This is the $300 Android phone to beat in 2023 - and it even has a stylus

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-is-the-300-android-phone-to-beat-in-2023-and-it-even-has-a-stylus/

174 points · 109 comments · view on lemmy.world

109 Comments

nerdschleife@lemm.ee · 173 pts · 3y (12 replies)

Saved you a click: it's Motorola's Moto G Stylus 5G (2023)

morrowind@lemmy.ml · 27 pts · 3y (6 replies)

Fortunately it shows up in the article preview as well 👍

shashi154263@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 3y (4 replies)

Am I supposed to recognise it just by seeing it?

morrowind@lemmy.ml · 19 pts · 3y (3 replies)

No, the text preview

shashi154263@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Oh! My bad. My app doesn't show a preview.

Surprisingly, Jerboa seems to be the only one which showed the preview.

limerod@reddthat.com · 7 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Liftoff also shows a preview on my end

shashi154263@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

Oh, I didn't like it much so I uninstalled it.

Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 3y

I like Android phones but I wouldnt have known that from just the image

NanoooK@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 3y (4 replies)

Glad to see Motorola doing well.

eltimablo@kbin.social · 13 pts · 3y (3 replies)

It's just Lenovo with the Motorola name slapped on it, unfortunately. Google stripped all the useful bits and sold it off about a decade ago.

DarkThoughts@kbin.social · 6 pts · 3y

So Motorola is basically just another Chinese brand now.

ikidd@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y (1 reply)

just Lenovo

So is the chances it has a factory installed rootkit on it 90 or 99%?

eltimablo@kbin.social · 5 pts · 3y

It's 200%. They put two rootkits on every phone now.

corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · 57 pts · 3y (4 replies)

3.5mm jack Yes

So it's a contender. The rest are DEAD TO ME

thelardboy@lemmy.world · 26 pts · 3y (1 reply)
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MothBookkeeper@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

SD slots aren't all that uncommon still.

skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl · 6 pts · 3y

[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]

Pelicanen@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 3y

The Nokia XR21 also has a 3.5mm jack. It's likely weaker performance-wise but it has a battery life of approximately 3 days so it won't run out of juice as quickly.

OldFartPhil@lemm.ee · 46 pts · 3y (3 replies)

I guess the reviewer doesn’t care about software updates, because Motorola’s support is abysmal.

XpeeN@sopuli.xyz · 9 pts · 3y (2 replies)

We just need lineageos support and we're set.

Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Oh you mean LineageOS.

I was having a stroke moment thinking this was a ligmaballs joke

RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de · 4 pts · 3y

Lmao gottem

Pxtl@lemmy.ca · 25 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Bought one for my kid because he's a little artist. Seems nice. I use a Pixel, but honestly I miss the moto "chop chop to turn on the flashlight" feature from my old Moto.

KingJalopy@lemm.ee · 4 pts · 3y

I miss that flashlight thing too. Also on Pixel now but I used an app called edge gestures to activate my flashlight. I just swipe up on the edge of my screen and hold to activate/deactivate. Not as awesome but very functional. If course I use edge gestures for everything, calling/texting certain contacts, activating apps I use regularly, it's such an awesome tool. Been using for years at this point and can't imagine using my phone without it.

DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y (1 reply)

If you go to Settings -> System -> Gestures, there's an option for "Quick tap to start actions", one of the options is to turn on the flashlight when you double tap the back of the phone.

Nice little feature.

FleetingTit@feddit.de · 2 pts · 3y

That is not an adequate replacement for chop chop.

  1. The screen needs to be on for the pixel gesture to work. Chop chop can be done with the screen off

  2. Tapping the back of the phone to the beat of music will turn on the flashlight by accident all the time. Chop chop is a very deliberate gesture

  3. Tapping does not always register. Sometimes I need to do it 2 or 3 times to get the flashlight to turn on/off, the moto gestures were almost 100% reliable for me

Clav64@lemmy.ml · 23 pts · 3y (22 replies)

Reads headline: "oooo interesting"

It's a Motorola: "ah, shit"

soviettaters@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 3y (21 replies)

Motorolas are my favorite type of phone. I'm never going to use Apple and Samsung phones are bloated with garbage I don't want. It's not like there's another real option.

meatly@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 3y (13 replies)

Nothing Phone, OnePlus (i still like the new Color Oxygen OS), Pixel

soviettaters@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y (10 replies)

The Nothing Phone is the only other real option, but it's also one phone while Motorola has several options for several different price ranges. OnePlus is purely Chinese (I know Motorola isn't perfect but it could be worse). Google Pixels aren't cheap.

