For years, the Moto G Stylus has had a passive stylus. It worked, but calling it a “real” pen was generous. It was basically a fancy stick. Moto G with Stylus 2026, Motorola finally fixing it.
The Moto G Stylus 2026 was officially announced today and it comes with an active stylus for the first time. The new pen supports pressure sensitivity and tilt detection in supported apps, meaning you get things like different line thicknesses and natural shading when writing or drawing. Motorola says the pen lasts up to 100 hours on standby and when you pop it back into the phone it’s fully recharged in just 15 minutes. There’s also a shortcut button built into the pane for quick access to features like Quick Clip, Hover to Magnify, and Circle to Search.
Apart from the pen, the rest of the phone is a bit of a refresh from last year’s model. You get the same Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip and 8GB of RAM, but the 6.7-inch AMOLED display is now up to 5,000 nits brighter. The battery gets a small bump from 5,000 to 5,200mAh, with 68W wired and 15W wireless charging still present. The camera setup also includes: 50MP Sony Lytia 700C main sensor with OIS, 13MP ultrawide and 32MP front camera. The phone comes with Android 16, carries an IP68/IP69 rating, and a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD slot.
Problem: It costs $100 more
Price for the Moto G Stylus 2026 starts at $499.99, which is up from $399 for the 2025 model. This puts it squarely in Pixel 9a territory, which is a tough sell, as there are no changes to the chip. Motorola is softening the blow with launch bundles. The 128GB version comes with a free four-pack of Moto Tags, while the 256GB model includes the Moto Watch, Moto Tag, and the Moto Buds Loop.
Whether the Active Pen alone justifies the price bump depends on how much you actually use the stylus. If you’re choosing the Moto G Stylus specifically because you want to write and sketch on your phone, the upgrade from passive to active is important. If you use it mostly as an occasional jotting tool, the 2025 model on sale is probably enough.
The Moto G Stylus 2026 will go on sale on April 16 on Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola.com, with Google Fi launching the same day and other carriers launching shortly after.
