What is the deal?
The Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is right down to $349 throughout Labor Day week, a $50 low cost on an already-affordable handset.
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is obtainable now for $399 in two colorways: Caramel Latte and Scarlet Wave.
- The cellphone has a glossy, pretty vegan leather-based again, intensive stylus functionality, and user-friendly software program.
- I want the software program assist was longer, because it’s presently a yr or two behind competing manufacturers.
It has been a number of years since I evaluated the first-generation Moto G Stylus, and lots has improved. My ZDNET colleague Kerry Wan lined all the specs of the newest mannequin, the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024), and what to anticipate within the $399 Android smartphone, so I will not repeat all that right here. As a substitute, I have been testing the cellphone for a few weeks with my T-Cellular SIM and can share my expertise with it thus far.
Earlier this yr, I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely for thrice the worth of the Moto G Stylus. Nonetheless, for each day use, I choose carrying the Moto G Stylus. It is smaller, the stylus meets all my wants, and I benefit from the streamlined Moto expertise and customization. My notification shade is not cluttered with adverts, and I may even go two days earlier than needing to cost it.
Motorola despatched me the Caramel Latte shade with a vegan leather-based again, which is beautiful and matches considered one of my favourite espresso sorts (haha!).. There’s additionally a Scarlet Wave shade that is extra pink, nearly like lipstick. With 8GB of RAM, 256GB of inside storage with microSD card assist, and a 5,000mAh battery, all for simply $399, the brand new Moto G Stylus stands out as the funds cellphone to beat in 2024.
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The stylus stays the distinguishing characteristic of this yr’s Motorola mannequin. It has been improved over earlier generations with decreased latency, higher concentrating on, and an up to date person interface. Pulling out the stylus when the cellphone is off is handy, and there is a new notice pop-up for shortly jotting down ideas. It is a refined however very useful characteristic for notetakers on the go.
So far as default notes apps go, you possibly can select between Moto Word and Google Preserve Notes. Since Preserve Notes is my default, the cellphone is much more helpful for my wants.
When the cellphone is on and the stylus is eliminated, an inventory of favorited shortcuts seems on an overlay display screen, permitting you to leap proper into motion. The stylus settings embrace elimination notifications and the final recognized location of the stylus that can assist you discover it if it is misplaced. The stylus has a a lot nicer design than earlier Moto Stylus fashions I’ve used, carefully resembling the Samsung S-Pen. It is simple to carry, slim, and prices inside the cellphone.
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Constructed-in pen apart, Motorola’s person interface is considered one of my favourite components of the cellphone; it is a pretty inventory, Pixel-esque appear and feel boosted by Motorola’s useful gestures and system enhancements. For instance, you possibly can twist to launch the digicam, make chopping motions to toggle the flashlight, and decide up the cellphone to silence the ringer. These gestures, and several other others, make the cellphone really feel a lot smarter than others, and it is nice to have them out there even at this cheaper price level.
The brand new Moto G Stylus 5G launches with Android 14 and the April 1 Android safety replace, however given the reasonably priced worth and processor of the cellphone, you possibly can possible anticipate one main improve to Android 15 and probably two years of Android safety patches. The cadence will range, in fact, although I want Motorola would push the restrict slightly extra and promise a minimum of two years of OS upgrades. Samsung and Google, for comparability, provide upwards of seven years of updates.
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The 6.7-inch OLED helps as much as a 120Hz refresh charge that may dynamically modify primarily based in your use circumstances. For instance, it’s going to decrease the refresh charge once you’re scrolling by means of images or a webpage — when there are fewer animations to render. I’ve loved hours of content material with the cellphone, and having a legacy port within the 3.5mm headphone jack actually helps when touring with out wi-fi earbuds.
A 50MP major and 13MP ultra-wide digicam are positioned on the again of the cellphone. It is actually refreshing to see a mid-range cellphone with out the pointless macro lens and depth sensor. As a substitute, the ultra-wide digicam helps a 120-degree field-of-view whereas additionally serving because the macro shooter.
Additionally: Use these 5 digicam settings in your Android cellphone for higher images
Whereas the digicam {hardware} isn’t as highly effective as flagship telephones, Motorola gives wonderful software program instruments that provide help to seize nice images and be artistic with little effort. Nonetheless, I’ve loved utilizing the Motorola digicam, particularly when capturing fast pictures in the course of the daytime. The 50MP digicam system ought to serve most individuals simply high-quality. At this worth level, you actually cannot complain.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
I began utilizing private digital assistant (PDA) gadgets that each one had a stylus in 1997, and I’m nonetheless a fan of utilizing such an adjunct that gives precision inputs and on-device handwriting. The Moto G Stylus 5G is an reasonably priced possibility for stylus lovers whereas additionally serving as a really succesful Android cellphone. The Motorola person interface stays considered one of my favorites since it’s optimized for environment friendly use and would not rely as closely on AI that can assist you get issues carried out.
