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Motorola’s Stylus lineup has represented the upper finish of the corporate’s midrange telephones for years. After LG’s departure, it was one of many solely different smartphones to hold a built-in stylus, other than Samsung’s premium S telephones just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely. So naturally, with the Moto G Stylus 2025, there is a little bit of strain to essentially entice clients away from a flagship telephone that prices greater than 3 times as a lot.
Luckily, I believe Motorola has nailed it. The Stylus 2025 improves on final 12 months’s mannequin in methods I did not suppose the corporate was prepared for, with specs that simply rival a few of the greatest Android telephones. And whereas the $400 price ticket means you will not get all of the capabilities of a premium Android smartphone, the Moto G Stylus 2025 has nearly all the pieces you’d want with out all of the superfluous bells and whistles that find yourself costing you $1000 or extra.
Moto G Stylus 2025: Worth, availability, and specs
The Moto G Stylus 2025 was introduced on April 8 and went on sale in america on April 17. The telephone retails for $399 when bought unlocked from Motorola and retailers like Amazon and Greatest Purchase.
Shade choices embody Gibraltar Sea and Surf the Internet, though availability could rely on the provider. Relying on the place you purchase it, you get 128GB or 256GB of storage, however it’ll include 8GB of RAM both method.
|
Class |
Moto G Stylus 2025 |
|---|---|
|
OS |
Android 15 (Hi there UX) |
|
Updates |
2 OS, 3 12 months of bi-monthly safety updates |
|
Show |
6.7” Tremendous HD (2712 x 1220), OLED, 120Hz refresh price |
|
Chipset |
Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 |
|
Storage |
128GB/256GB, expandable |
|
Reminiscence |
8GB LPDDR4X |
|
Rear Digital camera 1 |
50MP large, Sony – LYTIA 700C, f/1.8, OIS, 1μm (2μm with pixel binning) |
|
Rear Digital camera 2 |
13MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 120° FOV, 1.12μm |
|
Entrance-facing Digital camera |
32MP large, f/2.2, 0.7μm (1.4μm with pixel binning) |
|
Audio |
Twin stereo audio system, Dolby Atmos, 2 mics, FM radio |
|
Safety |
Gorilla Glass 3, IP68, MIL-STD-810H |
|
Battery & Charging |
5,000mAh, 68W wired charging, 15W wi-fi charging |
|
Connectivity |
5G (sub-6), Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6E, NFC |
|
Safety |
Fingerprint sensor, face unlock |
|
Dimensions |
162.15 x 74.78 x 8.29mm |
|
Weight |
191g |
|
Colours |
Gibraltar Sea, Surf the Internet |
Moto G Stylus 2025: What I like
I’ve beforehand famous how there are plenty of issues to love concerning the Moto G Stylus 2025, and after spending extra time with the telephone, all of that also rings true. The telephone has a splendidly easy but efficient design that mirrors a few of final 12 months’s flagships just like the Edge 50 Extremely. The digital camera housing has developed to a extra stove-like design, whereas the vegan leather-based encases the complete again properly. It is a tender and really snug telephone to carry.
It is a fairly large telephone, with a show at 6.7 inches, however the bezels are smaller than you’d anticipate for a telephone at this value level. The telephone can be a hair thinner than the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024, however the battery capability continues to be the identical, which is sweet.
Motorola did one thing I did not anticipate with the Stylus show, pushing it past what many midrange (and most flagships) supply by giving it a Tremendous HD decision. It isn’t a decision I’ve seen a lot on a smartphone, however it makes the OLED show seem extremely crisp.
It is stunning, given how Motorola is pushing the next decision than the bottom Galaxy S25, whereas rising brightness to three,000 nits. The result’s a pointy, brilliant show that is virtually nearly as good as the brand new Razr Extremely 2025, and admittedly, I’d like to see extra flagship telephones with this decision.
