I went back to the Nokia Lumia 1020, and it made me miss modern phones

I just compared the new cameras Galaxy S26 Ultra to an almost 13-year-old Nokia Lumia 1020.

It’s always fun to compare, and it shows how far computer photography has come in the last decade.

Using the Lumia 1020 again brought back fond memories. Windows Phone it will always hold a special place in my heart.

It’s not just nostalgia, and anyone who used the Nokia Lumia 1020 back in 2013 understands why it’s still remembered today.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 was a flagship smartphone, and it’s hard to convince me otherwise.

Windows Phone 8 was everything I wanted

No one has made software quite the same since

I remember the day I walked into my local AT&T store looking for something different.

I’ve used a BlackBerry before, and I’ve had iPhones and Androids before. But that day, the cotton Nokia Lumia in the store caught my eye.

I once ruled out Windows Phone because my experience with the Motorola Q running Windows Mobile 6 was miserable.

It didn’t take long to realize that the Lumia 1020 and Windows Phone 8 were unique.

Live Tiles immediately jumped out at me. I liked the idea of ​​getting regular updates without opening apps.

Connecting to my Xbox was really cool, and nothing was better than seeing the achievements pop up on my smartphone while I played.

The software felt alive in a way I haven’t experienced since.

The Square Home it comes close, but nothing compares to a system built from the ground up to host social media.

Windows Phone was fun to use, and that has value.

Nokia wasn’t afraid to experiment with design

Colorful smartphones were the thing

Sure, the Lumia 1020 came in black and white, but I got mine in bright yellow.

Bright colors were a hallmark of Lumia devices, and in the years that followed, I would own variations of lime green and bright orange.

Nokia was also not afraid to rely on different designs. The Lumia 1020 is known for its camera, and you can tell right away by looking at it that the 41MP camera sensor is the star of the show.

It was a standout feature compared to other phones in 2013, and Nokia made sure to highlight it.

Likewise, the Lumia 1520 was a monster by the standards of the time, making it ideal for viewing content on its large 6-inch screen.

The same company could produce different designs on the same platform. It was possible 13 years ago, but it seems like a lost art today.

Everything feels like a one-size-fits-all solution, and from a business perspective, I understand that. However, as consumers, it stinks and forces us to adapt to a lower standard.

If there is any hint that the design will mislead anyone, it will be deleted immediately, resulting in the same experience over and over again.

I didn’t want more power

Battery life was also very good

I never thought about the chipset in the Lumia 1020. It’s the Snapdragon S4 Plus, which was everywhere at the time. Coupled with 2GB of RAM, the specs were nothing to write home about.

However, I did not notice. Windows Phone 8 was well developed and has been working well all along. It was simple and bad, exactly what good software should be.

As a result, battery life was great. The Lumia 1020 had a 2,000mAh battery, but it easily outperformed similar phones.

Windows Phone proved that you don’t need a super expensive Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset to make a great phone. You just need a great design, a great user experience, and well-written software.

It was not enough to win enough customers

Smartphone competition was fierce in 2013. Apple was expanding its empire with the iPhone, and BlackBerry was still a major player. Android was just starting to become popular with users, and there wasn’t enough software to go around.

It didn’t make sense for developers to add another version of popular Windows Phone apps when users weren’t around.

It’s a shame, and I wish phones like the Nokia Lumia 1020 would come back. There is a lot of space in the market; one just needs motivation.