Stylus support or excellent cameras?

• 

  Motorola’s stylus king

  Moto G Stylus 5G (2024)

  The Moto G Stylus (2024) sits at the top of Motorola’s budget G-series. As the name suggests, stylus support is one of the phone’s highlights.

  Pros

  • Stylus support
  • Excellent battery life
  • Stylish design

• 

  Google’s midrange champion

  Google Pixel 8a

  The Pixel 8a is Google’s new midrange smartphone. It packs the same Tensor G3 chip as the company’s flagship phones and promises seven years of software updates.

  Pros

  • Impressive cameras
  • Fast performance
  • Seven years of software updates

If you are in the market for a midrange smartphone, you will come across Google and Motorola’s newest offerings: the Pixel 8a and the Moto G Stylus (2024). Both are the latest iterations of long-running favorites and include several upgrades and design tweaks over the previous generation. So, would you be better off saving a bit of money by going with the Moto G Stylus, or is it a good idea to pay more for the Pixel 8a? Let’s find out.

Price, availability, and specs

As mentioned, the Moto G Stylus is the cheapest of the two smartphones. It costs $400 for the sole 256GB storage variant. It’s widely available in Caramel Latte or Scarlet Wave colors.

Unlike the Motorola phone, the Pixel 8a comes in multiple variants. It has two storage versions, and you can also choose from sub-6GHz 5G and mmWave 5G editions; the latter is exclusive to Verizon. While the sub-6GHz version starts at $499, the mmWave 5G version costs $50 extra. Moreover, there are four color options, and the Pixel 8a is also widely available.

Let’s take a look at the raw specifications of both phones.

• 	Moto G Stylus 5G (2024)	Google Pixel 8a
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1	Google Tensor G3
  Display type	OLED, 120Hz	OLED, 120Hz
  Display dimensions	6.7″, 20:9	6.1″, 20:9
  Display resolution	2400 x 1080	1080 x 2400
  RAM	8GB	8GB
  Storage	256GB	128GB, 256GB
  Battery	5000mAh	4492mAh
  Charge speed	30W wired, 15W wireless	18W wired, 7.5W wireless
  Charge options	USB-C wired, Qi wireless	USB-C wired, Qi wireless
  Ports	USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack	USB-C
  SIM support	Nano-SIM, eSIM	Nano SIM, eSIM
  Operating System	Android 14	Android 14
  Front camera	32MP f/2.4	13MP, f/2.2
  Rear camera	50MP f/1.8 main, 13MP f/2.2 wide	64MP f/1.89 OIS main, 13MP f/2.2 wide
  Cellular connectivity	Sub-6 5G	Sub-6 5G (optional mmWave)
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 5	Wi-Fi 6E
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.1	Bluetooth 5.3
  Dimensions	162.6 x 74.8 x 8.3mm	152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9mm
  Weight	190g	188g
  IP Rating	IP52	IP67
  Colors	Caramel Latte, Scarlet Wave	Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay, Aloe
  Price	$400	$499
  Connectivity	NFC	NFC
  Stylus	Yes	No

Design and display

The Moto G Stylus (2024) sports a distinctive boxy look with a faux leather back, glass front, and a plastic frame, while the Pixel 8a features more pronounced curved corners, an aluminum frame, and a plastic back. These design choices give each phone a unique aesthetic and also affect how they feel in the hand.

Many users will appreciate the Motorola phone’s faux leather back, which, combined with the fake chamfered edges, makes it seem premium. The phone also has slimmer and proportional bezels. But not everything is hunky-dory. The phone’s weight distribution is weird; it feels top-heavy, particularly in the upper-left corner. This device also lacks proper water resistance, being only rated IP52.

The Pixel 8a has a much simpler matte finish on the exterior, which may not add much to the phone’s look but certainly makes it feel good in hand. Moreover, compared to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7a, the camera bar on the Pixel 8a doesn’t stick out much, making the phone seem more svelte. It’s also rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. So, there is quite a bit to like about the 8a’s design and build. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the uneven bezels around the phone’s display. Like the phone’s predecessor, the bottom bezel is thicker than the rest.

