phone Windows Phone 8
Total Integrated Storage 29 GB 32 GB
CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 Dual-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 Dual-Core
Processor Speed 1.5 GHz 1.5 GHz
Screen Size 4.5 inches 4.5 inches
Screen Resolution 1280 x 768 pixels 1280 x 768 pixels
Screen Type AMOLED PureMotion HD+ PureMotion OLED
Screen Pixels Per Inch 334 ppi 334 ppi
Camera Resolution 8.7 MP Rear; 1.2 MP Front-Facing 8.7 MP Rear; 1.2 MP Front-Facing
Video Camera Resolution 1080p Rear; 720p Front-Facing 1080p Rear; 720p Front-Facing
802.11x/Band(s) 802.11 a/b/g 802.11 a/b/g
Bluetooth Version 3 3
GPS Yes Yes
NFC Yes Yes
microSD Slot No No
  Read the Review Read the Review

So here's what's different. The Lumia 920 weighs in at a whopping 6.53 ounces, which makes it one of the heaviest phones in recent memory. The Lumia 928 weighs 5.71 ounces—still heavy, but an improvement. Gone is the matte finish of the 920 in favor of a high gloss. The Lumia 925, meanwhile, weighs in at 4.9 ounces, which makes it the most pocketable of the bunch. It also trades in the plastic for a metal back.

Unfortunately, Nokia's new Lumias eschew the fun color schemes introduced with the 920 in favor of much more drab, common colors. The 928 is available in black and white, while the 925 adds gray.

There are some differences among the cameras as well. Lead analyst Sascha Segan had some trouble with low-light performance on the Lumia 920. The new Lumias are using the same 8.7-megapixel sensor, but Nokia is promising better low-light performance with the addition of a Xenon flash to the 928 and an additional lens piece in the 925.

Three phones. Three carriers. Which one is worth your money? If you're already tied to a carrier, that's probably sufficient reason to influence your decision. None of these phones are different enough to warrant jumping ship, unless you absolutely can't pick up anything heavier than 4.9 ounces.

I haven't gotten my hands on the 925, but I'm testing the 928 as I write this. We'll have a review of that phone shortly. The Lumia 928 will be available from Verizon on Thursday, May 16 for $99.99. The Lumia 925 will be available from T-Mobile for an unspecified price at some point this summer. 

Final Thoughts

Which phone is better? Well what do you prefer: Aluminum or plastic? - Mobile Phones

Nokia Lumia 925 (T-Mobile)

3.5 Good

The Nokia Lumia 925 is a good-looking and well-built Windows Phone, but can't push itself to the top of the smartphone ranks.

About Our Expert

Alex Colon

Alex Colon

Executive Editor, Reviews

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s executive editor of reviews, steering our coverage to make sure we're testing the products you're interested in buying and telling you whether they're worth it. I've been here for more than 10 years. I previously managed the consumer electronics reviews team, and before that, I covered mobile, smart home, and wearable technology for PCMag and Gigaom. 

My Areas of Expertise

  • I’ve written hundreds of reviews of cell phones, fitness trackers, robot vacuums, smartwatches, and various other products.
  • I’ve also edited thousands of reviews and articles on consumer electronics technologies and products. 

The Technology I Use

I’m writing this bio on my 24-inch blue iMac, which I initially bought for personal use, but quickly decided to use for work instead of my tiny, company-issued ThinkPad (sorry, IT team). The screen is big, bright, and sharp, and the speakers are surprisingly good considering how thin the machine is.

The other big screen in my life is a 65-inch LG C9 OLED TV. If you’re wondering whether OLED is worth the premium over LCD, I’m here to tell you that it is.

I’d be doing my beloved LG C9 a disservice if I didn’t have it hooked up to a capable sound system, so I have a Sonos Beam sitting on a media console underneath the TV, and two Sonos Ones set up as rear channels for surround sound. If you’re a Sonos user, I highly recommend adding the Sonos Sub to your setup. It’s definitely a little more expensive than it should be, but it's truly money well spent.

Of course, as an editor, I also do plenty of reading that isn’t related to work, and I love to sit down with a good, old-fashioned, paper-and-ink book. But when carrying a book isn’t convenient, I break out my first-generation Kindle Paperwhite, which is still working just fine nearly 10 years in.

With 15 years of experience in tech, Alex guides PCMag's product testing to help you decide what's worth buying and how to get the most out of it.

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