The telephone is powered by a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, coupled with 8GB of RAM. I’d’ve beloved to see a extra highly effective chip, perhaps one thing within the 7 collection, however after utilizing the telephone over the previous few weeks, I can fortunately report that the telephone performs fairly effectively. The software program is snappy, apps open rapidly, and video games play fairly effectively.
Chances are you’ll expertise some dropped frames for those who’re taking part in one thing graphically heavy like Honkai: Star Rail on the very best settings, however the telephone is greater than able to easy gameplay on excessive settings.
The Moto G Stylus 2025 runs Android 15 out of the field. It isn’t a lot completely different from Android 14, and Motorola’s Hi there UX is a principally inoffensive tackle Android. There’s not a lot built-in customization, a minimum of on the degrees you will discover on OnePlus telephones, for instance, however I do not see this as a draw back, particularly if you wish to hold issues easy. In spite of everything, it is a $400 telephone, so anybody shopping for this most certainly is not an influence consumer.
I recognize the noticeable lack of bloatware. Other than a random gaming folder which you can simply disable and the Look display screen that is turned off by default, Motorola has performed an awesome job minimizing pointless software program on its midrange and finances telephones.
I additionally recognize that Motorola is enhancing its software program replace promise, even by somewhat. The telephone is about to obtain two OS upgrades and three years of bi-weekly software program updates. Final 12 months’s Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 has been receiving updates fairly persistently, and the Moto G Stylus 2023 acquired Android 14 earlier than the Razr Plus 2023 did, so I am hoping Motorola can hold this up.
There may be some AI right here, however do not anticipate a Pixel 9a right here. Motorola’s Moto AI options are principally reserved for higher-end telephones, however there are nonetheless some goodies right here price declaring. Circle to Search is certainly one of my favourite options, and it is nice to see it on this telephone.
Along with the same old Google Photographs AI modifying capabilities, Motorola additionally included a brand new Sketch to Picture characteristic that generates photographs in numerous types based mostly on what you draw. It is a neat characteristic and works pretty equally to Samsung’s characteristic of the identical identify, though not as totally featured. Nonetheless, it is a enjoyable characteristic to indicate off and probably an effective way to maintain a toddler occupied if vital.
One other method Motorola applies AI is to the digital camera expertise. The corporate upgraded the Moto G Stylus 2025 to a 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C sensor, and whereas final 12 months’s telephone took fairly respectable pictures, I’ve not been disenchanted with the picture high quality from this digital camera both. For probably the most half, photographs are crisp and vibrant, significantly in good lighting.
You will get some fairly good natural-looking bokeh from photographs, and the macro photographs from the ultrawide digital camera are additionally surprisingly good for these of you who prefer to take close-up photographs of nature.
Picture 1 of 10
In comparison with final 12 months’s mannequin, the Stylus 2025 would not try and brighten shadows almost as a lot. However, photographs from the Stylus 2024 can generally seem a bit synthetic and have flatter colours.
The place the AI is available in is with Motion Shot, which might seize very high-speed photographs of shifting topics to scale back blur and make sure the topic is in focus. You may see from the pictures under how the Stylus 2025 does a significantly better job of capturing working water or a prepare in movement, though it might come on the expense of some dynamic vary.
Principally, it is a good characteristic to have for those who personal pets or have children.
Battery life is fairly nice, which is par for the course for Motorola’s G collection. I may simply get a day of use from the Stylus 2025, and you may possible get the identical or extra, relying in your use.
Motorola additionally managed to get 68W charging on a $400 telephone, which feels too good to be true for North America, however it actually is unimaginable. From 1%, the telephone will attain 50% in 20 minutes and 100% in 39 minutes. Somebody inform Samsung.
Moto G Stylus 2025: What I do not like
Like final 12 months’s mannequin, the Moto G Stylus 2025 makes use of an in-display fingerprint sensor. Frankly, it isn’t unhealthy, however it’s not my favourite both. It takes a second to register, and it is positioned uncomfortably low on the show. This is identical challenge I had with the Stylus 5G 2024, so it is annoying to see right here, too.