The newest Moto G Stylus phone has a large 6.7-inch display, which, unlike previous generations, uses an OLED panel. So you can expect beautiful colors, inky blacks, and impressive contrast. The display also supports a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother visuals and a 1,200 nits peak brightness.

The Pixel 8a has a smaller 6.1-inch OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, the display can deliver up to 2,000 nits peak brightness. Google has also included Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to add some protection.

Software

Software is one of the Moto G Stylus’ biggest downsides. The phone is set to get only one major Android update and has quite a few usual software enhancements and bugs. The company attempted to change the software experience but didn’t do a good job, ruining what otherwise used to be a respectable software experience.

The Pixel 8a, on the other hand, shines on the software front. You get mostly clean software with Google’s various Pixel-specific enhancements. Features like Call Screen, Direct My Call, Hold For Me, Circle to Search, and various camera software enhancements improve the user experience. But most importantly, it’s set to get seven years of major Android updates, which is unheard of for midrange phones.

Performance and battery life

Motorola has used the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor in the Moto G Stylus (2024) that was present in the 2023 model. The processor is capable and delivers decent performance. However, as we noted in our Moto G Stylus review, there is nothing really notable about it except random frame drops.

The Pixel 8a has a more powerful Tensor G3 at its core, and it delivers a responsive and snappy experience. There are no significant slowdowns or sluggishness. However, it is seemingly still plagued by Tensor’s habit of getting too hot. While testing the Pixel 8a, the Tensor overheated once. Otherwise, it ran smoothly.

Additionally, the Moto G Stylus has a bigger 5,000mAh battery compared to the Pixel 8a’s 4,492mAh, and this shows in performance, as the phone provides longer backup on a single charge. Moreover, it supports faster wired and wireless charging than the Pixel at 30W and 15W, respectively.

The Pixel 8a may be inferior on the battery front, but it certainly shines in terms of connectivity features. It has Wi-Fi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.3, and a faster USB 3.2 Type-C port, compared to Motorola’s Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, and USB 2.0.

However, Moto G Stylus has two pieces of hardware that are increasingly hard to find and aren’t present in the Pixel 8a: a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card slot. Another little feature you don’t get with the Pixel 8a is a stylus, which comes with the Motorola phone, as is pretty evident from the name. It’s not a feature-rich stylus, but if you like to take many handwritten notes, it will certainly come in handy.

Camera

Motorola doesn’t have an excellent record regarding cameras in its more affordable offerings. But the Moto G Stylus (2024) surprisingly has a pretty decent 50MP primary camera that takes sharp, detailed, and vibrant photos, as long as there’s good lighting. You can also capture usable shots in lower lighting, granted no motion or digital zoom is involved. The 13MP ultrawide shooter, however, isn’t very reliable.

In comparison, the Pixel 8a delivers a strong camera performance due to the company’s impressive computational photography skills. It has the same 64MP primary shooter and 13MP ultrawide camera as the Pixel 7a. Both take impressive shots in excellent and poor lighting situations and will generally keep you pretty happy.

In terms of front shooters, there is a 32MP camera on the Motorola phone and a 13MP shooter on the Pixel 8a. Both take decent selfies, but the Pixel 8a generally delivers better results. The Pixel 8a also has better camera software and tons of AI-backed features.

Which is right for you?

The Motorola Moto G Stylus (2024) does quite a few things right, but it still falls behind the Pixel 8a. So, for most, the Pixel 8a is the better option. It has an excellent display, reliable cameras, superior software support, and faster overall performance. You also get speedier Wi-Fi and optional mmWave 5G support. Plus, the Google phone has a more compact design if that matters to you.

However, if you want stylus support or don’t have the budget for the Pixel 8a, the Moto G Stylus is a decent alternative. It has a good display, a decent primary shooter, a bigger battery, faster charging, and a more premium-looking design. You’ll, however, have to sacrifice on the software front.