Motorola’s 2026 Moto G Stylus adds active pen, brighter display, bigger battery

Motorola’s latest Moto G Stylus leans on something many buyers can feel immediately: a true active pen, a brighter screen and a cleaner Android setup with fewer preinstalled distractions.

The 2026 Moto G Stylus went on sale April 16 in the United States and Canada, starting at $499.99 in the U.S. and C$699.99 in Canada. That is $100 more than the 2025 model, but Motorola is betting that the extra cost will be easier to justify now that the phone brings a more capable stylus, a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED display that can reach 5,000 nits of peak brightness, and a 5,200mAh battery with 68W wired charging and 15W wireless charging.

The stylus is the centerpiece. Motorola introduced the phone on April 7 and said the pen is now an integrated active stylus with tilt and pressure sensitivity in supported apps. It can be used for Quick Clip, Drag and Drop, Hover to Magnify and Circle to Search with Google. Motorola says the pen can last up to 100 hours on standby, deliver nearly four hours of writing time and recharge in about 15 minutes. The company has also said the Moto G Stylus is the only smartphone in its price tier to offer a true stylus experience.

The rest of the hardware keeps pace with that pitch. The phone includes IP68/IP69 protection, Gorilla Glass 3, Android 16, 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, and microSD expansion up to 1TB. A lilac color option and a textured back panel give the device a more tactile feel, while a headphone jack and microSD slot remain rare holdouts in a market that has steadily dropped both.

What makes the Moto G Stylus line matter beyond its pen is Motorola’s software direction. The company’s recent Moto G phones have been described as significantly cleaner than earlier versions, with the old promotional “hubs” removed and fewer unwanted apps getting in the way. Under Hello UX, or My UX, Motorola has been moving away from the bloatware that long frustrated budget-phone buyers.

That shift matters because software clutter is not just an annoyance. Fewer preloaded apps can mean less background noise, fewer permission prompts and a phone that feels faster and more private over time. It can also help resale value, since a cleaner device is easier to hand off and less likely to feel dated before its hardware wears out. In a crowded Android market, Motorola is making a case that midrange competition is no longer only about specs. It is about whether a phone respects the buyer’s time, storage and attention.