Moreover, the sensor flashes a really brilliant white if you use it, which is especially jarring, particularly when utilizing the telephone in darkish areas.
The digital camera additionally has a couple of quirks, which I hope Motorola can tweak or repair with future updates. The telephone does effectively in good lighting situations, and post-processing can generally properly improve photographs past what’s captured, however it would not appear to do too effectively in trickier lighting conditions. Because of this, some photographs can seem too darkish or heavy in distinction. Once more, it is about choice, however I wish to see a minimum of some enhancements with the way it handles darker scenes.
It appears humorous that that is even a difficulty, given Motorola’s curious and seemingly pointless inclusion of a 3-in-1 gentle sensor (that third “digital camera” on the again).
Moreover, whereas video might be fairly first rate and steady as much as 1080p at 60fps, issues will begin to crap out when you hit 4K30. The digital camera would typically crap out and utterly crash when making an attempt to document a 4K video, which is sort of a bummer.
Picture 1 of 3
On the software program entrance, it might have been good to see Motorola give the telephone extra Moto AI options, even when they’re cloud-based, though at $400, this is not actually one thing we should always anticipate from a tool at this value level.
Equally, with Motorola’s software program promise, which admittedly might be higher. We have seen the corporate supply a mid-range G-series telephone 5 OS upgrades and 6 years of software program updates, and it might be good to see that degree of help on what might be thought of the corporate’s “hero” Moto G telephone in North America.
Lastly, whereas its good to nonetheless have a stylus telephone aside from Samsung’s premium Galaxy S25 Extremely, it feels a bit laggy, even after Motorola alleged to enhance responsiveness by 4X.
I do like that Motorola lastly gave it some function by including the Sketch to Picture characteristic, however I can not assist however marvel if Motorola could be higher off together with an lively stylus like an S Pen for probably higher usability or simply casting off it altogether and giving us an even bigger battery or one thing.
Moto G Stylus 2025: Competitors
At this value level, the closest competitor for the Moto G Stylus 2025 could be the Samsung Galaxy A36. As a result of it is Samsung, you are getting a significantly better software program promise and a few enjoyable built-in AI options like Object Eraser. Nevertheless, charging pace continues to be slower, the display screen is not as sharp, there’s much less base RAM, and you do not get expandable storage.
You might additionally spring for the Pixel 9a for those who do not thoughts spending somewhat extra. This manner, you could possibly get a greater software program promise, extra shade choices, and tons of AI options. Nevertheless, it prices $100 extra, and you may miss out on the sooner charging speeds.
You might additionally go for the Nothing Cellphone 3a or Cellphone 3a Professional, each of that are equally priced and have spectacular specs. Nevertheless, they could even be laborious to come up with as they’re solely accessible by Nothing’s beta program, and provider help is not as sturdy or dependable.
Moto G Stylus 2025: Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase this if…
- You are available in the market for , reasonably priced telephone.
- You need a telephone with a built-in stylus pen.
- You need good battery life and quick charging.
You should not purchase this if…
- You need all the most recent AI options from Google.
- You intend to maintain the telephone for greater than three years.
It is powerful to seek out causes to not advocate the Moto G Stylus 2025. Regardless of a few of its drawbacks, this is among the greatest Android telephones underneath $400, and one you undoubtedly should not sleep on, even with costlier telephones just like the Pixel 9a looming over it.
The specs and efficiency make this an awesome telephone for the value, and the digital camera is surprisingly good, even when it wants a little bit of tweaking. And whereas the telephone is not good, not one of the negatives really feel like dealbreakers to me, even after a couple of weeks. Finally, the Moto G Stylus 2025 solidifies Motorola because the king of reasonably priced telephones in North America.
What $400 will get you
The Moto G Stylus 2025 is proof that you simply need not spend a bunch of cash on a flagship when you will get the same expertise for half the value.
