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Motorola debuts G Stylus and G Power budget smartphones

For many years Motorola has offered some of the best budget phones in the US and it hopes to continue the trend with the launch of two new devices today, the Moto G Power and the Moto G Stylus.
The company says both phones are meant to punch above their weight in terms of battery life, image quality, and overall entertainment experience while maintaining a sub $300 price tag.
I got to spend some time with both phones at Motorola’s Headquarters in Chicago earlier this week. Both phones offer more than what you pay for them – are well built, with better displays than on the previous models, have better cameras, and come with enough features to keep those who don’t want to break the bank on an Android smartphone happy.
Moto G Stylus
The Moto G Stylus is Motorola’s first smartphone to come with a bundled stylus for taking notes, a unique offering in its price range. The only other smartphone with a stylus is Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 which retails for $700 more. At CES 2020, Samsung also unveiled the mid-range Galaxy Note 10 Light but that phone is currently not available in the US).
The pen on the G Stylus is tucked away on the bottom right hand side of the phone. You pry it out with your fingernail instead of pushing down to eject. The stylus feels sturdy, not plasticky, with a metallic finish. Touch response felt good.
Pulling out the stylus while the display is off automatically launches the phone’s built-in Moto Note app. When on, a customizable toolbar pops up instead.
The phone comes 3 cameras, a 48MP main camera, a Macro Vision Camera, and a 117 degree ultra wide angle action camera dedicated for shooting video. The GoPro-esque ultrawide video camera is the same one we saw on the Moto One Action from last year. One very practical features of this action camera is being able to record horizontal videos while holding the phone vertically.
The cameras come with a host of camera features seen on higher end phones like portrait lighting, spot color, and night mode.
The Moto G Stylus is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665 processor and comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Motorola is promising 2 days of battery life thanks to its 4000 mAh battery.
It will retail for $299.99 and is available in Mystic Indigo.
Moto G Power
The Moto G Power, replacing last year’s G7 Power, gets its name from a massive 5000 mAh battery that supposedly should last you up to 3 days on a single charge.
It’s also intended to bring flagship camera smartphone features to midrange price points. The phone has 3 cameras – a 16MP wide angle, an 8MP 118 degree ultra wide angle, and a Macro Vision camera with 5th X zoom.
The G Power run’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
It will retail for $249.99 and will be available in Smoke Black.
Both phones share a similar 6.4” Full HD+ display with a 19:9 aspect ratio.
And come with a close to vanilla implementation of Android based the latest version Android 10. There are a few custom features built in, Moto Experiences they are called, like being able to launch the camera with the flick of a wrist.
New to these models is a feature called Moto Gametime which lets you block notifications whenever you’re engaged in your favorite game, that a call or message doesn’t get in the way of a PUBG victory.
Both phones will be available in spring this year.


Do you need an AI chatbot to hold a conversation? Instagram seems to think so. As the world rapidly experiments with developments in AI technology, the platform is reportedly working on a chatbot for its users.
According to Alessandro Paluzzi, a reverse engineer who usually digs up future plans for popular apps, Instagram is working on the AI chatbot feature for a future iteration of the app. Much like other chatbots out in the market today, Instagram’s unnamed bot will enable users to interact with it in casually flowing conversation.
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) June 5, 2023
The screenshots obtained by the engineer read that it “answers questions, gives advice.” Additionally, it helps users “find the best way to express [themselves] … [through] writing messages.” From a usability standpoint, the feature can help users craft replies to direct messages. They can also bring the bot into human-to-human conversations by mentioning the bot in the conversation.
To add to the quirkiness, Instagram will supposedly add 30 different personalities to the chatbot. Users can pick and choose which one they like the best. The sneak peek does not reveal any personalities included in the feature. (We’re hoping for a snarky one that judges and critiques posts.)
The feature has no timetable as to its release. However, since TikTok already released its own chatbot for testing, it should stand that Instagram’s feature will come out soon.

The ROG Ally has some hefty shoes to fill. Touting an impressive slate of specs, the upcoming handheld console is one of the first true competitors to the dominating Steam Deck. Unfortunately, early reviews revealed a flawed comparison against Valve’s juggernaut of a console. Now, days ahead of its official launch, ASUS is releasing new firmware which drastically improves the console’s performance.
Getting down to the nitty gritty of things, the ROG Ally, in its unpatched version, lacked performance in low-wattage scenarios. Early reviewers found that the console could not keep up with the Steam Deck under such circumstances.
A new update, which started rolling out to early units, started catching up. According to YouTuber Dave2D, the update easily improves the console by 15 to 20 percent better than its initial release. First of all, it brings the ROG Ally almost at par with the Steam Deck in low-wattage scenarios. While the results aren’t as good as the latter device yet, it’s a much better performer compared to the former on day one. ASUS acknowledges that Valve really did its homework in low-wattage scenarios.
More notably, the update dramatically boosts the ROG Ally’s performance in higher wattages. The console is now close behind the Ayaneo 2S, a beefier alternative to the Steam Deck. Before the update, the ROG Ally could barely touch the Steam Deck, let alone the Ayaneo 2S.
ASUS also notes that the update should include improvements for the battery life. The lackluster battery has been a point of contention among all early users.
The ROG Ally is officially launching on June 13 and will start at US$ 699.99.
SEE ALSO: How well do PlayStation games run on the ROG Ally?

In recent years, Motorola and Samsung have proved that the clamshell phone is more than just a resurrected fad. Both companies have developed solid lineups capable of becoming daily drivers. Now, others want to get into the market. Following the footsteps of its contemporaries, Xiaomi is reportedly developing a clamshell phone of its own.
Even before the unannounced clamshell phone, Xiaomi has some experience in the foldable market. The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 was quite the impressive powerhouse when it launched last year. The foldable smartphone even bagged the title as the thinnest foldable at the time (before Huawei grabbed the title soon after).
Now, the Chinese company is seemingly tapping into the same lineup for a rumored clamshell phone. According to Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station, the brand is indeed looking at an extremely light version of the vertically folding form factor.
Unfortunately, not much else is known about the upcoming device yet. However, Xiaomi’s supposed entry into the market shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, the brand’s competitors — Huawei and vivo — are already deep inside the clamshell segment. The latter, for example, just released the vivo X Flip, its first device in the vertically folding market. Expect things to heat up in the Chinese foldable market soon.
SEE ALSO: The vivo X Flip is the company’s first vertical-folding smartphone
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