Motorola has announced that it is celebrating 100 million Moto G smartphones sold worldwide by releasing another pair of mid-range champs tailored to specific user needs. The new Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power major in specific features made obvious by their names, and still pack in appealing common features like "cameras built to wow, tools to help feed your imagination, and immersive displays".
Moto G Stylus
I have long been a fan of the Samsung Galaxy Note series but went off them in recent years as launch prices rose to reach sums in the region of £1000. Rival brands have sometimes half heartedly launched a stylus wielding smartphone, but hopefully Motorola's new effort will be the start of a longer-lasting dynasty…
Motorola delivers pinpoint capacitive stylus input to its range of affordable 'G' smartphones. It claims that the "stylus is seamlessly integrated into the phone’s design and software". The stylus lives in the bottom right corner of the device, when not in use to the right of the bottom speaker, USB C port and headphone jack.
In terms of functionality the stylus can be used to "edit photos, jot down notes, sketch artwork, copy and paste text and even mark up screenshots," says Motorola. For convenience you can pop out the stylus, even if the phone is locked, and it will auto-open the Moto Note app to let you take notes.
A lot of the features of the Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power are the same (as tabulated below) however the Moto G Stylus has a lower capacity battery of 4,000mAh which is still good for "up to two days on a single charge," according to in-house tests. In other metrics it can "stream music for 143 hours, or shows and movies for 19 hours".
In the US, the Moto G Stylus will be available at bricks and mortar stores like Best Buy and Walmart, as well as online and via network operators. Its MSRP is US$299 and it will be available from spring. Canada residents will be able to snag this handset in spring too. I asked Motorola about the UK / Europe and was told to await an announcement around MWC time.
Moto G Power
The Moto G Power comes equipped with a 5,000mAh battery for those who particularly appreciate independence from wall charging and power bank charging units. Motorola reckons this device will typically last three days on a single charge. In other metrics you could "stream music for 150 hours or watch your favourite shows for 27 hours," on a single charge.
This high capacity battery smartphone will be available at the same time/places as the G Sylus. It costs a little less with an MSRP at US$249. In the UK the Moto G8 Power has been announced costing £219 from outlets like Amazon, CPW and Argos. The Moto G8 Power will become available in the UK from 20th Feb.
Common features
- 6.4 inch FHD+ display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC
- 4GB RAM
- 128GB storage + microSD card reader (add up to 512GB)
- Triple AI rear camera systems with regular, ultra-wide, and macro cameras
- 16MP front-facing camera
- Fingerprint reader
- 4G LTE Cat 13
- 802.11ac W-iFi
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Stereo speakers
- Dual microphones
- USB-C
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Big batteries with 10W fast charging
- Android 10
Moto Razr durability update
In my story about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip special editions on Friday I mentioned the CNet durability tests of the Motorola Razr. Since that news started to propagate Motorola has quickly responded with its own test video, with a statement asserting that the hinge of these phones will "withstand everyday use and last for years."
