Motorola’s midrange stylus phone gets wireless charging and a glow-up

Motorola’s Moto G Stylus 5G is back this year with some notable spec bumps and an eye-catching new design. This year’s version gains wireless charging and an upgraded screen, while still holding onto vintage features like a headphone jack and microSD card slot — all for $399.

The G Stylus 5G is still a Big Phone with a capital B: it comes with a 6.7-inch screen. That’s a 1080p panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate, updating last year’s 6.6-inch LCD. There’s a generous 5,000mAh battery, compatible with 30W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The 2024 Stylus 5G uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset — interestingly, that’s the same as in last year’s model. We don’t often see phone makers going back to the same chipset two years in a row, but at least it comes with more RAM this time around — 8GB compared to 6GB.

The built-in stylus comes with a few improvements, too. Motorola’s press release states that it uses a “larger contact area” and some software updates to improve the UI and reduce latency when using the stylus. The main rear camera is still a 50-megapixel sensor with optical image stabilization, but the 13-megapixel ultrawide and 32-megapixel selfie camera are both updated. The selfie camera uses pixel binning for better sensitivity in low light, which should make for better photos in dim conditions.

The Stylus 5G also ditches last year’s unremarkable design, embracing Motorola’s apparent ethos this year to Make Phones Fun Again. The back panel features a soft-touch vegan leather finish. (I know, I know, that’s a fancy term for plastic.) The phone will be sold in two color options: caramel latte and an orange-y red scarlet wave. They both look rad, honestly.

It all looks good on paper, but I’ve been disappointed recently with the bloatware on Motorola’s budget and midrange phones; last year’s Moto G Stylus 5G was rife with the stuff. I’m not holding my breath for a big change this year, sadly. In any case, the 2024 Moto G 5G Stylus goes on sale on May 30th for $399 unlocked.