Motorola G Stylus 2022: The Big Changes For The Budget Pen-Phone

Motorola has just released the 2022 Moto G Stylus, the latest update to the company's budget-friendly smartphone line. Although the new version of the stylus smartphone doesn't change much as far as the general design is concerned, it does bring some desirable hardware upgrades.

Priced at just $299, the 2022 Moto G Stylus fits neatly into the affordable phone market while offering a feature relatively rare at this price point. While other manufacturers offer a stylus as an optional accessory, the Moto G has made a name for itself by bundling the phone with the pen.

Of course, this is not exactly a novelty — Samsung offered a stylus with the Galaxy Note, and it sells an optional accessory for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Needless to say, these phones are miles above Motorola's modest $299 price tag.

As the third iteration of the G Stylus, the new smartphone is preceded by the 2020 version, the 2021 version, and also the refreshed 2021 version with 5G. Although the new model is already available for purchase on Motorola's official website, it will only start shipping on February 17, 2022. The phone comes unlocked and with only a 128GB storage option, so the $299 price tag is static and doesn't change based on configuration.

On the surface, the phone closely resembles the previous 2021 version. It sports a simple design not unlike most other Android phones, be it a Samsung or a Xiaomi. With rounded corners, a flat hole-punch front camera, and a large 6.8-inch screen, the 2022 Moto G Stylus looks elegant without breaking any norms. The device comes with two color options: Metallic Rose and Twilight Blue. The back of the phone sports a triple camera setup with flash.

The aforementioned 6.8-inch Full HD+ display boasts a refresh rate of 90Hz, which isn't too bad for a budget phone, and it's an improvement over the previous model. The fairly neutral design of the chassis houses an upgraded set of components, including the MediaTek Helio G88 chip paired with 6GB of RAM.

The fairly standard internal storage size can be expanded by up to 512GB via a microSD card. The phone offers a few of the features we've come to expect from modern smartphones, including a fingerprint reader, face unlock, USB-C, and a notification LED. The new Moto G Stylus also packs a feature many owners of other flagships have grown to miss: a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The 2022 Motorola G Stylus offers a camera upgrade over its previous iteration, although it's not a huge change. The model comes with a 50-megapixel (MP) primary camera, which is a 2MP gain over the 2021 version. There's also an ultrawide 8MP camera and a 2MP macro camera. The front camera is a modest 16MP.

Motorola promises to deliver up to two days of battery life on a single charge via the upgraded 5,000mah battery. Of course, this will depend on how often you use the phone. The model ships with Android 11, though that's not surprising given this is a budget model.

There's no denying the Android market is dominated by other companies with brands like Motorola left trailing behind. However, the Moto G Stylus has had a fairly successful run, and with its reasonable price tag paired with a decent set of specifications, it may bring better tides to Motorola.