The 2022 version of the Moto G Stylus has a clearance rack vibe, because it’s most likely one of many final new telephones to be offered within the US with out 5G. But if Motorola is clearing out area for a brand new season of 5G units, then it makes the 2022 G Stylus a heck of a great cut price.

The G Stylus, in principle, prices $299, however it’s on what appears prone to be a everlasting markdown to $279. That’s proper on tempo with final yr’s model of the G Stylus, however Motorola has made some upgrades to this yr’s version, together with a much bigger 5,000mAh battery, a bump from 4GB to 6GB of RAM, and a 90Hz display for sooner refreshing.

It nonetheless presents an enormous 6.8-inch 1080p display and, in fact, its namesake built-in stylus. There’s a distinct processor — a MediaTek Helio G88 — which takes the place of final yr’s Snapdragon 678 chipset. A headphone jack, microSD card slot to reinforce the 128GB storage, and in-box charger are all included, useful options which are being slowly phased out by producers beginning with flagships and trickling all the way down to the midrange. Get ‘em whilst you can.

Generally talking, not together with 5G is a little bit of a disadvantage. 5G networks within the US are beginning to get a lot better, and that may proceed over the following few years. But relying in your provider, the place you reside, and the way you employ your cellphone, having a 4G-only cellphone won’t be an enormous deal in any respect. That’s the clearance rack worth proposition; it’s not the most recent and biggest, but when it’s the correct match for you, then it simply may be a winner.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

For its namesake function, the 2022 Moto G Stylus presents a large canvas: a 6.8-inch 1080p panel with a 90Hz refresh price. It’s an LCD panel, and it’s on the dim facet. I used the cellphone indoors greater than out, however I nonetheless wanted the brightness cranked as much as 80 or 90 p.c always. Visibility isn’t nice in direct daylight, however it’s simply ok to see what you’re doing. The faster-than-standard refresh price is sweet, and also you’ll discover slightly further smoothness as you scroll.

As you may need guessed, that massive display makes the entire cellphone large. Really large. There’s no likelihood of utilizing this factor comfortably with one hand, and it seems ridiculous protruding of the pocket of my joggers. I acquired used to it over a couple of days, and the massive display definitely matches a whole lot of content material, however it’s positively a whole lot of cellphone.

The stylus function set covers all of the fundamentals. There’s a simple note-taking app that’s the very first thing you’ll see while you pop the stylus out of its silo on the underside of the cellphone. There’s additionally a coloring e book and a shortcut to seize a screenshot so you may notate or doodle on the picture. Nothing as fancy or as superior because the a lot, a lot costlier Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra can do however a pleasant software to have while you wish to jot one thing down with out unlocking your cellphone, even when you don’t find yourself utilizing it usually. In reality, my very own mom, a Motorola devotee and G Stylus 2021 proprietor, sealed hers up with a case that covers the stylus silo solely. She’s completely joyful along with her cellphone sans stylus. To every their very own.

Motorola claims that the G Stylus’ 5,000mAh battery will last as long as two days on a single cost, so I took that as a problem. After the primary day I spent testing the cellphone, the battery was down round 50 p.c, however I didn’t recharge in a single day and trusted it to final via the following day. It did and, in complete, I acquired about 6.5 hours of screen-on time and was all the way down to 18 p.c by the top of day two. I spent a whole lot of that point on Wi-Fi, which most likely helped, however I did bump the display refresh price as much as the best setting to push it slightly. Either method, that’s spectacular stamina, and even heavy customers would probably get via a full day while not having to high off the battery.

Overall efficiency is sweet, too. There are stutters and slight hesitations right here and there as I open apps and scroll via video and image-heavy screens however nothing that impacts my day by day use. The cellphone’s 6GB of RAM retains a lot of apps working within the background, and I’m impressed by how simply I can change again to an app I used to be utilizing hours in the past and choose up proper the place I left off. You can run a graphics-intensive sport like Genshin Impact, simply count on to see some noticeable stuttering and dropped frames. But that’s probably not what this cellphone is for anyway.

