Vivo V27 Pro review: many “ifs” and “buts”

The Vivo V27 Pro continues the legacy of the company’s V-series of lightweight and stylish smartphones. The V27 Pro was launched as the successor to last year’s Vivo V25 Pro (Review). Compared to the previous model, Vivo V27 Pro received upgrades in many areas. However, the core philosophy remains the same – a sleek and lightweight design that changes color when lit. The new V27 Pro features a powerful SoC, curved-edge AMOLED display, and more.

However, Vivo has cut corners in some important areas that can make the user experience difficult. With everything on offer, should you consider buying the new Vivo V27 Pro? Here’s our full review to help you decide.

Vivo V27 Pro price in India

Vivo V27 Pro has been released in three storage options. The base variant we have comes with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Its price is Rs. 37,999. There is a 256 GB variant with 8 GB of RAM, priced at Rs 39,999. The variant with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage is priced at Rs 42,999.

Vivo V27 Pro design and display

Perhaps the main feature of the Vivo V27 Pro is its design. The phone has a curved front and back that blends into the plastic frame, giving it a premium feel. The back panel, like its predecessor, has Fluorite AG glass, which changes color from light to dark blue within seconds when exposed to UV light or sunlight. Vivo calls this color Magic Blue. If you want something that doesn’t change color but looks equally modern and stylish, you might want to consider Noble Black.

The color of Vivo V27 Pro changes from light to dark blue when sunlight hits the back.

What the two color options have in common is the great feel in the hand. Vivo V27 Pro feels very light, especially after using some heavy phones like Xiaomi 13 Pro (review) and iPhone 13 Pro (review). Although the V27 Pro weighs 182g on paper, it definitely feels a lot lighter in the hand. It’s also incredibly thin compared to many premium phones like the iQoo Neo 7 5G (Review) and OnePlus 11R 5G (Review), which weigh around 193g and 204g respectively.

The Vivo V27 Pro doesn’t leave fingerprints or smudges, and despite the phone being quite tall, it feels comfortable to hold in your hand. Just 7.36mm thick, which also means no 3.5mm headphone jack. The power and volume buttons are also easily accessible. However, the phone is not designed to be used with one hand. I also like the new design of the camera module, which is minimal yet looks good.

On the front is a 6.78-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen offers good viewing angles and vibrant colors even in the standard screen color mode. Vivo doesn’t list a maximum brightness level for the display, but I found it bright enough for both indoor and outdoor use.

The curved edge screen greatly enhances the aesthetics of Vivo V27 Pro.

The screen is curved towards the edges for a great viewing experience. While the device is claimed to be HDR10+ certified, streaming apps like Netflix and others didn’t seem to detect it during testing.

What takes away the immersive effect is the single-channel speaker. I am very disappointed to see the price below Rs. 40,000 smartphones will not have stereo speakers in 2023. The phone also doesn’t have an official IP rating, but it survived the unseasonal March rain in Mumbai.

Vivo V27 Pro specifications and software

The Vivo V27 Pro is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC, manufactured using a 4nm process. The phone has up to 12GB of physical RAM and 8GB of extended RAM. There is no support for microSD cards. It packs a 4600mAh battery with support for 66W fast charging. Vivo V27 Pro supports seven 5G bands in India. The phone also offers connectivity options like 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, Navic, and a USB Type-C port.

Vivo V27 Pro is just 7.36mm thin.

In terms of software, the Vivo V27 Pro runs Funtouch OS 13 based on Android 13 out of the box. Vivo has promised to provide two major Android updates and three years of security patches. And when it comes to updates, Vivo’s game is pretty strong. The company is one of the fastest to release the latest Android update for eligible devices. Even at the time of reviewing the phone, the V27 Pro received a March security update that included “system improvements and bug fixes.”

Funtouch OS 13 is highly customizable and can be personalized to suit your preferences. You get the ability to customize the animation effects and speed of various routine tasks such as charging, switching between the home screen and the lock screen, etc. There is also support for the Android 13 color palette, which matches the system icons and interface color with wallpaper. In addition, users can choose from a variety of preset color options in the Settings app.

You can also create profiles for multiple users and guests, which provides ample privacy. The custom skin supports Android privacy indicators and is highlighted in the top right corner whenever an app or service is using the camera or microphone in the background.

Some of the drawbacks include app recommendation folders in the app drawer and on the home screen. You can remove them, but the process involves several steps, unlike the previous one. Also, I received several notifications from the V-App Store even though I never opened the app. This happens by default and the only solution is to press and hold on any unwanted notification and tap “Mute Notifications” and then “Mute All Notifications”.