Amir@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 3y (5 replies)

Pixels are now super cheap in Europe (in The Netherlands in particular)

Could get a 7 for €400 and now 7a for less than that

Blaze@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Also, would you have a link? The 7 is still 579€ on Amazon.nl and 577 on Bol

Amir@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 3y

Belsimpel, T-Mobile or Tele2 in combination with any carrier plan.

I assume you're not using a Prepaid plan but if you are then my comment was misleading. Everyone I know here has a carrier subscription so I usually list those prices (but with one-time payment for the phone).

Now that the 7A is out, 7 doesn't seem to be getting discounts anymore.

Google Store sometimes has 7A sales for ~€450.

Koala@feddit.de · 2 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Does the 7 has working Dual SIM support? On the 6 it's broken since release. It's 2 years now and still not fixed. Phone calls randomly drop and after 30 minutes or so the modem just crashes and needs both SIMs to be deactivated and actives again. Absolut shit show.

Amir@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 3y

Idk I don't use Dual SIM

Blaze@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 3y

Good to see they are reaching that price range, but it's probably more "good value/price ratio" than cheap.

meatly@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y (2 replies)

What is the difference between OnePlus and Motorola being chinese? It's a serious question, i thought Motorola was fully chinese owned?

soviettaters@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 3y (1 reply)

OnePlus was fully designed and created in China while Motorola was bought out by Lenovo. Motorola is still fishy but it's technically still an American company so I feel better about it. It's just false hope that my data isn't being stolen, privacy is dead anyways.

meatly@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

Alright :) In my opinion the companies are all not that trustworthy unfortunately. Because Motorola is not that good with updates it's not the brand for me.

Phanatik@kbin.social · 1 pts · 3y

OnePlus may be Chinese but the OS has some privacy features like removing permissions for apps you don't use. Out of the Androids I've used, it has way more customisation than I expected.

Wanderer@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 3y (1 reply)

OnePlus one was the best phone I ever got. Then I got a Xiaomi for a better camera and now I'm looking to get a new phone.

Haven't OnePlus gone to shit now?

OskarAxolotl@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

They have. OnePlus was great until the OnePlus 5. Now they have become just another premium smartphone brand. Same thing will happen to Nothing eventually.

Muehe@kbin.social · 7 pts · 3y (5 replies)

The third iteration of Nokia is back to building phones, and the smartphones they sell are part of the Android One program (stock Android, two years of updates guaranteed).

Blaze@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Interesting, do you have one?

Muehe@kbin.social · 2 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Yes, the Nokia X10. Worked rather well over the last two years, although the only thing I can compare it to are devices I got from work (mostly older Samsungs with a ton of crapware).

Blaze@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 3y

Interesting, thanks for your feedback

tuxed@sh.itjust.works · -1 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Arent they owned by a Chinese company these days?

Muehe@kbin.social · 2 pts · 3y

No, they are owned by HMD Global which is a company that was initially comprised mostly of former Nokia executives. They produce in China though (like everybody else).

Clav64@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 3y

Sony, Asus, Nothing, Pixel....

I'm not doubting the hardware, but software is a real issue. Carriers are now pushing 36 month plans... what good is that if your device is basically out of date after 18 months.

onionbaggage@lemmynsfw.com · 22 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Wow a stylus. The thing I literally never use ever and forget exists. Exciting!

i_am_a_cardboard_box@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 3y

Hooray, I will finally get to turn all my one handed actions into two handed actions! /s

OskarAxolotl@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y (1 reply)
PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks · 1 pts · 3y

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LuckyCat@lemm.ee · 21 pts · 3y (28 replies)

I’m trying to wrap my brain around why anyone would want a stylus for their phone.

youngalfred@lemm.ee · 15 pts · 3y

Niche case- I'm a maths teacher and it's been good for replying to emails from students with problems.

rem26_art@kbin.social · 13 pts · 3y (1 reply)

I've had a Galaxy Note 9 for a few years now and, at least in my use case, I rarely use the stylus. It's very convenient to have when I need to take notes in a meeting or something that I need to send a copy off somewhere, but day to day, I really only remember the stylus is there when I drop the phone and it pops out lol.

