Vivo V27 Pro Aims for the Mid-Range Crown

Vivo has announced the V27 Pro smartphone in India, following the V-series six-monthly refresh schedule. The new V-series model features a slightly modified design, performance, and camera improvements. The Vivo V27 Pro appears to be a mid-ranger that should appeal to most buyers. The phone has a beautiful design, a lovely screen, excellent battery life, solid cameras, and adequate performance. It may not have the best performance or speakers in the segment, but these minor quibbles may not be important to many prospective consumers, particularly those purchasing offline.

That places this phone squarely in the mid-range as an alternative to other similar devices, some of which cut more than a few corners on the camera front. Vivo does not want to build that kind of reputation, so it positions this phone as an upgrade over them rather than a significant downgrade from its flagships. Because of its restricted availability, few people are likely to have noticed the phone’s existence, but you can still get your hands on one if there’s enough within to keep things intriguing.

VIVO V27 PRO KEY FEATURES

The new vivo V27 Pro represents a significant improvement over the preceding V23 Pro and V25 Pro. While they were both photography-focused midranges, this one outperforms them with reportedly superior camera kits and a flagship-grade processor. It also has a larger display but maintains a distinctive thin and lightweight design.

Let’s start with the design, which is similar to the V23 Pro and V25 Pro in that it features the same color-changing rear panel while remaining only 7.4mm thin. However, the vivo V27 Pro features a bigger 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.

One of the most notable improvements is the new chipset, the MediaTek Dimensity 8200, which is a more efficient 4nm SoC than the previous versions’ 6nm Dimensity 1200 and 1300. It significantly improves CPU and GPU performance, supports modern RAM and storage, and provides improved ISP and networking options.

The camera has also been updated; there are three cameras on the back: a 50MP OIS primary, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro shooter. The selfie camera seems good, with a 50MP eye with a wide-angle lens and autofocus capabilities, which is an improvement over the V25 Pro but a slight step back from the V23 Pro’s 50MP+8MP+dual-LED flash front configuration.

The vivo V27 Pro is powered by a 4,600mAh battery and supports 66W fast wired charging. The new smartphone runs vivo’s latest software, which is currently Android 13 with Funtouch 13.

VIVO V27 PRO UNBOXING

The vivo V27 Pro comes in a long silver package. It includes the phone, an 8A USB-A to C cable, and an 80W FlashCharge power converter. The vivo V27 Pro is limited to 66W charging, but it appears that the manufacturer doesn’t mind supplying the phone with an overqualified adaptor.

That is not all, of course. The retail bundle also includes a soft clear case and a thin protective film, which were put to the phone before it left the manufacturer.

CAMERA

The V-Series is a true reflection of what Vivo can achieve when it is not partnering with anyone. Zeiss’ growing presence in X-Series cameras is noticeably absent from the V27 Pro, but this is by design, not omission. The findings for the V25 Pro were mainly encouraging, demonstrating that the phone could take nice images in a variety of settings.

In equal measure, the back camera array is top-heavy, with a strong emphasis on the main camera. It’s a 50-megapixel (23mm equivalent) camera, this time using a Sony IMX786 image sensor that has already been used in other phones, sometimes as a replacement for other lenses rather than the primary one. The f/1.9 aperture is the widest available, and it is the only lens that includes phase-detection autofocus and optical image stabilization. Unless you shoot in High-Resolution mode, the camera uses pixel binning and produces 12.5-megapixel photos.

The 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera (16mm equivalent) retains the same 120-degree field of view but receives only a minor improvement to an OmniVision OM8D1 image sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. To get near to subjects, the 2-megapixel macro camera (24mm equivalent) uses an OmniVision OM8021 image sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and a 4-centimeter focal distance.

