Don’t like reading? Check out my video review on YouTube instead.
The Motorola Moto G Stylus is one of the few phones left that come with a stylus that is housed in the phone’s body. It offers good value when it’s on sale and can still be considered even if you don’t plan on using the stylus.
The Price & Value
Regular pricing for this phone on Motorola’s website is $230 USD, but it can be found on sale for as low as $185 USD on sites like Amazon. At $230 USD, it’s a good value, but at $185 USD, it’s a great value.
Some links may be referral links, which means I earn a small commission for qualifying sales. There is no additional cost to you.
Package Contents
In the box, you’ll get the phone, stylus already housed in the phone’s body, charging brick and USB type C cable. There is no supplied phone case or screen protector.
Build Quality & Styling
The build quality on this phone is good. When it is twisted or pressured is applied, it doesn’t feel weak, and it does not flex. There is not much give, so it’s a pretty solid frame, even though it is all plastic on the sides and back. The front of the phone is glass, but not gorilla glass.
The back of the phone houses a rear fingerprint reader that is adorned with the Motorola logo. The bottom of the phone still houses a 3.5mm headphone jack, the Type C charging port, speakers and stylus. The right side of the phone has a volume rocker and textured power button. The left side of the phone has a sim card and microSD tray.
The phone only comes in one color, a gradient finish that goes from blue to dark blue. I’m a fan of the color gradient.
Motorola Moto G Stylus 2020 Specifications
If you need an explanation for some of the specs below, check out my Ultimate Phone Buying Guide here.
- 4000 mAh Battery
- 6.5″ IPS LCD Screen (1080×2300 pixels)
- 399 PPI Density
- 4GB RAM
- 128 GB Internal Storage (expandable to 512 GB max)
- Snapdragon 665 CPU
- Bluetooth 5.0
- 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS)
- Adreno 610 GPU
- 3 Lens Setup In Back (48MP @ f/1.7 | Macro 2MP @ f/2.2 | Wide 117° Degree Video Only Action Cam – 16mp @ f/2.2)
- Front Facing Camera – 16MP @ f/2.0
- 3.5 mm Headphone Jack
- 10W Charging
- USB Type-C Charging Cable
- Rear-Mounted Fingerprint Reader
- Nano Sim Card Type
- Water Repellant – No Official IP Rating
- Dimensions: 158.55 x 75.8 x 9.2mm
- Weight: 192g
Potential Deal Breakers
It’s hard to really fault the Moto G Stylus 2020 for certain inadequacies at the price it costs, but here are some potential deal-breakers.
- 60 Hz refresh rate only
- No NFC (Near Field Communication) – useful for tap to pay
- No wireless charging available
- No official IP Rating – only water repellant
Stylus Use
The stylus has a decent weight, but it does not have any smart functionality. Once it is removed from the phone, a few options pop up on the screen to launch into drawing or note-taking. There is an option to have the phone remind you to put the stylus back if it detects that you aren’t using the stylus so that you don’t lose it. The stylus must be reinserted in a specific direction, but I wished it had a more rounded design so it could be inserted without looking. The accuracy of the stylus is good, though. There is no noticeable delay or lag with input. Here is a demo of the stylus in use: https://youtu.be/WILXYeTrygU?t=256
Motorola Moto G Stylus Performance
With a Snapdragon 665, this phone is not winning any performance awards. I’ve noticed some sluggish performance when closing out of apps back to the home screen. There are slight delays that are noticeable. However, once fully loaded into an app, the performance is decent. Do not buy this phone if you are coming from a phone that has a better Snapdragon processor, or you will be disappointed.
Camera Performance
The camera is one area where I was not expecting much, considering the price of the phone. However, I was surprised by the lens setup and the photos.
There are 3 lenses on the back – a 16 MP wide-angle for action video only. A 48 MP main lens and a 2 MP macro lens. The front selfie camera is 16 MP.
Video Quality
While you can take video with either the 48 MP lens, I prefer using the 16 MP video dedicated wide-angle lens. The rolling shutter is pretty decent when using the wide-angle lens, and the quality is decent too. Here is a sample video clip taken with the 16 MP Lens: https://youtu.be/WILXYeTrygU?t=518
One quirk I noticed is that when using the wide-angle action camera, the phone must be held vertically, not horizontally like usual. This is something you may like if you hate rotating your phone for video. I could not find any setting to turn this off. Keep in mind that the phone still needs to be held horizontally for the main 48 MP lens.
Gaming Performance
Gaming works on this phone if you play games that are along the performance lines of PUBG or COD Mobile. Games may take a little while to launch, but once in the game, it performs smoothly with low rates of hiccups. The phone does allow the option to record the screen while playing if you enter into its Game Mode to limit distractions. The phone does get warm over time when gaming.
Battery Life
Battery life has been stellar so far. Even with the brightness cranked, which is quite bright for a phone at this price, the phone lasts me a full day with WiFi & location turned on. Leaving the screen on and watching a YouTube mini player for 7 minutes resulted in only a 2% battery drop. After 6 minutes of charging with the supplied charger, the phone jumped up 4%, so the charging speed is pretty decent.
Storage
With 128 GB of storage, it will be some time until you fill it up, so you’ll be able to download lots of apps and take tons of photos and videos. Of course, if you ever fill that up, there is expandable storage to add up to a 512 GB microSD card.
Sound Level & Clarity
The sound coming out of the phone is good, nothing to complain about in terms of clarity. The max volume on this phone gets quite loud: https://youtu.be/WILXYeTrygU?t=445
Unique Features
This phone has 3 notable features.
Feature 1 – making a double chopping motion activates the flashlight
Feature 2 – pull-down notifications by pulling your finger down on the fingerprint sensor
Feature 3 – the glance / peek screen can appear by tap or movement
Should You Buy It?
I think this is a great option if you have realistic expectations. This phone will deliver on battery life, screen brightness and max volume. It offers decent videos and photos. However, it will disappoint in terms of performance with only a Snapdragon 665 IF you are coming from a phone with a better Snapdragon CPU. If you are coming from a lower spec phone, then the Snapdragon 665 will not disappoint.
Another potential issue is that the 4 GB of RAM may not be acceptable in a couple or a few years as Apps become more resource-intensive.
If you are looking to replace a broken or lost phone without breaking the bank, this is a great option. If you are ok with changing phones every year or 2 years, this is a good option too. If I missed anything, let me know!
Some links may be referral links, which means I earn a small commission for qualifying sales. There is no additional cost to you.
