Motorola’s latest Moto G Stylus gets the basics right

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One of the last new phones to be sold in the US without 5G is the Moto G Stylus, which has a clearance rack vibe. If the space for a new season of 5G devices is cleared out, then the 2022 G Stylus is a great deal.

The G Stylus costs $299, but it is on a permanent markdown of $279. The G Stylus is the same as last year's version, with a bigger 5,000mAh battery, a bigger 4GB of RAM, and a better camera.

It still has a big 6.8-inch screen and a built-in stylus. There is a new processor that takes the place of the previous one, the Snapdragon . The handy features of a headphone jack, microSD card slot, and in-box charging are slowly being phased out by manufacturers as they move towards the mid-range. Get them while you can.

Not including 5G is a bit of a problem. Over the next few years, 5G networks in the US will get better. Depending on where you live and how you use your phone, having a 4G-only phone might not be a big deal. If it is the right fit for you, then it might be a winner.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

The Moto G Stylus has a big 6.8-inch panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. It's a dim side, and it's an LCD panel. I used the phone indoors more than out, but I still needed the brightness to go up to 80 or 90 percent at all times. Visibility is not great in direct sunlight, but it is good enough to see what you are doing. You will notice a little extra smoothness as you scroll, because the faster-than-standard refresh rate is nice.

The whole phone is big because of that huge screen. Really large. There is no chance of using this thing comfortably with one hand, and it looks ridiculous sticking out of the pocket of my joggers. The big screen fits a lot of content, but it's definitely a lot of phone, and I got used to it over a few days.

All the basics are covered in the stylus feature set. The first thing you will see when you remove the stylus from the phone is a simple note-taking app. There is also a coloring book and a shortcut to capture a screenshot so you can notate or doodle on the image. It's not fancy or advanced, but it's a nice tool to have when you want to keep your phone unlocked, even if you don't use it often. My mother sealed her G Stylus 2021 with a case that covered the stylus silo completely. She is perfectly happy with her phone. To each of them.

I took that as a challenge, because the G Stylus will last up to two days on a single charge. After the first day of testing, the phone's battery was down around 50 percent, but I didn't charge it until the next day. I got about 6.5 hours of screen-on time and was down to 18 percent by the end of the second day. I bumped the screen refresh rate up to the highest setting because I spent a lot of time on the internet. Heavy users would likely get through a full day without needing to top off the battery.

Overall performance is good. There are stutters and slight hesitations as I open apps and scroll through screens but nothing that affects my daily use. I am impressed by how easy it is to switch back to an app I was using hours ago, because the phone's 6GB of RAM keeps lots of apps running in the background. You can run a graphics-intensive game like Genshin Impact, but you will see some stuttering and dropped frames. That is not what this phone is for.

At this point in the year, most new phones are shipping with a new operating system, but the G Stylus is still pre-installed. The phone will be upgraded to a version of the operating system called Android 12. The company promises three years of security updates on an every-other-month schedule, which is one year longer than it promised with last year's model. That is an improvement, but still falls short of the four years that the company says it will give for its A-series budget phones.

I usually cover which 5G bands this phone can use, but in this case it's an easy answer. 5G is something you should consider when buying a new phone. T-Mobile's 5G network is already strong, as are the networks of AT&T and Verizon. The Moto G Stylus won't be able to take advantage of that because it will mean noticeably faster speeds compared to 4G.

The strike against the Moto G Stylus is not a dealbreaker. The 5G expansion in the US will be limited to major cities first, so if you live in a more rural area, you won't need a 5G device in the near future. If you are happy with 4G speeds or spend most of your time on the internet, then you will be fine with a 4G device for the next few years. The Moto G Stylus isn't designed to last that long.

There are three cameras on the G Stylus rear panel, but one of them has a depth sensor that you can ignore. There is a 50-megapixel f/1.9 standard wide camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera. This year's model has a dedicated macro camera, but the ultrawide does double duty as the macro sensor.

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• Macro mode
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• Night vision
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The G Stylus cameras produce well-balanced images without going over the top in high-contrast scenes. The rear cameras do a good job in good lighting, but there is some noise in the images from the 8-megapixel ultrawide taken in moderately low light. There is a noticeable lag between when you tap the shutter and when you actually take a photo, which is common for a budget phone. If your subject isn't moving, night vision is helpful. It doesn't work miracles, but at least this budget phone has a night mode.

It is unusual that video recording is only available in high definition. Most phones are capable of shooting 4K video. Even if you turn electronic stabilization off, there is still a fairly aggressive crop. I don't think the lack of 4K resolution video will bother a lot of people buying this phone, but 4K is more or less the new standard for high-resolution video, so that's something to note if video is important to you. The smaller file sizes are easier to share than the1080p clips.

You won't find the Moto G Stylus on the shelves of a store. The major carriers are too interested in getting 5G phones into their customers to waste any of the retail space on a 4G device. It's not all marketing bluster anymore; true 5G really is arriving, and it will be faster than 4G. It doesn't mean you have to buy a 5G device just because the carriers think it's the right time. The Moto G Stylus is a great deal if you are fine with 4G and will be over the next few years.

It has good performance, a huge screen, competent cameras, and excellent battery life for under $300. The headline feature is the stylus. Even if it doesn't get much use, the phone is still well-priced even without it.

If you want a more future-proofed device, the Samsung A32 5G is a good option. It is the same price as the Moto G Stylus and offers the same performance. The screen is smaller and lower resolution, it only has 64 gigabytes of storage, and there is no stylus.

If you don't care about future-proofing for the next generation of wireless technology and a big phone with a big screen is just your size, then the Moto G Stylus is the bargain rack deal for you.

Allison Johnson is a photographer.

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.

• 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 and be able to circumvent at least 13 when setting up the Moto G Stylus.