Vivo chose not to include a telephoto lens yet again, implying that a digital zoom of up to 2x is sufficient to capture high-quality photographs. The front camera features a 50-megapixel (24mm equivalent) Samsung Isocell S5KJN1 Type 1/2.76 sensor with 0.64µm pixels and an aperture of f/2.5. Aside from the primary back camera, it is the only other camera that enables phase detection autofocus.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

Perhaps the Vivo V27 Pro’s most notable feature is its design. The phone has a curved front and back that blend into the plastic frame, giving it a luxurious appearance. The rear panel, like its predecessor, features Fluorite AG Glass, which changes color from light to dark blue in a matter of seconds when exposed to UV light or sunlight. Vivo refers to this shade as Magic Blue. If you want something that doesn’t change color but yet looks modern and classy, pick the Noble Black color.

The two color variants have a fantastic in-hand feel. The Vivo V27 Pro feels extremely light, especially after using heavier phones like the Xiaomi 13 Pro (Review) and the iPhone 13 Pro (Review). While the V27 Pro weighs 182 grams on paper, it feels much lighter in the hand. It is also far thinner than several premium phones, such as the iQoo Neo 7 5G (Review) and the OnePlus 11R 5G (Review), which weigh approximately 193g and 204g, respectively.

The Vivo V27 Pro is resistant to fingerprints and smudges, and despite its height, the phone is comfortable to carry. It is also only 7.36mm thick, hence there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. Additionally, the power and volume controls are easily accessible. That being said, the phone is not designed for one-handed use. I particularly appreciate the new camera module design, which is both minimalist and visually appealing.

On the front, there is a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with full-HD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Even in basic screen color mode, the screen provides outstanding viewing angles and vibrant hues. Vivo does not indicate the maximum display brightness level, however, I found it to be sufficiently bright for both indoor and outdoor use.

The screen is curved towards the edges, providing a pleasant viewing experience. While the gadget is said to have HDR10+ certification, streaming apps like Netflix and others failed to detect it during testing.

The single-channel speaker detracts from the immersion experience. I’m disappointed to see a sub-Rs. 40,000 smartphones without stereo speakers in 2023. The phone does not have a certified IP certification, but it did survive an unusual March drizzle in Mumbai.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

When it comes to performance, the Vivo V27 Pro has amazed me. Whether it was everyday work or games, the phone handled practically everything well during my review period. I tried Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 Legends, and the experience was fairly positive. Call of Duty: Mobile ran at the ‘Ultra’ framerate, which was nice to see. I could switch to ‘Max’ frame rate and ‘Very High’ graphics for a more balanced experience. There were no noticeable stutters or lags while playing games. But I did notice that the phone was becoming warmer faster than usual. This could be owing to the phone’s slim design, which may not be optimal for heat dissipation.

I also observed a little lag when switching between apps. In case you were wondering, the screen’s curvature was not an issue for me while playing games because I had no unintentional touch concerns.

The Vivo V27 Pro earned 836,701 points on AnTuTu, somewhat less than the performance-focused but much cheaper iQoo Neo 7 5G (Review). The phone, however, outperformed the OnePlus 11R, which has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC and got 775,602 points in our tests. In Geekbench 6, the Vivo V27 Pro got 998 and 2,198 points in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. While it did admirably in the single-core test, it fell short in the multi-core test compared to its competitors.

In terms of battery life, the Vivo V27 Pro can last all day with moderate to light use. On days when I played games or utilized the camera extensively, my average screen-on time (SoT) was around 6 hours and 30 minutes. On other days with light use, the phone lasted approximately eight hours on a single charge. In our HD video battery loop test, the Vivo V27 Pro lasted 18 hours before running out of charge. The phone takes around an hour to charge from zero to 100 percent with the included charger and cable.

Buy it if...

• Eye-catching dual-glass design with color-changing rear.
• Good OLED screen with 120Hz refresh and HDR10+.
• Excellent battery life and rapid charging.
• Excellent performance and stability.
• The main camera delivers class-leading photo and video quality.
• In daytime, you can zoom 2x without losing quality.
• Excellent selfie pictures.

Don't buy it if…

• There is no ingress protection, and the grip is poor.
• Single speaker with moderate quality.
• There is no proper EIS for the selfie camera.
• The videos from the UW camera are boring.

FULL SPECIFICATION