SirGaston@feddit.de · 6 pts · 3y

Life hack: remove stylus permanently to receive lighter smartphone ;)

1stq@kbin.social · 11 pts · 3y

I wish I could use a stylus on my phone. When I edit photos, my fingers are less precise to hit the right spots.

CrypticFawn@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 9 pts · 3y

Some people like to make art on their phone. Others like to use it for note taking. I came across a TikTok creator that has the S23 Ultra and he uses the stylus to edit/make photos and videos.

Some find it easier to swipe with as well.

Bianca_0089@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 3y

Art, annotation, memos, hand drawn animation, business'y stuff of that nature

It kinda depends on the stylus though: Some are actual digitizers(pressure sensitivity for use as a paintbrush, some even recognize tilt and rotation for calligraphy) while others are just a rubber nib on a stick(rubber finger...on a stick..no electronics just rubber).

Hazdaz@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 3y (4 replies)

Have one with my tablet and it's great for sketching.

overzeetop@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

Even the biggest phones, imo, just don’t have the real estate for decent note taking. Tablets, esp with low aspect ratio screens, are the sweet spot.

LuckyCat@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Tablets make total sense to me because the use for a tablet is different. I would use a stylus on a tablet with a larger screen. I wouldn’t use a stylus on my phone.

Hazdaz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

I've had situations where having a stylus even on the smaller screen of a phone wouod have been handy. Sketching with your finger is very crude. It's not something I would pay a premium for and I wouldn't want it robbing a bunch of space to fit it inside, but it would be a nice addition that I might use on and off.

Laticauda@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 3y

It's nice for quick edits or sketches when you don't have access to a tablet. I have one and I've gotten a lot of use out of it.

TheEntity@kbin.social · 7 pts · 3y

It's great to quickly draw a diagram or something similar to explain something to someone. I could use pen and paper but I prefer doing it on my phone since it's already there. I don't do it daily but I enjoy having this option. When I was taking a break from the Galaxy Note lineup I was sorely missing it.

pm_boobs_send_nudes@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

Sometimes I'm on the go and I need to highlight, underline and make comments on pdf files. A stylus makes these much easier. Other than that I've used it about once for taking a photo using the stylus when the camera was on a tripod.

shashi154263@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y (3 replies)

I want stylus for my phone so that I can sign directly on my documents. Right now, I have to print it, then sign, then scan it.

Another use of stylus is for note taking, and solving math equations (which is often very tough to write).

superkret@feddit.de · 9 pts · 3y (2 replies)
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madcaesar@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 3y

Well...yea...but then he wouldn't need a stylus!

Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

"I threw away all the conveniences of my current device because I need this one extreme usecase!"

techt@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

Osu! mobile :)

soviettaters@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

I got the version with the stylus of this phone solely because the version without the stylus didn't have an NFC chip. The stylus is kinda neat though.

nicman24@kbin.social · -6 pts · 3y (8 replies)

have you heard of a notepad

Chaphasilor@feddit.nl · 4 pts · 3y (3 replies)

the only advange to a keyboard that I can see is for drawing or signing documents

nicman24@kbin.social · 5 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Chem stuff and math

Chaphasilor@feddit.nl · 1 pts · 3y

Oh, interesting!

LuckyCat@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 3y

True. Although looking back over the last five years, and even more so since COVID, the majority of the documents I’ve had to sign that were emailed to me have been secure digital signatures so I feel like even this advantage is becoming less relevant.

LuckyCat@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Is using the stylus really more efficient than typing your notes into your phone though? I guess it’s likely a preference thing but I’m amazed there’s that big of a market for that.

nicman24@kbin.social · 4 pts · 3y

Yes if you need shapes as well ie chemical compounds

On@kbin.social · 4 pts · 3y

There are languages that are just not convenient to type on a keyboard. A stylus combined with a proper OCR keyboard app could read the handwriting and compose messages in a lot less time.

techt@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

I like it for OneNote specifically; in a uni setting it's nice to have a stylus handy to jot margin notes or drawings alongside my text input, do a non-rectangular crop on a photo I just took of the lecture slide to put in notes, or just idly doodle. Stylus pens are super smooth and gives me good brain feel when I do swooshy doodles.

SuperSpruce@lemmy.ml · 20 pts · 3y

I have the 2022 version of this phone, and it's great value for money in the USA. Adequate performance, lots of internal storage, headphone jack, MicroSD slot, and good battery life. I didn't buy it for the (crappy) stylus, I bought it for the good value for money.

