Motorola suddenly raises budget phone prices up to 50%—you can probably thank AI
Motorola announced a new mid-range phone yesterday, the Moto G Stylus 2026. This isn’t much of a game changer unless you demand a stylus with your smartphone. Despite few upgrades, the new G Stylus will debut at $500, $100 more than last year’s version. It is now clear that higher prices will be a trend in the Moto range. Without even making a sound, Motorola passed price increases of up to 50% on the rest of its Moto G 2026 lineup.
Before the G Stylus announcement, Moto had three 2026 G series phones: the Moto G Play, Moto G, and Moto G Power. They sold for $180, $200 and $300 respectively. Over the past day, the Moto G Play hit $250, an increase of 38%. The Moto G 2026 has gone to $300, a whopping 50% price increase. Finally, the top model in Moto’s budget lineup, the Moto G Power, now costs $400. That’s a 33% jump, putting it closer to Samsung’s latest mid-range phones and $100 less than the new Moto G Stylus.
Seeing a higher price on the new Moto G Stylus wasn’t a surprise given current hardware conditions, and the phone has some small upgrades. The battery capacity is slightly larger and the pen now supports basic pressure sensitivity. However, that hardly justifies a $100 increase over last year’s model, which had the same screen and memory. This makes more sense in the context of a widespread price increase for Moto’s budget range.
