Moto G Stylus (2026) review
The competition
The Motorola Moto G Stylus (2026) is available in the US and Canada and its price starts at $499 for the 128GB model and goes up to $599 for the 256GB version. It's definitely not the most powerful smartphone in this price range, not by a long shot, but it's the only one with a stylus, so there is your silver lining, we guess.
And that's why the first offer you should consider is the previous Moto G Stylus (2025), which is basically the same phone with a slightly smaller battery and a passive stylus (that still works great). It costs about $350m while the 2024 version goes down to $170. If you want an affordable stylus-enabled budget phone, you should definitely check those two.
Then there is the newly launched Galaxy A57 - the base 128GB version is about $500, too. The A57 has an inferior display and charging speed, but superior performance and battery life. There is no stylus, obviously.
The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro goes for $499 for the 128GB model, too. It offers a rather unique design and back-facing LED screen; there is an even better display, chipset, a dedicated 3.5x telephoto camera, and longer battery life. Yes, this one is for your shortlists for sure.
The Motorola Edge (2025) also known as Edge 60 in Europe, will offer you better imaging skills at the expense of the stylus at about the same price.
Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) • Samsung Galaxy A57 • Nothing Phone (4a) Pro • Motorola Edge 60
If you are after flagship-grade performance for about $500, look no further than the Galaxy S25 FE (also good with cameras), or the Poco X8 Pro Max (best battery life).
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE • Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro Max
Our verdict
The Moto G Stylus (2026) is a peculiar offer. Its price doesn't make sense in its price bracket in terms of performance, but the phone does offer a solid display experience, camera quality, and stylus toolkit.
We would have liked a faster chip for sure, and that's probably our only complaint about the smartphone. For a phone that's supposed to be your notebook replacement on the go, a proper and reliable processor is pretty much a must-have. And it's not that the Moto is sluggish, it's just not sluggish yet - this choice of chipset makes it anything but future-proof.
We can recommend the Moto G Stylus (2026) for its durable body, great display, fast charging, good battery life and decent camera output. The stylus performed quite well, too. But if you are looking forward to a hassle-free multi-tasking experience with fast switching apps, plenty happening in the background, and/or playing anything more than the occasional game, you might be better off looking at some of the available alternatives.
Pros
- Sturdy body, IP68/IP69, MIL-STD-810H compliant.
- Bright OLED, 120Hz, 1220p.
- Good battery life, fast to charge.
- microSD slot, 3.5mm jack.
- The stylus works great.
- Reliable cameras, solid selfies.
- Clean and fast Android OS.
Cons
- No support for HDR video.
- Flat sound quality from the speakers.
- Few updates over the previous model, yet quite expensive.
- Supbar chipset performance for the class.