The 2023 version most notably updates the SoC from SD695 to SD6g1, which is about 15-20% faster and more efficient. It also adds stereo speakers, which is nice. It seems like everything else is only a marginal change or the same from last year.

HidingCat@kbin.social · 17 pts · 3y

Man, is the US market for cheaper phones so bad that this is a contender? And this is US$400!

Hephoh2@feddit.de · 14 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Yes but does it run LineageOS?

unix_joe@lemmy.sdf.org · 11 pts · 3y (2 replies)
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MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y (1 reply)

In the US?

XpeeN@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 3y

Wdym?

aluminium@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 3y

I would love to see comparison to the Poco F1 which at the time had the same price. I suspect its pretty close, despite the 6 years gap. That being said, the F1 was unreal value at the time.

baatliwala@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 3y

Moto's update support has been horrible since post Googorola. They are a decent option but never a truly great one.

hedidwot@lemmynsfw.com · 9 pts · 3y

Is nice, but 2GB less RAM and missing OIS that the previous model has.

MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 3y (5 replies)

But can it run Lineage

pm_boobs_send_nudes@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 3y (4 replies)

Not a single phone has released their proprietory camera driver blobs in recent history. I wish that would happen. There will always be a loss of image quality in custom roms which don't use the stock version on the phone.

Amir@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 3y (3 replies)

Fairly sure Pixels can use GCam just fine on third party ROMs and the basic photography modes give identical output

pm_boobs_send_nudes@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Yeah, but pixels have a low market share unfortunately. Something like Samsung will have the majority market share in most countries. I had a one plus 5 and even with the gcam mod the image output was significantly low (pixels back then only had 12mp and the aspect ratio etc was terrible.)

Amir@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Pixels are the standard for how custom ROMs should work, blame other OEMs for not confirming to standards and breaking APIs.

pm_boobs_send_nudes@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y

I do blame them. I also blame google for not offering those features in android in the first place.... A lot of custom rom features are available in the Samsung rom so I don't really use rooted devices anymore.

Especially hate how android changed with their anti-call recording stance, which now requires root, exposed and an xposed module just for this basic feature. Samsung offers this out of the box.

TheMadnessKing@lemdro.id · 8 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Moto has a history of horrible updates to its devices. This is despite the fact that Moto has a near stock UI.

sadreality@kbin.social · 5 pts · 3y (1 reply)
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Lighthouse@feddit.it · 1 pts · 3y

Yes but in this specific case I'm skeptical about the integration of the pen with custom roms

Spider89@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 3y (9 replies)

I know what I'm switching to!

  • S10e user
n2burns@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 3y (8 replies)

That's a bit of a weird switch. As a fellow s10e user, I got this phone because it's small. The Moto G Stylus is not small at all.

Spider89@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 3y (4 replies)

I got the s10e because it was the first thing in a store.

I'm not joking, I was dumb enough to quickly switch from iOS.

Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y (1 reply)

That's what I did! I was so annoyed by Apple products I grabbed a Pixel. No complaints though

Spider89@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

Nice! How's the Pixel?

n2burns@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Ah, coming from iPhone makes sense. You probably felt that an s10e was a "normal" sized phone. After all, it is larger than the mainline iPhones at that time. The Android market had already decided an s10e was a small phone for a niche market

Spider89@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

Maybe,

I have to to say, my s10e is somewhat rocking and I like it's Secure Folder contanier (Haven't seen a similalur thing.)

Only issue that concerns me is the brightness, battery, and camera.

ikidd@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

I miss my S4 Compact.

Hydrogen@lemdro.id · 1 pts · 3y (1 reply)

As time goes by I want something bigger and bigger.

n2burns@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 3y

That's fine, to each their own. I'd like the opposite and my dream phone would be the size of my Galaxy S (the original one).

My curiosity is because the s10e was a somewhat niche device, but Spider89@lemmy.world explained their choice.

Extrasvhx9he@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 3y

If it wasnt for grapheneos I would get it but honestly might be a nice work phone too or a travel one

nullPointer@programming.dev · 3 pts · 3y

I think I'll pass on a lenovorola

terminhell@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 3y

I've been getting the g power series for a while now. Battery life is important to me in my field of work. And for ~$200 it's hard to beat. No, it doesn't have a great display, or even true 5g. No OLED or high refresh rate. It does have a 5000ma battery that can last two or three days of use. Head phone jack, SD card slot. Features somehow missing from premium offerings?