Moto G Stylus (2025) vs (2024): Worth the upgrade over last year's model?
Motorola's affordable stylus-powered phone has returned for 2025, but is the upgrade everyone was hoping for? With a new display, faster stylus, upgraded chipset and quicker charging, it's clear Motorola wants this year's version to feel like a real step forward. Still, there is one major drawback with the new model — battery life.Meanwhile, the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) remains a solid pick with one of the best battery scores we've seen in this price range, and it was the first in the series to make the leap to OLED. The question is: do you upgrade to the new model or do you stick to the older one? Well, you might want to consider upgrading this year, despite some obvious drawbacks.
Thankfully, the price still remains $399 for 256 GB of storage and 8 GB RAM, so no unpleasant surprises there.
The latest Moto G Stylus model is finally here. You can order one at the official store. At the time of writing, there are no available discounts, but you can get a price cut by trading in an eligible device. Buy at Motorola
Moto G Stylus 5G (2025) vs Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) differences explained:
The overall rating of the Moto G Stylus (2024) is slightly higher because of its much better battery life, which is a crucial aspect to take into account. That said, the Moto G Stylus (2025) has a lot of small improvements that make it a better phone in other areas, like its performance, charging speed and the improved stylus.
Table of Contents:
Design and Display
Performance and Software
Camera
Battery
Audio
Specs
Conclusion
Also read:
The Moto G Stylus is easier to handle thanks to its smaller body. | Image by PhoneArena The design language for both phones is nearly identical — both feature Motorola's signature synthetic leather backs, which feel nice in the hand and help reduce fingerprints. The 2025 version keeps the same basic size and shape but improves durability with MIL-STD-810H and IP68 certifications.
Equally comfortable to hold. | Image by PhoneArena The G Stylus (2025) is exactly the same size as its predecessor, so it would feel familiar for anyone who is upgrading to the new model.Both phones come in stylish color options — Gibraltar Sea and Surf the Web for the new Stylus, while the older model came in Caramel Latte and Scarlet Wave.
The Moto G Stylus has an even brighter and sharper display than its predecessor. | Image by PhoneArena
The most visible difference lies is in the display. The 2025 G Stylus steps things up with a sharper 2712 x 1220 AMOLED panel and an impressive 1692-nit peak brightness — great for outdoor use. On the other hand, the 2024 model reached around 1221 nits during our tests.
However, both phones are perfectly usable in bright conditions, so while the higher brightness levels are nice on paper, they aren't a game-changer.
The new model comes with two promised years of OS upgrades vs just one on the 2024 version. | Image by PhoneArena The 2025 model runs on the newer Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, offering better performance — albeit mostly when it comes to the GPU — when compared to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip inside the 2024 G Stylus. Both phones come with 8 GB RAM with 256 GB of storage, expandable via microSD. The 2025 model also supports AI features like Circle to Search and Sketch to Image via its upgraded stylus, which is much more responsive this year.Another important change is software support: Motorola promises 2 years of OS updates for the 2025 G Stylus, whereas the 2024 model only gets one.
Even though the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is two generations newer, it is not that much faster as far as CPU performance goes.
While we didn't see much of a difference when comparing the CPU performance, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 showed its prowess in the GPU department. There's an approximately 27-28% improvement in graphical performance, which comes in handy when using photo and video editting apps.
You get two cameras on both. | Image by PhoneArena
The cameras are mostly the same on paper — 50 MP main, 13 MP ultrawide, and 32 MP front — but the 2025 G Stylus adds a new Sony LYTIA 700C sensor for the main camera. This results in better low-light performance and more consistent HDR compared to the 2024 model.
The new model also does better when it comes to processing, producing more a vibrant and color-accurate image compared to its predecessor.
The ultrawide and selfie camera performance on the new G Stylus was surprisingly worse during our lab tests, but the differences are not visible in everyday use.
The G Stylus (2025) main camera is visibly sharper. Motorola has also done a much better job with this year's version when it comes to color reproduction and the post-processing part.
The image from the older G Stylus looks unnatural because of the blue tint that's present in the shadow of the building. In contrast, the colors of the 2025 G Stylus' camera are more true to life.
It also seems like the photo taken with the new model is slightly sharper.
The ultra-wide camera on the Moto G Stylus (2025) captures more detail in the shadows, resulting in a more balanced exposure overall.
The G Stylus (2024)'s selfie camera adds a noticeable blue tint to photos and produces more muted colors than what's seen in real life. Stay tuned for video samples.
The new Moto G Stylus comes with much faster charging, and worse battery life. | Image by PhoneArena Here's where the 2024 model still shines. Its less powerful chip and dimmer display resulted in excellent battery scores across our tests and it lasted for about two days on a single charge. We can't say the same about the G Stylus (2025), though, which could hardly carry us through a single day. The battery on the new Stylus dropped especially quickly while I was watching YouTube, which I do a lot of.However, the 2025 model claws back some usability thanks to its 68W wired charging, which fills up the battery in under 45 minutes. Both models support 15W wireless charging.
As you can see from our battery life tests as well, the Moto G Stylus has been downgraded severely. Last year we gave the 2024 model an estimated battery life of 8 hours and 25 minutes, which was one of the best scores we saw in this price segment.
With the Moto G Stylus (2025), however, the number has dropped to a mere 5 hours and 17 minutes. The most staggering difference is in the Video streaming test, where — for some reason — the new G Stylus lasted about 8 hours less than its predecessor.
Both phones feature stereo speakers, and the 3.5mm headphone jack that came with the 2024 model is still alive and well on the Moto G Stylus (2025).
The new generation has clearer and louder speakers, although at the cost of a more rich sound profile. In contrast, the older generation sounds more rich, but has lower volume.
Haptics are basic on both, but the Moto G Stylus (2025) didn't make me want to switch vibration off immediately like it's predecessor did.
You might want to consider the new G Stylus. | Image by PhoneArena
There's lots to love about the new Moto G Stylus. It's upgraded and more responsive stylus and longer software support are enough to make you consider upgrading.
Of course, I we can't deny that it is disappointing to see the battery life get downgraded so much, when last year's model did so well in our tests. But Motorola has included more than double the charging speed (although with no charger in the box), which kind of helps with that issue.
If you are considering upgrading from the Moto G Stylus (2024) to the Moto G Stylus (2025), you probably won't be disappointed. The benefits outweigh the one downgrade, as long as you keep a watchful eye of that battery percentage.
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