Moto G Stylus (2021) - where's the stereo?

[Jeff Jot]

I'm sure I'm not the only one that upgraded to a new Motorola phone and discovered after-the-fact that they nixed the stereo speakers in all the new models

I was especially angry because the "Motorola Moto G Stylus" is listed everywhere as having stereo sound, but the 2021 version does not.
After it was delivered, my carrier and Motorola both basically told me thanks for your money, get lost.

The speaker on the 2021 is okay, though I had a Motorola Moto G 2nd Gen for almost a decade and was always proud of the fact that it had stereo, and certainly wanted it with the upgraded phone.
Aside from feeling I was deceived.... the speaker works except in games like Jackpot, where the sound most definitely only comes from one side of the phone, and it just ruins the experience.
Also I sometimes have trouble hearing people in the car using the phone on speaker, which is required by law in my state.

I'm intrigued by one thing though- the 2nd earpiece speaker already on the Motorola, even in the 2021. Why can't that be turned on too, so they both play? Surely that would make a difference, not true stereo like the older Motorola phones... but at least enough so some games don't sound so one-sided.

I believe people are calling the concept "Dolby Atmos Surround Sound", per an app I can't find a way to install......turning on the earpiece ALSO when playing videos and games.
There are YouTube walkthroughs for doing this on a number of mono speaker phone models (Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S8, OnePlus6) but nothing anywhere for Motorola.
There are apps to turn on just the earpiece, or the main speaker, but nothing to do both.
Is there any way to manage this programatically?
BUT SURELY!

 

[ocnbrze]

There are apps to turn on just the earpiece, or the main speaker, but nothing to do both.
Is there any way to manage this programatically?
BUT SURELY!

like thru an app? or thru coding for an app?

 

[mikedt]

I believe people are calling the concept "Dolby Atmos Surround Sound", per an app I can't find a way to install......turning on the earpiece ALSO when playing videos and games.
There are YouTube walkthroughs for doing this on a number of mono speaker phone models (Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S8, OnePlus6) but nothing anywhere for Motorola.

FYI Dolby Atmos is only found on some phones, namely certain Samsung, Sony, OnePlus, and iPhone devices AFAIK. It's a feature that's baked into the firmware on those devices, and is NOT an app you can install by yourself.

Dolby Atmos on phones is really for enhancing the sound when listening with stereo headphones. Basically Samsung, Sony, OnePlus, and Apple paid $$$$ to license this tech from Dolby Labs, and Motorola didn't. That's why you can't find it on your Moto G Stylus.

There are apps to turn on just the earpiece, or the main speaker, but nothing to do both.
Is there any way to manage this programatically?
BUT SURELY!

I suspect that can't be done, well not without rooting and hacking/modifying the firmware somehow, or using a suitable custom ROM(if that exists?)

 

[Jeff Jot]

So disgusted with Motorola. It amounts almost to false advertising IMO, they still have sites all over the web claiming the Motorola Moto G Stylus has Dolby stereo sound in the specs. I specifically bought it for that reason from my carrier, but they didn't show the year of the phone online (2020/2021).
I noticed at Wal-Mart today with the Straight Talk phones they don't display the year of the Stylus phone anywhere, either. All the ones they had were 2021s, but you have to request the package out of the case, and then look at the fine print on the back to tell which 'edition' it is.
My 7 year old Motorola 2nd Gen has better sound than this costly piece of junk, I hate using speakerphone in the car and outside now because the one speaker projects downwards. And I always use speakerphone. I mean you can tilt it so the butt end of the phone is pointed toward you when talking but that's ridiculous. I want my old phone back but my carrier forced me to upgrade
Greedy crooks

 

[Rgarner]

If you can use wifi, maybe you could keep your old phone, even if it's just for that. Probably if enough people complained loudly enough about it, these creeps would be forced to do something right for once. Do you have the same problem with a dished out power button that I do? Wouldn't it be nice if we could fix it, possibly with some modeling clay...

 

[mikedt]

May I recommend instead of that Moto, you get a recent Samsung Galaxy S or Note series phone, Which do have top and bottom, or left and right stereo speakers(depending on which way you hold it), and Dolby Atmos.

I have a Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and the hands-free speakers on that works very well in cars.

 

[Rgarner]

That's a great idea. I probably wouldn't bother right now, and couldn't afford it, but it's high time these jerks got an earful from us. Different people want different things from phones. It's not one size fits all (for anything). I wish we could take classes to learn how to build, yes, actually build, our own phones. Mine would open, probably with a hinge, and have a removable battery. That way I could take it out and unscramble the darn thing's brains, if necessary. It would also make it a lot easier to insert/remove the SD card, which I have managed exactly once on my own (those crappy, evil "trays"). The rest of the time I have had to be helped with it, which is crazy. The phone would also have a great camera that automatically focuses, isn't blurry, and gets the colors right. Heck, it would even be capable of shooting decent videos. Don't forget the internal storage/memory, which would be at least a terabyte, and no googoo in sight. This rig would be totally custom. Then I'd probably manage to break it...

 

[Jeff Jot]

They can make phones however they want. My problem with Motorola is after a certain point when you keep sneakily taking features out of a phone, its no longer the same phone. To call both the 2020 and 2021 the "Moto G Stylus" is straight up misleading.
I was tricked into buying a phone that didn't have the features I wanted, and now I can't get the $100 carrier credit to exchange it for another model. The 'coupon' can only be used once. I know, because I've spent days sitting on hold with Straight Talk.
If I return it and get something from Samsung, like a Galaxy S, I now have to pay another $100. And they're the ones that ordered me to buy a new phone to begin with, said the old one would no longer be supported. sucks!
I mean how hard would it have been to just call one of them "Moto G Stylus S" for stereo, and own up to it? Because they WANT accidental sales, imo. Anyway I've accepted defeat.....just replying to the comments

 

[Rgarner]

I totally agree. It's the same thing with vehicles. There should a rule that if it's not really a Cherokee, Dart, whatever any more it must be given a new name. Yeah, I'm sure they're running out of 'em. It definitely shows in some of the crazy monikers they've been giving these things. It'd be nice if that could serve as some kind of (dis)incentive in terms of screwing with the specs.