Motorola Edge 60 Stylus (2025)

This is a review of the Motorola Edge 60 Stylus which for all intents and purposes is the same phone as the Motorola G Stylus 2025, but with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 mobile processor (versus a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3) and is only available in India. The G Stylus is not available directly in Australia from retail stores, but it can be found on Amazon or through various other online retailers for (as of time of writing) around $690.

For the last 3 years, I’ve been (quite happily) using a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 which has followed my long series of Galaxy Notes (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 20) as my regular phone enjoying the extra screen space that it offered me when it was opened/unfolded. This came in very handy for many of the applications (programs and web based apps) that I was able to use for work (and definitely better than the Note screen real-estate) but with my phone contract coming to an end and the reduction in same work applications being able to be used on my phone, it was time to consider my next option.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was looking like a very viable option (I did kind of miss the stylus that came with the Note series) and considering that the majority of my Fold’s unfolded screen usage was now watching videos, it made sense because the Ultras full screen was almost the same as actual viewable (on youtube etc) screen of the Fold. Then I discovered that the S25 Ultra’s stylus was losing it’s Bluetooth support. No more hovering the stylus just above the screen or using it to take phots (selfies particularly). It was being rendered just a stylus with no “magic powers” that justified the high price etc. Sure, Samsung claimed that something like less than 5% of people used those Bluetooth features, but that’s what set the S24 Ultra (and all previous Ultra models) apart.

Then….. I discovered the Motorola G Stylus 2025. A phone that had a stylus……….. and a large screen……….. and I have to say, whilst leaving the “safety” of the Samsung ecosystem was a little nerve wracking, I couldn’t be happier with my choice.

For the money, this phone is amazing. Here’s a few specs……… Screen: 6.7 inches (1220 x 2712 pixels and 444 ppi density) @ 120Hz with HDR and 3000 nits peak brightness. Chipset: Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (edge 60 Stylus) / Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (G Stylus) O/S: Android 15 (with 2 upgrades) Memory: 256GB and 8GB ram AND micro SD expansion (up to 1 TB) Battery: 5000mAh with 68W wired and 15W wireless charging.

One of my biggest concerns about changing brands of phones, and no doubt a reason why people stay locked into a particular ecosystem is familiarity and reservations about migrating everything from apps to all user data like contacts and messages etc to a new device. Well that was my concern and it was unjust. I guess if you are in the Android ecosystem, it is stupendously easy to transfer from one device to another. I was fully transferred and completely set up in under an hour and that included a massive amount of media (which took most of the transfer time).

Out of the box set up was quick and easy and whilst I liked the Motorola Hello UI skin which is fairly close to stock Android, I installed the Nova Launcher (like my Fold) because I find that it allows you to customise your phone a bit more compared Hello UI or Samsung’s One UI. It also gave me that same sense of familiarity on OS and operations that I mentioned. The screen is beautiful. The 1220 x 2712 screen is a delight to view. Whilst not quite the same resolution as the inner screen of the Fold, the higher pixel density and much higher brightness make the viewing much better on every level. The brightness is very noticeable in broad daylight where I haven’t had to once ‘shield’ my screen from the sunlight. The adaptive brightness control works just as well as the Samsung version, but I prefer to use a set brightness continuously. The performance of this phone is also impressive. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor is supposed to be a slight step above the 6 Gen 3 processor of the G Stylus 2025 and I have found it to be very quick and responsive for my current six weeks of usage. I know it doesn’t have the same processing power of the Fold’s Snapdragon 8+, but this phone is a midrange phone so you couldn’t expect flagship specs. But saying that, for my usual usage of video streaming and playing around with a bit of AI, I haven’t had any issues at all. If I was requiring heavy processing power, I would be choosing a flagship phone, but for my (and what I imagine most other phone users) needs, this phone is doing a great job. The 8GB of ram seems to be more than enough too.

The speakers on the phone are more than adequate for audio and video. They aren’t amazing (but they are loud), but then so very phones are and my Fold was no different. Using Bluetooth headphones or a speaker makes a difference, but the one thing I truly like is the inclusion of a headphone jack which has allowed me use my favourite pair of (wired) headphones which really gives just the most wonderful auditory experience.

And now the stylus. The main reason I went for this phone and not the Ultra. Is it good? It’s not bad. Like my previous Notes, the stylus is a nice solid little stick (metal) and I like the ‘clicking’ that it can do, even though it serves no function. The lack of Bluetooth functionality makes it no worse than what the Ultra has to offer now. I love how you can just pop it out and scribble a note. I really really love the handwriting calculator that lets you work with options such as fractions and formulars. I have had more fun than I should admit to drawing pictures and getting the Motorola AI interpret them and give me an artistic enhancement of them. I haven’t really used it for things like screenshots or photo cropping (other than a token play at it). I find the stylus very smooth responsive on the screen with no lag when writing. One thing that is different to the Ultra screen and stylus experience is the lack of palm rejection. This means that whilst the stylus is out and being used, anything that touches the screen can potentially make a mark on the screen too. This is different to the Ultra (and Notes) stylus usage where only the stylus can write/draw on the screen. Is it an issue? Not really. I’ve barely had any times where this has been problematic.

The cameras on the phone are pretty good. Certainly for a midrange phone they are fine. Are they as good as my Fold? No. Are they as good as the Ultra? No. But that’s the difference to be expected of a $500 phone versus a $2000 or $2400 phone. Considering that most people use their phones camera for snapshots and social media, the cameras on the Stylus do a pretty good job. They struggle a bit in low light, but again, not an unexpected affair. The specs are decent enough and it uses a Sony LYTIA 700C sensor. The video story is the same. The phone does FHD @ 30/60/120 and 4K @ 30fps and whilst not cinematically breathtaking, the results are quite satisfactory. The colours on both photos and video can sometimes be a little over saturated, but usually they turn out pretty good. There is a lot of options for creating your own manual settings (but I’m too lazy for this).

And finally, the battery. The 5000mAh is quite the beast. I easily get 2 days of use between charges and have even gotten 3 days (but that puts me at about 15-20% which is a bit nerve wracking). I’m not a heavy user of my phone and really only use it for video streaming (on breaks at work or at home) and listening to music (or streaming the radio). I’m definitely getting better battery performance than my Fold, but that is to be expected based on the larger battery, smaller screen and a lower chipset. What I do love is the 68W wired charging. The Edge stylus come with a (69W) charger (you’ll need an euro/aust adaptor) whereas the G stylus does not come with a charger (but is capable of same recharging speeds). It will fully charge in about 40 min and 15 min of charging will give you almost 50%. It is also capable of 15W wireless charging but is not capable of reverse wireless charging (too be expected).

I had to but this phone from India via a package forwarding service as it isn’t (like the G Stylus) available directly in Australia. I paid just over $400 for the phone itself, but by time I paid for the phone, the package forwarding service, several phone cases a screen protector and postage, I paid $460. In comparison, the G Stylus 2025 is available via Amazon for $685. Same phone with a slightly better chipset and $225 cheaper!!!

So far (after 6 weeks) I’m really happy about everything with this phone. Are there better phones than this. Yes, but not at this price point. If you are looking for a phone with a stylus, you only have 2 choices; this phone or the Ultra series. You can spend $400 (or $685 for the G stylus) or $2300. To quote Android Police, “The Moto G Stylus covers 95% of what I want a stylus to do on a smart phone” and “If you love a stylus on your phone, the Moto G Stylus experience is close enough for much less” and I couldn’t agree more. I can’t imagine why I would go back to $2000+ flagship phones again.