Moto G Stylus (2025) vs Moto G Stylus (2024): Worth the upgrade over last year’s model?

Intro

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Design and Display Quality

Improvements to durability and display brightness

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.

Performance and Software

A jump in graphical performance and one additional year of software support

The new model comes with two promised years of OS upgrades vs just one on the 2024 version. | Image by PhoneArena

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.

Camera

New main image sensor

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.

PhoneArena Camera Score:

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.

Main Camera

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.

Selfies

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.

Battery Life and Charging

The weird downgrade

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.

PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:

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.

Audio Quality and Haptics

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.

Specs Comparison

Should you upgrade?

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.