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The mythical Galaxy Note 21 is not here yet (and it will probably never happen), the S Pen-wielding Galaxy S22 Ultra merely feels like it’s official after roughly a billion different leaks in the last few weeks alone, but stylus enthusiasts do have something new and (fairly) interesting they can pre-order today.
For an affordable mid-ranger, however, this 6.8-inch giant definitely has some cool and even original stuff going for it, undoubtedly starting with an unrivaled built-in stylus in the sub-$400 price bracket.
No 5G for this particular model
The “new” Moto G Stylus 4G LTE comes with a similarly unimpressive MediaTek Helio G88 SoC under its hood, as well as a totally unchanged 5,000mAh battery promising “up to two days of endurance” between charges.
90Hz refresh rate at last!
While all of the best high-end smartphones out there are capable of refreshing their content at a 120Hz rate nowadays, it’s still nice to see a low-cost mid-ranger upgrade its predecessor’s good old fashioned 60Hz screen to 90Hz technology without increasing the price.
The 6.8-inch “Max Vision” screen looks more or less unchanged otherwise, sporting a Full HD+ resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels and squeezing into a relatively heavy 216-gram package with reasonably thin bezels and a centered hole punch housing a 16MP selfie shooter.
Around the back, the primary 48MP camera of the G Stylus 5G is replaced with a 50MP snapper featuring f/1.9 instead of f/1.7 aperture, while a secondary 8MP sensor promises to take care of both ultra-wide-angle and macro shots, with a third and final 2MP depth shooter likely to prove, well, largely useless in most everyday photography scenarios and settings.
Although there’s definitely a bit of hyperbole involved there, especially if you compare this writing and sketching accessory to Samsung’s state-of-the-art S Pen, our past experiences with older members of the Moto G Stylus family strongly suggest you’ll find this thing handy or at least occasionally amusing.
Sold unlocked and compatible with all major US carriers, Verizon included, the new stylus-wielding phone is slated to start shipping on February 17. Anyone planning to pre-order one?
