Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2023) review: Welcome to bloatware hell

I really want to like your new Moto G Stylus 5G. And I do this on many levels. It’s got a lot for $399: plenty of storage, 6GB of RAM, a decent Snapdragon processor, even a charger and a headphone jack! Who does that now? But the G Stylus suffers from one serious problem I can’t seem to get rid of: bloatware.

Bloatware is stuffed throughout the software and onboarding experience. As you set up the phone and arrange your homescreen, you’ll get several prompts to download more apps. Apps, Apps, Apps. have you tried apps, do you like them? Download more of them!

There are so-called “folders”. They have been named innocuous things like “entertainment” and “shopping”. Having your streaming apps automatically organized in one place is thoughtful, isn’t it? But why does it show the icon of an app that you have never downloaded? Tap on the folder, and then you’ll know: it’s not actually a folder. It is actually an app.

it’s part of a service called Swish Motorola puts emphasis on its budget phones. Some of these apps exist in the form of folders, which actually pull the apps you’ve downloaded and aggressively prompt you to download even more.

Even after you’ve completed the full setup process, you’ll eventually get a notification you can’t dismiss urging you to complete your phone setup and — you’ll never guess it — download a few more apps. It comes from another company called IronSource, and it asks for your age and gender. You can refuse to provide either (as I did), and it suggested I download Yahoo Mail, Wudoku, and two different solitaire apps (amongst many) Other apps that I didn’t want). Reader, I did not download Yahoo Mail.

Then there’s the awful MotoHub. It is another app and introduces itself as your new home screen, providing “daily dose of entertainment” and “latest news updates”. You’ll see it via a full-screen widget on one of your homescreen pages. Please trash this widget.

If you open the MotoHub app—and I don’t recommend it—you’ll find the words “Your privacy matters.” Immediately after this comes a statement:

“In accordance with our Privacy Policy, we may collect and share your data with trusted partners within or outside of your country in order to provide and improve our services and targeted advertising.”

Things really clear up. It also seems like my privacy doesn’t really matter. I stoked this dustbin fire in the name of journalism, and here’s what I found, in no particular order:

• Lots of news stories about extreme weather events
• Deals on Barbie-branded skincare and hair accessories
• an offensively wacky joke of the day

Swish is a product of a company called InMobi. As per the 2021 press releaseIts apps are designed to “make content consumption a rewarding experience for users”, and “monetize engagement to attract and retain more customers for telcos as well as provide swish new revenue streams.”

Personally, I don’t find it a rewarding experience. I’m not alone: ​​there are Many one-star reviews for Swish Apps From frustrated users on the Google Play Store. Here’s an excerpt from the Entertainment Folder app review that really sums them all up:

Do not want. Did not want. Not installed.

Interestingly, there are some four and five star reviews, such as this review from “Daniel G Hunt”. Here’s what “Daniel” had to say:

girls 15 you inside the house it’s a good time to get the same thing for the same thing and I love 💕😘 and I will try and baby get the same thing for you and you and I feel 🤔

To which “Swish Apps” replies: “Hi Daniel, thanks for the encouraging rating.”

None of this is particularly new in the Cookiepocalypse — your wireless carrier is probably already selling anonymized data about your phone habits to advertisers. But this is a matter of great concern for two reasons. For one, it’s only on Motorola’s cheapest phones. The company probably knows it can’t get away with including it in high-end devices, so if you can’t afford a $700 or $1,000 phone, you’re stuck in bloatware hell.

Plus, all this garbage sits on top of otherwise beautiful software—sadly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Lenovo device marred by bloatware. Motorola’s custom gestures and Assistive Peek notifications are undefeated. I want us all to think about the UI designer who developed Moto’s Android 13 skin but dumped this crap on it. Once you remove all the swish apps – and you can remove them all, thank goodness – you’re left with a perfectly good budget phone that runs on thoughtfully designed software.

This is really disappointing. I Know how to remove all this garbage. Maybe you would do the same. But someone less tech-savvy might recognize “folders” and full-page widgets as things that can be uninstalled and live with as long as they have the phone. I am sure this is not an accident.

Without all the bloatware, the Moto G Stylus 5G is a decent device for its price — which at the time of writing is marked down to $299 if you buy from Motorola. Its 6 GB RAM is as per what you would expect in a budget phone. Similarly, the performance is good everywhere. The camera app isn’t the fastest, and image previews in the camera app are slow in low light. On a few occasions the stylus even popped out of its silo when the phone was in my bag.

But as a daily companion, that’s where the Stylus G 5G comes in. I took it to the splash pad and got some priceless pictures of my baby’s joy playing in the water. I wrote a to-do list myself, which is somehow more satisfying with a stylus. I paid for my coffee with Google Wallet. The battery easily powered me through even the busiest of days with plenty of standby time. I was generally happy with – Afterwards I removed the swish nonsense.

It’s possible that the deal with InMobi will help Motorola subsidize the price of this phone and equip it with high-end components – Snapdragon chipsets don’t come cheap. But if that’s the case, how is Motorola able to sell this thing for $100 off MSRP? I say conspiracy.

I’m not angry with Motorola, just disappointed. I expect better from them! I asked my mother to buy me a Motorola phone for Pete’s sake. And look at something like the Thinkphone – a proper, evolved device! It does what it’s supposed to do and doesn’t force you to give a lot of your personal information to third-party companies. Please give more details about it, Motorola.

The G Stylus 5G is nice when you remove the bloatware, but I’d probably tell most people looking for a budget phone (including mom) to get the Google Pixel 6A at a discount and avoid the hassle.

Photography by Alison Johnson / The Verge