If you're not made of money, you can get the Moto G Stylus instead of a Galaxy Note 10

Motorola just announced a new smartphone in its affordable G series, and it sure looks like a budget take on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Dubbed the Moto G Stylus, the device is the first  Motorola handset to feature an integrated stylus, and one of the few Android phones to include one in general. 

Notably, the Moto G Stylus will retail for USD$299 internationally, which should work out to be about $500 locally. That makes it about a third of the Note 10's starting pricing, which has traditionally been one of the only options for anyone after a smartphone with the stylus.

The budget price tag does of course mean the Moto G Stylus isn't quite as beefy as the Note 10 in terms of hardware, and there's a few differences when it comes to the stylus too. The Moto G Stylus' stylus is essentially just a dumb pen - there's no Bluetooth functionality for tasks like remotely triggering the camera as we saw on the Note 10. However, removing the Moto's stylus while the phone is locked will bring up a note taking application.

While the Moto G Stylus' stylus is clearly a key selling point, the phone also has a rather unique camera configuration made of up three rear-facing cameras: a 48MP primary lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 16MP ultra-wide lens. The first two cameras are fairly conventional, but Motorola says the 16MP lens is more akin to an action camera. The 117-degree lens has had it sensor rotated so that it shoots horizontal video when you're holding your phone vertically and software to help reduce shakiness. In fact, the "action cam" lens can't even be used for photos; it only shoots video. The Moto G Stylus' lack of water-resistance means it won't quite replace a dedicated action cam, however.

Other key specifications for the Moto G Stylus include a 6.4-inch 1080p+ display with a camera cut-out, a Snapdragon 665 processor, 128GB of expandable storage, 4GB of RAM, and a 4,000mAh battery. The Moto G Stylus will ship running Android 10.

While local pricing and availability for the Moto G Stylus have yet to be confirmed, we'll see it launch internationally this Autumn. Hopefully we see a similar timeframe locally.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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