Review: Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) — A Stylus for $399. But Is It Worth It?

Author: Pedro Ribeiro

The Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) continues to occupy one of the most unique positions in the US smartphone market: the only phone under $400 with a built-in stylus — and this year, the upgrade is more meaningful than it’s been in years.

Released on April 17, 2025, it arrives with a stunning 6.7-inch pOLED Super HD (1220p) display, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip, a 50MP Sony LYTIA camera with OIS, 68W TurboPower wired charging plus 15W wireless charging, dual IP68/MIL-STD-810H durability, and an improved stylus with AI-powered Sketch to Image — all starting at $399. For note-takers, students, creatives, and anyone who values a pen on their phone without paying Galaxy S Ultra prices, this remains the only game in town.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) full specs
• What we love — and what we don’t
• How it stacks up against the competition
• Our final verdict

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Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) Specs at a Glance

Display pOLED 6.7″ Super HD · 1220p 120Hz · Dolby Atmos · Gorilla Glass 3 vibrant colors · sharp detail	Processor Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (4nm) 8 GB RAM + up to 16 GB RAM Boost Android 15 · Moto AI · 5G	Camera 50 MP Sony LYTIA OIS main 13 MP ultra-wide · 32 MP selfie AI Sketch to Image · moto ai
Battery & Charging 5,000 mAh · 68W TurboPower 15W wireless charging 15 min = up to 20 hours use	Storage & Build 128 GB / 256 GB · microSD up to 1 TB IP68 · MIL-STD-810H · 8.3mm Gibraltar Sea · Midnight Blue	Stylus & OS Built-in precision stylus · Moto Note AI Sketch to Image · Circle to Search Android 15 · 2 OS updates

What We Like

• The built-in stylus remains the defining differentiator — and at $399, there is simply no other smartphone in the US market that offers this. Taking notes, sketching ideas, annotating screenshots, and signing documents all feel natural and immediate
• AI-powered Sketch to Image is a genuinely useful addition — draw a rough concept and Moto AI turns it into a polished visual, a practical creative tool that students and content creators will actually use
• The pOLED Super HD display is a significant upgrade over previous G Stylus LCD panels — colors are vivid, blacks are deep, and the 120Hz refresh rate makes everything feel noticeably smoother
• 68W TurboPower wired charging is among the fastest in this price range — a 15-minute charge delivers up to 20 hours of mixed use, which is an extraordinary real-world claim that holds up in practice
• Wireless charging at $399 remains genuinely unusual in this segment — a convenience most rivals at this price still skip
• Dual IP68 water resistance and MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability certification make this one of the toughest phones available under $400
• The 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C main sensor with OIS delivers strong, steady daylight photography — a meaningful step up from the generic sensors most mid-rangers use
• MicroSD expandability up to 1TB plus RAM Boost up to 16GB give you practical flexibility that flagship phones have abandoned
• Moto Unplugged, Moto Secure, and Smart Connect add genuinely useful productivity and privacy features without cluttering the clean Android experience

What Could Be Better

• Only 2 major OS updates — software support is Motorola’s persistent weak spot and a real concern for buyers planning to hold onto this phone for 3+ years
• The 13MP ultra-wide camera lags noticeably behind the 50MP main lens — a weak link in an otherwise solid camera setup
• The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is capable but not fast — sustained gaming and heavy multitasking will expose its mid-range limits, especially compared to Snapdragon 8-series rivals
• No telephoto lens — zoomed shots rely on digital cropping from the main 50MP sensor, which is decent but not true optical zoom
• 68W charger sold separately — Motorola includes a slower charger in the box, which undermines one of the phone’s best features out of the gate
• At 191g and 8.3mm, it’s not the lightest phone in this price range — the stylus housing adds bulk that some users will notice

How It Compares

Category Winners

Final Scores

Smartphone	Rating
Moto G Stylus 5G (2025)
Google Pixel 9a
OnePlus 13R
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

Should You Buy the Moto G Stylus 5G (2025)?

The Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) is the most complete version of this phone Motorola has ever shipped — and its unique position in the market makes it genuinely hard to dismiss.

A pOLED Super HD display, Sony LYTIA camera with OIS, 68W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, dual IP68/MIL-STD-810H durability, AI-powered stylus features, and microSD expandability — all under $400 — form a package that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else at this price. The stylus alone is reason enough for the right buyer.

The honest trade-offs are real: 2 OS updates limits long-term ownership confidence, the ultra-wide camera is modest, and the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 won’t satisfy gamers. If software longevity tops your list, the Pixel 9a at a similar price is the smarter long-term investment. And if raw performance matters most, the OnePlus 13R is in a different league under the hood.

But for note-takers, students, creative users, and anyone who wants a practical, durable everyday phone with a built-in pen — the Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) fills a gap that no other smartphone at this price comes close to filling.

Buy the Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2025)

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