The confusing case of the leaked 2021 Moto G Stylus and Moto G Pro

There was understandably some confusion about the two phones.

What you need to know

• New leaks suggest the Moto G Power and Moto G Pro plan to differentiate themselves.
• The two leaked devices were both thought to be the Moto G Stylus.
• The devices will feature similar specs with slightly different designs and regional availability.

There seems to have been some confusion about two of Motorola’s upcoming stylus-wielding smartphones. Initial leaks of the Moto G Stylus (2021) came in the form of detailed specs from Evan Blass, suggesting an underwhelming upgrade (you’d probably be better off with some of these other cheap Android phones). Soon after, an Amazon listing showed off what was believed to be the very device, with only a slight design change from its predecessor. Recently, images of the same device were leaked by Nils Ahrensmeier, in what appear to be both renders and live images of the Moto G Stylus, codename Minsk.

Around the same time, Steve Hemmerstoffer showed off leaked images of a very different phone which was also purported to be the Moto G Stylus, even commenting on the fact that Nils’ images differ greatly from his own.

It turns out that the two devices are the same, but also not the same. Given Motorola’s confusing naming scheme within its seemingly endless G-lineup, the Moto G Stylus and Moto G Pro are essentially the same devices, but for different markets. The confusion comes with the fact that the 2020 models shared the same design and almost the exact same spec sheet. The latter remains true, but Motorola seems to have decided to go with distinct designs for both devices, perhaps to help tech journalists tell the two devices apart.

Hemmerstoffer realized that what he thought was the Moto G Stylus was actually the Moto G Pro. He also noted in his previous post that his sources informed him of a 5MP macro sensor on the device, which differs from the 2MP macro sensor on the Moto G Stylus. Also, while Evan Blass indicated a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the G Stylus, the G Pro will instead have a rear-mounted sensor.

The Moto G Stylus, and likely the Moto G Pro as well, is expected to launch in April. The former is expected to be available in the U.S. while the latter will likely be headed to Europe.

Moto G Stylus

$254 at Amazon

The Moto G Stylus offers quite a bit for the price, including a built-in stylus for quick note-taking, plenty of internal storage, and a decent camera setup. Despite that, the smartphone doesn’t hold up too well against the competition and is easily overshadowed by Motorola’s other offerings.