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In recent years, Motorola’s Moto G Stylus has blurred the line between mid-range and high-end, offering the best of both worlds at a very attainable price. The Moto G Stylus 2026 basically attempts to continue this legacy by taking a popular Galaxy S26 Ultra feature and sticking it on a phone that costs less than half the price.
That said, times are tough for the consumer electronics industry right now, and the ongoing RAM shortage is forcing companies to make some concessions with their smartphones. We knew that budget and mid-range smartphones could feel the pressure the most, and the Moto G Stylus 2026 is a clear example of how no one is immune from the impact of rising RAM costs.
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Social class |
moto g stylus 2026 |
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os |
Android 16 (Hello UX) |
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Update |
2 OS, 3 years of bi-monthly security updates |
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Display |
6.7-inch Super HD (2712 x 1220), OLED, 120Hz, 5,000 nits |
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Chipset |
Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 |
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Memory |
8GB LPDDR5X |
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storage |
128GB/256GB, UFS 3.1, expandable |
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rear camera 1 |
50MP wide, Sony – LYTIA 700C, f/1.8, OIS, 1μm (2μm with pixel binning) |
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rear camera 2 |
13MP ultrawide+macro, f/2.2, 120° FOV, 1.12μm |
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front facing camera |
32MP wide, f/2.2, 0.7μm (1.4μm with pixel binning) |
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audio |
Dual Stereo Speakers, Dolby Atmos, 2 Mic, FM Radio |
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Security |
Gorilla Glass 3, IP68+IP69, MIL-STD-810H |
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Battery and Charging |
5,200mAh, 68W wired charging, 15W wireless charging |
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connectivity |
5G (Sub-6), Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi, NFC |
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Security |
Fingerprint sensor, face unlock |
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DIMENSIONS |
162.15 x 74.78 x 8.29 mm |
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weight |
192.3 g |
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Colour |
Pantone Lavender Mist (as reviewed), Pantone Coal Smoke |
It is clear that Motorola aimed to save manufacturing costs as the design of the Stylus 2026 is more or less similar to its predecessor. The shape, dimensions, buttons and even the location of the bottom speaker and mic are the same. The only difference is a slight change in the camera housing design, but even that is very subtle.
The stylus is different from the 2026 Stylus 2025 in its rear design. Motorola continues to use vegan leather in its phones, but the Stylus 2026 has a twill-inspired texture that looks and feels quite nice. My unit is the Pantone Lavender Mist colorway, a pinkish-violet color that really stands out and is the more interesting of the two color options.
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The Marquee Stylus is another change made by Motorola, moving from a passive pen to an active pen like the S Pen. This means that the built-in stylus supports features like tilt detection and pressure sensitivity. There aren’t a lot of apps that take advantage of these features, but I found note taking quite enjoyable, and the pen is a bit thicker than previous versions, making it feel nice to hold.
When you remove the stylus from the phone, whether the screen is off or on the lock screen, it will automatically open the Notes app so you can start writing or drawing. Taking it out of the lock screen reveals a floating menu where you can start a new note (or add to one), annotate whatever’s on the display, start a screen recording, open Sketch to Image, or enlarge text. Starting a new note opens the built-in Notes app, which is surprisingly capable and lets you combine different types of content, including text, photos and written recordings, and add notes to collections for easy management.
The Notes app also supports Sketch to Image, which uses AI to turn your drawings into images. You can use it to generate entire pieces of “art”, or you can use it to clean up your own drawings, although results vary, as it seemed to hesitate in correctly generating my badly drawn R2-D2.
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Hovering the pen over the display reveals a pointer so you know where it’s interacting with the display. If you press the stylus button while hovering, you can activate Circle to Search, which feels great for the stylus and is one of my favorite uses of the pen. That said, pressing the button doesn’t do anything when you’re not hovering, which is an unfortunate limitation.
Like the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Moto G Stylus 2026’s stylus doesn’t support Bluetooth controls, so, for example, you can’t use the stylus as a remote shutter button for the camera, which feels like a missed opportunity. Still, for the price, I think this is one of the best stylus pens I’ve seen for a mid-range smartphone, and it’s quite a welcome upgrade from previous iterations.
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On that note, there are some other notable upgrades worth mentioning as well. The display is still a Super HD AMOLED panel, which looks great, and with brightness reaching 5,000 nits, it’s quite visible outdoors.
The battery capacity has also been increased, although only by 200mAh. The Stylus 2025 already had a battery that lasted all day and then some, so I’m not entirely sure the small bump was worth it. I could go an entire day without any battery worries, from 7 a.m. to midnight, with about 15% battery, and depending on your usage, you could probably achieve Motorola’s estimated 44 hours of battery life. That said, for a phone that’s already quite thick, it would be nice to see Motorola take after the OnePlus Nord 6, which has a 9,000mAh battery.
Charging is still 68W, which is even faster than the Galaxy S26 Ultra, so that’s a big advantage, as is 15W wireless charging.
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Unfortunately, performance is another area that has seen virtually no changes. That doesn’t mean the Moto G Stylus 2026 doesn’t perform well, but the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is the same chip used in last year’s model, and it would have been nice to see Motorola move toward something more capable, like the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4.
On one hand, I have no problems opening apps or switching between them, and the overall experience is fine. However, gaming performance isn’t as expected, and even when playing games like Honkai: Star Rail on medium settings, I noticed a few dropped frames. It doesn’t ruin my gaming experience, but if you’re a big mobile gamer, you probably won’t be pleased with the performance.
Another reason why a chip upgrade is good is AI. Motorola puts all its AI eggs in its flagship basket, hence the Edge or Razr series, but given the increasing presence of AI on midrange phones like the Nothing Phone 4A Pro, Motorola’s offering here feels a little lacking. Apart from the Notes app and features found in Google’s Gemini offerings, there’s not much to play with here.
Moto AI isn’t the strongest AI suite, but I would have liked to see features like Catch Me Up or Remember This.
Luckily, Motorola brings some of its own AI to the camera, like Action Shot, which adjusts the shutter speed to capture fast-moving objects. The cameras produce very good images for the most part; The quality is about the same as last year’s model, which is no bad thing (as long as you don’t zoom more than 2x).
This year, Motorola introduced its signature Style Mode to the Stylus, which uses a “unique Moto Color Style” powered by AI. The results are usually photos with punched-up contrast and saturation, and this can be hit-or-miss depending on your preferences.
Speaking of preferences, you can also customize the signature style by uploading and adjusting photos of food, landscapes and portraits so the AI ​​can learn your tastes. That said, I often find it better to stick with the normal camera mode, as it seems to get the job done just fine.
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But “just fine” is roughly how I would describe the overall experience with the Moto G Stylus 2026. It keeps all the good things about its predecessor, but makes little effort to actually improve upon it. The new active S Pen-like stylus is certainly a nice touch, but a built-in stylus is ultimately a niche, nice feature, not a reason to buy the phone.
The Moto G Stylus 2026 is a nice phone, but at $499, Motorola is charging a $100 premium over its predecessor, and I’m not sure it’s worth it, especially considering other phones like the Pixel 10a (or Pixel 9a) and Nothing Phone 4a. Price-wise, those phones arguably seem more harmonious, with better cameras and a more robust AI offering.
If you have a Moto G Stylus 2025, there’s no need to upgrade. At $499 it’s hard to recommend the Stylus 2026, but if you’re looking for an affordable alternative to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it might be worth your while, especially if you can find a good deal.
Affordable S Pen
The Moto G Stylus 2026 is one of the few smartphones with a built-in stylus pen, and if you’re an artist or just love writing rather than typing, this phone may be for you.
