I’ve spent time with a lot of budget phones over the last year, and I keep coming back to one as my favorite.
It’s true that, at $400, the Moto G Stylus 2025 started out as a midrange phone. However, frequent discounts and Black Friday sales have brought the G Stylus down to $300, making it an ideal budget phone option.
Budget buyers don’t have to compromise on features as much as they used to, and the Moto G Stylus 2025 is a thoughtful blend of performance and value.
Motorola’s done an excellent job with its less-expensive phones over the last several years, and the Moto G Stylus 2025 is the one that should earn your dollars this Black Friday. Here’s why.
Your eyes will think it’s a flagship phone
The Moto G Stylus display is gorgeous
My favorite feature on last year’s Moto G Stylus was the display, and that’s true again for the 2025 model.
It’s a vibrant 6.7-inch AMOLED panel refreshing at 120Hz. It packs a 1220×2712 resolution, so games and movies look excellent.
I don’t have any trouble viewing the display outdoors thanks to its 3,000 nits max brightness — something I can’t say about other budget phones.
Motorola was one of the first companies to move away from cheap plastic backs on its less-expensive devices, and I’m all for it.
Eco-leather is the way to go, as it adds grip to the phone and avoids the back of the device becoming a fingerprint depository.
If you like rocking your phone without a case, Motorola improved durability on the G Stylus for 2025, with an IP68 rating and MIL-STD-810H drop-test compliance.
I’ve been impressed by the recent crop of midrange chipsets, but the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 has to be my favorite.
I know some readers laugh when I mention 3.5mm headphone jacks and microSD card slots, but they matter.
I know we’ll never see them on flagship devices again, but the flexibility of plugging in my favorite wired headsets while waiting for a train or expanding my phone’s storage in seconds still has appeal in 2025, and the Moto G Stylus offers both.
Performance isn’t lacking on the G Stylus
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 gets the job done
I’ve been impressed by the recent crop of midrange chipsets, but the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 has to be my favorite.
When paired with 8GB of RAM on the G Stylus 2025, the performance is smooth. I’m able to breeze through social media and productivity apps, never experiencing any slowdowns in Gmail or WhatsApp.
Light to medium gaming is also enjoyable, and while I wouldn’t expect to run Genshin Impact on max settings, I could still play.
The battery life is another reason why I highly recommend the G Stylus 2025.
I can get an entire day or two of use on a single charge from its 5,000mAh cell, and unlike other budget phones, it’s fast to charge back up. Moto fitted the G Stylus 2025 with 68W fast charging, like on some of the company’s more expensive offerings.
The company also included wireless charging, something you don’t often see on a sub-$300 device.
I’m the first to admit not everyone needs or wants a stylus in 2025, and there’s plenty of conversation about whether Samsung should remove the S pen from the Galaxy Ultra lineup.
However, I’m still the old dinosaur who enjoys scribbling notes or drawing on photos. Motorola’s suite of apps for its stylus works well, and I love how simple it is to make a GIF to send to friends — all without having to spend over $1,000 on a Samsung Galaxy.
The Moto G Stylus 2025 isn’t perfect, and you’ll notice
Software support is spotty, and the cameras are mediocre
Unfortunately, all the features you usually don’t get on a phone in this price range come at the cost of software support.
I’m mostly confident the Moto G Stylus will receive the promised software updates and Android upgrades, but I can’t promise they’ll be delivered in a timely fashion.
It’s not an issue for most users, and when I spend $300, my tolerance and patience for substandard software support increases.
Even though software support is lacking, Hello UI and Moto’s software experience is pleasant. I love Moto Gestures, and the user experience is solid.
I enjoy the photos I get from the phone’s 50MP primary sensor, but you will notice a drop-off in quality and color when switching to the 13MP ultrawide.
If you’re a shutterbug on a budget, the Pixel 9a for $100 more might be a better option.
Black Friday is the best time to save
I liked the Moto G Stylus 2025 for $400, but I was pretty upfront in my recommendation that it’s a phone best purchased on a deal or discount, like many of Moto’s offerings.
Thankfully, Black Friday and the holidays afford some wonderful opportunities to pick one up for less.
If your budget is $300, the Moto G Stylus 2025 should be towards the top of your list, especially if you want a relatively compromise-free device that won’t burn a hole in your wallet.
8.5/10
- SoC
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3
- RAM
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8GB
- Storage
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128GB/256GB
Motorola’s new Moto G Stylus looks to keep the great design from its predecessor and match it with some more modern specs. Whether that’s enough to shy buyers away from the best of Samsung and Google, however, remains to be seen.
