Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2022) review: stylus and substance

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The Moto G Stylus 5G gets some significant upgrades in this year's model, taking it firmly into the middle of the road. The G Stylus 5G is what you want if you are looking for a well-performing stylus phone but the S22 Ultra feels like an overkill.

Don't confuse the Moto G Stylus 5G with last year's Moto G Stylus 5G or this year's non-5G Moto G Stylus. These are different phones. The previous Moto G Stylus 5G wasn't much of a step up from last year's G Stylus, but it's a different story this year. The G Stylus 5G has an upgraded chip, a stabilizing main camera, and more RAM. It doesn't sound like much, but the improvements make the G Stylus 5G different from the $300-and-under budget class.

The unlocked version of the phone comes with a higher price than the unlocked version last year, which was $399. I think the Stylus G 5G is a worthwhile phone in the middle of the budget range, rather than being a bad device on the high end of the range. It's more of a Note Light than a phone that has a stylus inside.

The G Stylus 5G has a huge 6.8-inch screen with good-enough resolution and a fast refresh rate. The phone uses the top 120Hz rate fairly often in auto mode, which is easier on battery life than not using it at all times.

Blacks are not as dark and contrast is not as rich as on anOLED screen. Video quality is fine but not as good as you would get with a more expensive device. The screen is hard to see outdoors in bright sunlight, which makes it seem like it has an advantage over OLED. This wasn't the case with the G Stylus 5G, as I squinted at the screen in bright daylight. I usually had the screen brightness turned up to 80 or 90 percent, which is all to say that it isn't the very bright.

The phone looks ridiculous in the side pocket of a pair of yoga pants, but it is the right size for all of the device's features. If you pop the stylus out of its silo, you will see a shortcut menu with icons that lead you to other apps. The added accuracy helps, but a stylus isn't necessarily essential.

The note app is simpler than the one on the S22 Ultra. Rather than giving you access to all of the tools at once, individual notes have separate tabs for doodling, text entry, images, and voice memos. It is more limited, but also less overwhelming. A soft gray with dots is one of the background options you can choose for your digital page. They are inviting the way a blank journal is.

Outside of the notes app, the stylus is more of a support. It can be used to crop images in a freeform style, add handwriting to a screen grab, or fill in some Disney character-esque coloring book templates. It lacks the connected features of the S Pen, like gesture-based Air Actions, because it is a capacitive stylus. It feels precise and responsive enough for note-taking and sketches, and is a little bit of weight to it.

The performance of the phone is very good. The unlocked version of the phone has a very healthy 8GB of RAM, which is a cut above the 400 series chip used by last year's model. I can see all of that power in the way that apps stay open for a long time in the background, and I can run a very graphics-heavy game like Genshin Impact fairly smoothly. Some apps, like the camera app, are a little slow to open. The G Stylus 5G provides good performance that often exceeds my expectations.

It's healthy to have a good battery stamina. If you're a light or moderate user, the G Stylus 5G won't run for days on a single charge, but it will get most users safely. I was still at 20 percent by the time I got home. It shouldn't be a problem for owners of the device to worry about battery life.

The unlocked version of the phone can be used on the 5G networks of both T-Mobile and Verizon, as well as other carriers in the coming months.

The Moto G Stylus 5G ships with the latest version of the operating system, as it should because of the upcoming version of the operating system. One of my favorites is the notifications on the lock screen that are useful without being disruptive. The suggested app feature on the home screen is powered by a company called Branch. Its suggestions are not all that smart, and it takes up a lot of space, but it is easy to not use that particular feature.

The G Stylus 5G will get an OS platform upgrade and three years of security updates. That's an improvement over the company's previous policy of supporting phones for two years, but not as good as the five-year policy for some of its budget phones. If you want to trade in your old device for a new one every few years, it will be enough.

The Moto G Stylus 5G feels like it doesn't live up to its potential. The main camera's optical stabilization can help maintain more detail in photos taken in dim lighting. The photos sometimes look bright with neon greens and reds, but they haven't dialed in their image processing.

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The G Stylus 5G's rear camera system has a 50-megapixel f/1.9 standard wide, 8-megapixel ultrawide, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor that helps out with portrait mode photos. There is a 16-megapixel f/2.2 selfie camera with a very aggressive face-smoothing beauty filter that can be disengaged.

Portrait mode photos can be prone to errors, like blur over a subject's ear. The ultrawide lens is a nicer option than using a low-res dedicated macro camera because you actually get the focus. Photos in dim and low light look different. It's hard to know what you're going to get. This phone should shoot 4K video at a cost of $500. Video clips tend to look over-brightened, though stabilization is good.

The G Stylus 5G is a great option if you want a phone with a stylus that keeps up with demanding tasks. The Moto G Stylus 5G is a much less expensive alternative to the S22 Ultra because it has a healthy performance. If your budget is tight, the Moto G Stylus is a good option at $279. The 5G model is a worthwhile upgrade if you can spare the extra $200-plus.

It's not a phone I would recommend as an all-around pick in its price range. If you aren't a fan of the stylus, the A53 5G is a better package. It has a nicer screen, a better camera, and is scheduled to get five years of security updates. You don't get the same amount of storage or RAM, but it's $50 cheaper.

We're down to just two manufacturers making stylus phones, because of the departure of Lg from the mobile phone market. If you're looking for a stylus and the best of the best, the S22 Ultra is worth the high price. If you're not too picky about image quality, the G Stylus 5G is a good middle ground for stylus fans.

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it. It is impossible for us to read and analyze all of these agreements. We started counting how many times you have to agree to use devices when we review them.

You must accept that you can use the Moto G Stylus 5G.

• Motorola’s Privacy & Software Updates

You have to decide how support works on your phone.

• Help improve Motorola products (optional)
• Enhanced device support (optional)
• Smart updates (optional)

You are asked to enter your account after entering it.

• Add a phone number to your Google account (optional)

You have to agree to the following.

• Google Terms of Service
• Google Privacy Policy
• Google Play Terms of Service

You need to agree to the following.

• Install updates and apps: “You agree this device may also automatically download and install updates and apps from Google, your carrier, and your device’s manufacturer, possibly using cellular data. Some of these apps may offer in-app purchases.”
  
  Back up to Google Drive (optional)
  
  Use location (optional)
  
  Allow scanning (optional)
  
  Send usage and diagnostic data (optional)

The Google Assistant.

• You can set up Google Assistant (optional)
• Teach your Assistant to recognize your voice (optional)
• Access Assistant without unlocking your device (optional)

The carrier may want you to agree to some policies. You have the option to join the user community.

• Give permission to Motorola to send push notifications about its services and benefits (optional)
• Provide your email to Motorola (optional)

You have to accept at least five main agreements when setting up the Moto G Stylus 5G.