Most new telephones in 2022 are transport with Android 12 at this level within the yr, however the G Stylus remains to be pre-loaded with Android 11. Motorola says the cellphone will get upgraded to Android 12 — that will likely be its solely OS model improve — however isn’t providing any specifics on timing. The firm additionally guarantees three years of safety updates on an every-other-month schedule, which is one yr longer than it promised with final yr’s mannequin. That’s an enchancment however nonetheless falls wanting Samsung’s dedication of 4 years (and even five years for some of its A-series budget phones).

This is often after I’d cowl which 5G bands this cellphone can use, however, on this case, it’s a straightforward reply: none of them. Unlike a yr or two in the past, 5G connectivity is one thing you need to think about when shopping for a brand new cellphone. T-Mobile’s 5G community is already pretty robust; likewise, Verizon and AT&T’s networks will enhance over the following couple of years. For probably the most half, that may imply noticeably sooner speeds in comparison with 4G, in order that’s one thing the Moto G Stylus received’t be capable to benefit from.

It’s a strike towards the Moto G Stylus however not a dealbreaker. The 5G enlargement within the US will likely be centered on main cities at first, so when you reside someplace extra rural, having a 5G gadget most likely isn’t a precedence now or within the close to future. And, when you’re in any other case pleased with 4G speeds or spend most of your time on Wi-Fi anyway, then you definitely’ll be simply superb with a 4G gadget for the following few years. The Moto G Stylus isn’t actually designed to final for much longer than that anyway.

There look like three cameras on the G Stylus’ rear panel, however certainly one of them is a 2-megapixel depth sensor that you would be able to ignore. There’s a 50-megapixel f/1.9 commonplace huge digicam and an 8-megapixel ultrawide, plus a 16-megapixel selfie digicam. Last yr’s mannequin had a devoted macro digicam; this time, the ultrawide does double responsibility because the macro sensor.

Grid View

Overall, the G Stylus’ cameras produce well-balanced photos with out going overboard on coloration saturation or HDR results in high-contrast scenes. Both rear cameras do a great job in good lighting, however there’s some noticeable noise in photos from the 8-megapixel ultrawide taken in reasonably low mild. There’s additionally some noticeable lag between while you faucet the shutter and when it truly takes a photograph, which is pretty widespread for a price range cellphone. Night imaginative and prescient is useful in very low mild in case your topic isn’t shifting. It doesn’t work miracles, however no less than this price range cellphone has an evening mode — in contrast to one other I just lately reviewed.

Video recording is barely obtainable at 1080p, which is uncommon. (Most telephones nowadays can shoot 4K video.) There’s a reasonably aggressive crop, too, even when you flip digital stabilization off. I don’t think about the shortage of 4K decision video will hassle lots of people shopping for this cellphone, however 4K is kind of the brand new commonplace for high-resolution video, in order that’s one thing to notice if video is vital to you. Otherwise, 1080p clips are simply superb, and the smaller file sizes are simpler to share anyway.

You’re not going to search out the Moto G Stylus on the cabinets at a Verizon or T-Mobile retailer. The main carriers are far too excited by getting 5G telephones into their prospects’ arms to waste any of that useful retail area on a 4G gadget. And it’s not all advertising and marketing bluster anymore; true 5G actually is arriving, and it actually will likely be sooner than 4G. But simply because the carriers suppose it’s the correct time to place a 5G gadget in your hand doesn’t imply you completely have to purchase one. If you’re superb with 4G and will likely be over the following few years, then the Moto G Stylus is a good deal.

For underneath $300, it presents good efficiency, an enormous display, competent sufficient cameras, and glorious battery life. That’s not even contemplating its headline function: the stylus. It’s useful, and even when it doesn’t get a lot use, the cellphone remains to be well-priced even with out it.

If you do need one thing slightly extra future-proofed, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is an effective choice whereas it’s nonetheless in inventory. For the identical value because the Moto G Stylus, it presents related efficiency and equally good battery stamina. On the draw back, its display is smaller and decrease res, it solely comes with 64GB of storage, and, in fact, there’s no stylus.

If you’re not involved about future-proofing for the following technology of wi-fi know-how and an enormous cellphone with an enormous display is simply your dimension, then the Moto G Stylus is the discount rack deal for you.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge