Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2025)

GSMTechTok analysis

Who it's for

The Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) is for a buyer who specifically wants a built-in stylus for note-taking and quick sketches without paying Samsung S Pen flagship prices, and who values complete water/dust protection over class-leading battery life. GSMArena's own verdict recommends the phone "whether you are looking for a mid-range phone with a stylus, or just a reasonably priced device that covers most bases," a genuinely broad endorsement. It suits someone upgrading from the 2024 model who specifically wants full IP68 ingress protection and faster charging — GSMArena's comparison notes the 2024 model lacks both. It's a weaker fit for anyone who wants best-in-class battery endurance, since GSMArena's own testing found this the one real gap in an otherwise complete package.

Standout features

Build quality and durability earned genuine, specific praise — GSMArena's pros list leads with "durable and likable design, complete ingress protection," the first time this generation the stylus line has achieved full IP68 certification alongside MIL-STD-810H durability standards. The display is a real, measured strength too: GSMArena confirms a high-resolution 1,220×2,712 AMOLED panel with 10-bit color and HDR support, a genuine step up in pixel density from the previous generation. Camera quality was a consistent bright spot as well — GSMArena's pros list credits "great photo and video quality" directly, backed by the same 50MP OIS primary and 13MP autofocus ultrawide carried over from the well-regarded 2024 model. Charging speed saw a real, measured jump too: the phone moved to 68W TurboCharging from a slower predecessor, and GSMArena's own pros list confirms it's genuinely "fast to charge." The stylus implementation itself remains a functional differentiator — GSMArena specifically praises how it tucks neatly inside the phone body, with a customizable floating menu appearing automatically on removal.

Trade-offs

Battery life is the single disclosed weakness GSMArena's review calls out directly — its cons list states "mediocre battery life" plainly, the one area GSMArena's own verdict says it "could have wished" was better in an otherwise complete package. Zoom quality is a real, specific camera limitation too: GSMArena's cons list notes "poor 2x zoom quality," a genuine gap versus rivals like the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G, which GSMArena's own comparison found offers "better 2x zoom from the main camera." Video certification is a real, disclosed gap as well — GSMArena confirms "no HDR video certifications," a missing checkbox some rivals at this price now include. Android Authority's independent benchmarking found the phone landing solidly in the middle of its comparison set — ahead of the cheaper Moto G Power but consistently a notch behind the Galaxy A36 5G and Nothing Phone 3a Pro across CPU, graphics, and PCMark testing, a fair characterization of genuinely solid-but-not-class-leading performance.