6.0 Moto G Stylus (2023) Like
Nice photographs for the worth vary
Decent efficiency for many duties
Two-day battery
Don’t like
Stylus feels superfluous
Short replace timeline
Lacks 5G connectivity as equally priced telephones begin to embody it
The Moto G Stylus is among the most succesful $200 telephones I’ve used to date. Unlike the $170 Moto G Play — which struggled on many primary duties — I discovered the Stylus to easily run most apps, video games and providers whereas additionally taking respectable photographs on its 50-megapixel important digital camera and 8-megapixel front-facing digital camera.The Moto G Stylus has a 6.5-inch 720p show with a 90Hz refresh fee, a sluggish however in any other case succesful MediaTek Helio G85 processor, 64GB of storage that is expandable with a microSD card slot, 4GB of RAM, a 5,000-mAh battery and — as per its title — a stylus with a built-in slot. Stereo audio system, a fingerprint sensor and a headphone jack spherical out the telephone’s {hardware} — all of that are welcome. The Moto G Stylus has a menu that pops up when ejecting the stylus. Mike Sorrentino/CNETEven although the stylus is among the telephone’s promoting factors, its addition feels extra like a “nice to have” perk than a necessity. When popping the stylus from its slot, you get a fast menu to entry a screenshot-editing software, a notice software, a handwriting calculator and Google Keep. You additionally get a handwriting keyboard that permits you to scribble into most textual content fields, which is sweet for fast phrases however is irritating to make use of for longer sentences. But in case you are a fan of stylus telephones, it is right here and is functionally advantageous.Motorola ships the Stylus with Android 13 onboard, and just like different Moto G telephones, will solely get one main software program replace (to Android 14, which launches this fall) and three years of safety updates. This timeline is pretty common for this worth vary, and I want Motorola may provide one thing extra like 4 to 5 years of safety updates for individuals who wish to use their telephone till it is damaged.That brief replace lifespan, made worse by the telephone’s lack of 5G connectivity, results in the largest drawback with the Moto G Stylus. While I discovered the telephone works nice with most duties, the telephone’s lower-end processor, 4GB of RAM and lack of 5G could lead it to get left behind as apps and providers change into extra superior and benefit from sooner web speeds. That’s significantly of notice as 5G telephone costs start to drop under $200, with Samsung already providing the Galaxy A14 5G and TCL beginning to deliver its 40 sequence of telephones into the US market. However, for those who merely do not care about whether or not your telephone has 5G, and also you simply want an affordable telephone proper now, the Moto G Stylus does provide loads of consolation options to take pleasure in at its finances worth. The Moto G Stylus supplies quick entry to taking after which enhancing a screenshot. Mike Sorrentino/CNETMoto G Stylus: Just sufficient specs to get you goingThe Moto G Stylus has what I’d contemplate the minimal specs wanted to functionally run most apps and duties with out irritating lag or storage issues. The MediaTek Helio G85 processor paired up with the telephone’s 4GB of RAM permits most apps to launch shortly whereas dealing with a bit of little bit of multitasking. It’s by far probably the most noticeable enchancment when evaluating the Stylus to the $170 Moto G Play, whose Helio G37 processor and 3GB of RAM created a stuttered telephone expertise the place some apps would not even load.The extra highly effective processor does seem to assist the display with its refresh fee, which capabilities at a noticeable 90Hz. Also in contrast to the Moto G Play, which solely had an “auto” refresh fee as much as 90Hz, you’ll be able to set the Moto G Stylus to run constantly at that greater refresh fee. This permits for smoother scrolling by net pages, apps and in recreation animations.The telephone’s 64GB of storage is on the smaller aspect by at present’s requirements however ought to assist you to nonetheless retailer sufficient apps, photographs and movies earlier than reaching for a microSD card. When ejecting the stylus from the Moto G Stylus whereas locked, the notes app launches for fast notes. Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe telephone’s 5,000-mAh battery lasts roughly two days underneath medium to heavy utilization. During my evaluate interval, I sometimes ran the telephone by our benchmark checks whereas utilizing it for video calls, social media and pictures all through the day. These checks embody monitoring the battery by roughly an hour of energetic use, consisting of 10 minutes of taking part in Marvel Snap, a 10-minute video name, a 20-minute voice name the place I additionally browsed a number of apps and rounded out with 15 minutes of YouTube movies. During that interval, the battery began at 78% and depleted all the way down to 69%.As I discussed earlier than, the included stylus is a pleasant perk, however it’s additionally one which I’m confused by at this worth vary. The telephone’s lower-powered specs make it helpful for many duties, however a stylus implies that the system is supposed for productiveness — like creating drawings or annotating PDF paperwork. Aside from taking a couple of fast screenshots, circling or highlighting essential particulars and sending the annotated picture off in a textual content message, I’m not totally positive what extra to make of the included stylus. Instead, it will have been nice to see both NFC for contactless purchases or maybe wi-fi charging make its method all the way down to the sub-$200 worth, even in lieu of 5G connectivity. The Moto G Stylus has a 50-megapixel important digital camera and a 2-megapixel macro digital camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNETMoto G Stylus pictures is sort of goodThe Moto G Stylus has one of many higher digital camera programs I’ve used within the $200-and-under telephone house. The telephone’s 50-megapixel important digital camera captures a number of element, particularly when outside or in well-lit areas. As is typical on this worth vary, photographs taken in indoor areas get a bit of noisy, leading to barely less-details, however I used to be fairly pleased with a number of photographs I took over a Sunday afternoon brunch at Comfortland in Astoria, Queens. This indoor group photograph taken within the Comfortland restaurant has barely extra noise and fewer particulars than the close-ups or the out of doors photographs. Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe photograph of the crab cake benedict significantly highlights the digital camera’s functionality for meals pictures, sharply capturing each the primary portion of the dish together with the tomatoes on the plate. Crab cake benedict dish at Comfortland, taken on the Moto G Stylus. Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe 50-megapixel important digital camera is paired up with a 2-megapixel macro lens, that are used collectively to supply a blurred background bokeh impact in portrait mode. In different cheaper telephones that I check with portrait mode, outcomes are normally someplace between unnoticeable to badly rendered. However these photographs of my pal Cole taken on the patio at Diamond Dogs in Astoria appropriately maintain him and his flowing hair in focus, whereas blurring out the folks behind him. Portrait mode photograph of Cole at Diamond Dogs in Astoria, Queens. Courtesy of Kevin Brown Kevin took a portrait mode photograph of himself on the Moto G Stylus, and although it is an 8-megapixel digital camera the picture got here out good. Courtesy of Kevin BrownMuch more shocking is the portrait mode additionally working nicely with the 8-megapixel front-facing digital camera, which my pal Kevin examined out whereas we frolicked within the bar’s yard.Indoor selfies had extra picture noise however in any other case work for a fast photograph. I additionally discovered the front-facing digital camera acceptable for a gaggle chat, with colours being extra muted generally whereas indoors. Again, it is pretty typical for telephones on this worth vary to battle extra whereas in darker settings.The cameras shoot 720p-resolution video at 30 frames per second, leading to footage that’s advantageous for a fast clip, however I would not use it for any particular events. This is not a telephone for capturing a dramatic movie, however it should work for grabbing fast photographs of surroundings or of a pet. An indoor front-facing digital camera photograph taken on the Moto G Stylus. Mike Sorrentino/CNET An out of doors selfie photograph taken on the Moto G Stylus. Mike Sorrentino/CNETCompared with my present favourite under-$200 telephone, final 12 months’s $160 Samsung Galaxy A03S, the Moto G Stylus captures extra element with its digital camera. Sections of the CNET workplace plant wall which are blurry when taken by the A03S are visibly clearer within the photograph taken by the Stylus. The plant wall in CNET’s workplace, taken on the Moto G Stylus. Mike Sorrentino/CNET The plant wall taken on the Samsung Galaxy A03S. Mike Sorrentino/CNETMoto G Stylus: Bottom lineWhile the Moto G Stylus is sort of practical proper now, it is value noting all of the ways in which this telephone may battle after its first 12 months of use. Aside from the Motorola-imposed restrict of solely getting a bump to Android 14 someday subsequent 12 months, the telephone’s lack of 5G connectivity may change into extra noticeable as new telephones proceed to reach within the $200 and fewer worth vary. The telephone’s present processor and reminiscence are capable of run any of at present’s apps simply, however these much less highly effective specs may hit a wall after two or three years with the telephone.While we have not but examined the $200 Galaxy A14 5G, potential consumers who do not contemplate the stylus vital ought to maintain it in thoughts, just because that connectivity may assist it adapt higher as apps and providers start to benefit from these sooner knowledge speeds.However, if what you want is a telephone for proper now that features the stylus, is as low-cost as potential whereas being succesful sufficient to run your favourite apps and also you’d wish to have it take respectable photographs, the Moto G Stylus does provide a number of good options for its $200 worth. Just bear in mind its limitations and the likelihood that you just may end up wanting to leap to a extra succesful telephone in a 12 months or two.How we check phonesEvery telephone examined by CNET’s opinions group was really utilized in the actual world. We check a telephone’s options, play video games and take photographs. We look at the show to see if it is vibrant, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and construct to see how it’s to carry and whether or not it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s efficiency to the extremes utilizing each standardized benchmark instruments like GeekBench and 3DMark, together with our personal anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution movies and taking part in graphically intense video games at excessive refresh charges.All the cameras are examined in a wide range of circumstances from vibrant daylight to darkish indoor scenes. We check out particular options like night time mode and portrait mode and examine our findings in opposition to equally priced competing telephones. We additionally try the battery life by utilizing it every day in addition to working a sequence of battery drain checks.We take into consideration further options like help for 5G, satellite tv for pc connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus help, quick charging speeds, foldable shows amongst others that may be helpful. And we stability all of this in opposition to the worth to provide the verdict on whether or not that telephone, no matter worth it’s, really represents good worth.