The Motorola Moto G Stylus (2023) is a budget phone with a built-in stylus. Motorola announced it on May 2, 2023, and sales started in the US on May 5, 2023. It launched unlocked at $199.99 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This is the 4G version. Motorola also sold a separate Moto G Stylus 5G (2023) with different hardware. The phone is now discontinued and no longer appears in Motorola’s US lineup.
Design and display
The phone has a 6.5-inch LCD with HD+ resolution (720 x 1600 pixels) and a 90Hz refresh rate. The body measures 162.89 x 74.08 x 9.19 mm and weighs 195 grams. Motorola lists the body material as PMMA, a type of acrylic plastic.
The stylus sits in a silo at the bottom edge. Motorola sold the phone in two colors: Midnight Blue and Glam Pink. The phone has a water-repellent design, but Motorola does not give it an IP rating. A fingerprint reader sits on the side, and face unlock is also supported.
Performance
Inside is a MediaTek Helio G85 with an octa-core CPU up to 2GHz and an Arm Mali-G52 GPU. It is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. A microSD slot accepts cards up to 1TB.
The 5G sibling uses a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip and supports 5G networks. This model works on 4G LTE only. It has Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 and a USB-C 2.0 port. It has no NFC, so it cannot make contactless payments.
Cameras
The rear setup has two cameras. The main camera uses a 50MP sensor with an f/1.8 lens and Quad Pixel technology. The second camera is a 2MP macro unit with an f/2.4 lens. There is no ultrawide camera and no optical image stabilization.
Video recording tops out at 1080p at 30fps, with 120fps slow motion in HD. The front camera has 8MP and an f/2.0 lens. It also records 1080p video at 30fps.
Battery and charging
The phone has a 5000mAh battery. Motorola rates it for up to two days of use. Wired charging runs at 15W, and Motorola lists a 15W charger for it. Wireless charging is not supported.
Audio comes from dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. The phone also keeps a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Software and updates
The phone shipped with Android 13 and Motorola’s My UX interface. The software includes the Moto Note app and a Live Message feature for stylus animations. Motorola also adds its Family Space and Moto Secure tools. We could not confirm the official number of OS upgrades and security update years for this model.
Should you buy the Moto G Stylus (2023)?
The Moto G Stylus (2023) suits buyers who want a stylus, a headphone jack and expandable storage at a low price. Its large battery and stereo speakers also fit heavy media use. However, it has only 4G, no NFC, an HD+ screen and 4GB of RAM.
The phone is no longer produced, and new units come only from resellers. Buyers who need 5G or NFC should look at newer Moto G Stylus models instead.
