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Photo: Sam Rutherford
Last year, Motorola released its first-ever phone with a stylus pen. The company says the G Stylus has become so popular that even after updating the lineup earlier this year, Moto is giving it some extra special attention with the new Moto G Stylus 5G.
Starting at $400, the Moto G Stylus 5G — a pretty old name — costs a little more than the $280 Moto G Stylus and features the same basic scheme, but comes with a number of useful improvements in addition to 5G (which supports only sub-6Ghz, not the faster mmWave). ).
The Moto G Stylus 5G features a 6.8-inch FHD+ display, but with a larger 5,000mAh battery (from 4,000mAh), either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage. As per configuration. And since Motorola is one of the few phone makers that still offers extensive support for wired audio and expandable storage, you also get a dedicated headphone jack and microSD card slot.
Photo: Sam Rutherford
On the back, the Moto G Stylus comes with a quad-camera arrangement featuring a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP depth camera (for portrait mode effects) and a slightly higher resolution 5-MP macro cam.
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However, the most significant improvements in this model relate to its stylus. Moto says it has lengthened the stem on the pen so it’s easier to remove from the built-in slot, while also switching to a rounded barrel so the pen is easier to store—no more flipping to make it fit. And while the Moto Pen doesn’t have any built-in Bluetooth connectivity like you get from Samsung’s Galaxy Note phones, Moto has added a handy feature that records your location (on the device) every time you remove the stylus, so in the event that you lose the stylus, It is easier to follow your steps to find it.
Photo: Sam Rutherford
The Moto G Stylus 5G features an almost stock build of Android 11, along with useful bugs like support for Moto Action gestures, a custom night mode, and a new recording mode that can capture video from the phone’s front and back cameras simultaneously. Unfortunately, Moto continues to stick to a rather lackluster software support roadmap, which means the Moto G Stylus is set to only get one major Android update (for Android 12), along with two years of regular security patches.
And while I’d love to see Moto deliver at least two major updates to Android, it’s hard to get too upset. It’s not quite as slick or good-looking as the Galaxy Note, but I really appreciate how the Moto G Stylus 5G offers a similar drawing and note-taking experience for less than half the price of Samsung’s supercharged stylus phone.
Click for more high-resolution hands-on images of the Moto G Stylus 5G. Photo: Sam Rutherford
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The stylus is easy to use and relatively accurate, and while the palm rejection isn’t as sophisticated as on the Note, it’s not hard to adjust the writing style to prevent errant strokes. And since the Moto Pen is completely passive, you never have to worry about running out of juice or keeping it charged.
When you consider that compact pens have largely relegated to high-end phones or expensive tablets over the past few years, it’s good to see at least another phone maker trying its hand at getting an affordable Galaxy Note.
Photo: Sam Rutherford
The $400 Moto G Stylus 5G (Unlocked) is set to go on sale June 14 directly from Motorola and third-party retailers like Best Buy, Walmart and B&H. Carrier sales are expected to follow sometime after that.
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