Vivo V27 Pro performance and battery life

When it comes to performance, the Vivo V27 Pro impressed me. Whether it’s routine tasks or gaming, the phone handled everything very well during my review. I played Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 Legends and the experience was pretty good. Call of Duty: Mobile ran at “Ultra” frame rates, which was nice to see. I could switch to “Maximum” frame rate and “Very High” graphics for a balanced experience. There were no major stutters or lags during gaming. But I noticed that the phone heats up faster than usual. This may be due to the thin design of the phone, which may not be the best for heat dissipation.

The curvature of the display did not cause problems with accidental touch during use.

I also often noticed a slight stutter when switching between apps. In case you’re wondering, screen curvature wasn’t an issue for me while gaming, as I didn’t have any issues with accidental touch.

The Vivo V27 Pro scored 836,701 on AnTuTu, which is slightly lower than the performance-oriented but much cheaper iQoo Neo 7 5G (Review). The phone, however, outperformed the OnePlus 11R, which comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, and scored 775,602 in our tests. In Geekbench 6, the Vivo V27 Pro scored 998 and 2198 in both single and multi-core tests. While it performed surprisingly well in the single-core test, it fared far below the competition in the multi-core test.

In terms of battery life, the Vivo V27 Pro can last all day with medium to light usage. On days I played games or used the camera a lot, the average screen time (SoT) was around 6 hours and 30 minutes. On other days, with lighter use, the phone lasted about eight hours on a single charge. In our HD video battery cycle test, the Vivo V27 Pro lasted 18 hours before running out of juice. The phone charges from zero to 100% with the included charger and cable in about an hour.

Vivo V27 Pro cameras

Vivo V27 Pro has three camera sensors on the back. There is a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766V main camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. For selfies, there is a 50-megapixel front camera with autofocus.

Vivo V27 Pro gets a new Aura LED flash

Starting with the main camera, photos taken in daylight show good detail and contrast. The colors are a bit saturated, but if you prefer that kind of palette, you’ll love the brightness. The rear camera also does a good job of maintaining skin tones when shooting people, although there is a slight improvement despite disabling all possible filters.

In low light, the camera does a good job of managing highlights and exposing shadows. There are times when you will see some noise in the shadows in very dark shots, but this is acceptable for a sensor of this size. In some shots, the night sky looks slightly bluish. Also, the shutter stays open for a couple of seconds on average, and the output takes about a second to process.

Vivo V27 Pro main camera samples (click to see full size)

The ultra-wide-angle camera captures colors correctly, but tends to boost greens and blues in images. Dynamic range performance is not as good as the main camera. Although the program tries to fix the distorted edges, they are still noticeable. The 2MP macro sensor offers average shots, and if your hands are shaky, you might find it hard to focus properly.

Vivo V27 Pro Ultra Wide Camera sample (click to view full size)

The performance of the front camera can appeal to many. It mostly renders skin tones correctly, but whether or not you turn off the beautification switch, skin smoothing occurs in almost all images. When I say the images are pretty, it’s because the portrait mode photos provide good blur, and the notch around the edges is also top notch most of the time. The dynamic range of the front camera is also impressive.

Vivo V27 Pro front camera samples (click to see full size)

In terms of video, the Vivo V27 Pro can shoot up to 4K at 60fps using the main rear and front cameras. The ultra wide camera can record 1080 30 fps video. The main camera, with the help of optical image stabilization (OIS) and electronic image stabilization (EIS), tries to remove any visible shaking, but there is a slight crop in focal length. The overall performance of the main and front cameras for video is quite good. You get enough detail with good sharpness, good contrast and dynamic range.

Verdict

If you’ve come this far, you already know that the Vivo V27 Pro will be a good choice for those who want a phone with a great feel in their hand. The color-changing trick is subjective, but its novelty may soon fade. The performance of the camera, especially the front one, is also quite good for the price.

The Vivo V27 Pro doesn’t disappoint when it comes to performance. However, it tends to heat up quickly due to its thin form factor. While the display itself offers a good experience and supports HDR10+, popular video streaming apps were unable to detect the latter feature, which was a disappointment in my opinion. What is an even bigger bummer is the installation of a single speaker in a phone at this price. There seems to be a lot of “ifs” and “buts” with the V27 Pro, which is a little disappointing.

In addition, competitors offer the best equipment for the price. Vivo’s own sub-brand iQoo offers the best value for money with the iQoo Neo 7 5G (review). The OnePlus 11R 5G (review) offers a better display, a good main camera, and a bigger battery with faster charging.

The Vivo V27 Pro gets top marks for camera design and performance, and if you’re someone who needs just that without caring about the rest, this might be a good option for you.