Moto G stylus | 2020 | Unlocked | Made for US by Motorola | 4/128GB | 48MP Camera | Indigo

Best cell phone I’ve had
I come to Motorola’s G Stylus after a Samsung Droid Charge (a very aptly named power hog), a Note 3, and a Note 4. I use smart phones till they fail. In the case of the Notes, after they’ve failed several times: the Note 4 was the last Note model that was easily user serviceable.After my middle-school son had good experiences with a couple of Motorola budget phones, I had decided I’d try that brand and give up the stylus. Then my Note 4 failed with a main board problem just after the 2020 G Stylus was introduced, so I didn’t have to.Forgetting about the stylus for the moment, this is an incredible bargain for a smart phone. As far as technology’s ability to delight, it’s a great time we live in. I’m easily impressed because I’m comparing it to 4-year-old technology, but this thing is available for under $300, and for a brief while was available to new Verizon customers for $150. That is remarkable.For that, you get great basic cell phone functionality, more than sufficient speed and storage, and okay (with hopes of better in time) stylus operation.This is the first cell phone I’ve owned that I could charge up in the morning and have last the whole day without constantly plugging it in whenever and wherever I could find an outlet. In fact, to improve battery longevity, I only charge it to 80% capacity, and it’s still enough to do that. There’s been criticism of the G Stylus’ 4000 mAh battery compared to the G Power’s 5000, but that hasn’t been a factor for me.Reception at the coast has been better than with Iphone 8 Plus and 11 Pro Max phones belonging to other family members. My phone is always the first to have a usable signal.The fingerprint security is spot on. This is not the first phone I’ve had with that feature, but it’s the first where it could be relied on.It is also absolutely wonderful to have a phone loud enough to play music or conference using speaker phone without an accessory speaker.The three cameras give a lot of options. The Iphone owners in the family are probably right that their phone cameras are better. But this is plenty good enough for me, and an improvement over anything I’ve had. I’ve even found the macro camera useful. Haven’t used the panorama camera yet.I’ve seen a couple of Youtube videos that persuade me the G Stylus will be user serviceable if/when the time comes, unlike some of the lower-end Motorolas. I’d rather not deal with adhesives at all, but I don’t think that’s a choice left to smart phone owners. If the battery or the USB port needs replacing or there’s water ingress, I could deal with that. Will parts be available as they’ve been with the Note phones? I’m not sure. Fewer G Styluses will be sold; the model life will be 12 months or so; and it’s so cheap many people will replace rather than fix a damaged phone. I have an Otterbox and sapphire glass on it, which has already survived a couple of drops on a concrete floor.After two months, the few things less than ideal are:- The display has neither the color subtlety or the ultimate brightness that Samsung OLED displays have long had. Use in bright sunlight is difficult. Elsewhere it’s just fine.- Motorola’s minimalist version of Android is mostly a plus, especially since all the Samsung bloatware isn’t present. But I do really miss organizing apps into folders. I’ll look further for a work-around.- Motorola’s stylus use doesn’t screen out palm touches as you write at the opposite side of the screen. Samsung’s implementations have done this so well and for so long that I’d never realized it was even necessary. This is really frustrating with the G Stylus. But I think it’s something Motorola could correct in software, and I hope they’ll do that.- The stylus apps Motorola supplies are limited. I installed and am happy with Microsoft OneNote instead.- I’ve mislaid the stylus a couple of times, as I did with my Samsung phones. Motorola and accessory vendors haven’t yet offered replacements.A lot of what makes me happy with the G Stylus is due to maturing technology and packaging that now allows a well-executed feature-laden budget phone. But I still give Motorola a lot of credit for doing this.