Vivo is a well-known brand that has consistently produced slim and lightweight mid-range phones that come with an eye-catching designs. The Vivo V27 Pro is the latest addition to the V series phones that boasts of a gorgeous curved glass design and a stellar camera. While the phone may skimp on the finer details, it still manages to deliver flagship-like performance that takes the fight to last year's flagship phones.
Price and Availability
The Vivo V27 Pro is currently only available in India and other Southeast Asian markets, with a price tag of ₹37,999 or approximately $460 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage variant. There is also an option to go for the 256GB storage variant that costs ₹39,999 (approximately $485) or the top-tier variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which retails for ₹42,999 (approximately $522).
Design
The Vivo V27 Pro boasts a visually appealing design, resembling last year's model, the Vivo V25 Pro. The phone's back is built with fluorite glass that changes hues when exposed to UV light, providing a fun party trick that lets you create patterns on the phone’s back using a stencil, although they only last for a few minutes before reverting back to normal.
The phone's curved glass front is a design feature usually reserved for high-end models, giving the Vivo V27 Pro an expensive look despite its budget price tag. However, the frame is plastic with a metallic finish, which becomes apparent when you touch the sides of the phone. Despite this, the device feels more expensive than it is due to its thinness.
The matte finish is a little slippery to the touch, so using a case to protect it in case it slips through your fingers is recommended. Additionally, the phone lacks an IP rating, so it is advisable to keep it away from water and dust.
Display and Speaker
The Vivo V27 Pro packs a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen that supports HDR10+ content, providing a stunning display that produces vivid colors with deep blacks and excellent contrast. While the display's resolution and refresh rate remains the same as its predecessor, the AMOLED panel does a great job of making streaming movies a treat, and the colors can be adjusted to personal preference.
The under-display fingerprint scanner works well, recognizing fingerprints instantly without any issues. The centrally placed punch-hole selfie camera is an upgrade from last year's model, with the selfie snapper now a 50MP camera instead of the previous 32MP.
However, the mono speaker is a bit of a letdown, providing a soundscape that is lacking in bass and has high-end notes that sound a bit sharp. Its position also makes it easy to muffle, especially in landscape orientation, with no stereo speaker setup included.
Performance
The Vivo V27 Pro delivers flagship-like performance, thanks to its Snapdragon 870 processor and 8GB or 12GB of RAM. The phone is snappy, with apps opening quickly and no lag during multitasking. The phone's 4,000mAh battery is smaller than its predecessor's, but it still manages to last the day with moderate use. The phone also supports 33W fast charging, allowing you to recharge it quickly when the battery runs low.
Camera
The camera is one of the phone's highlights, stacking up against the competition with its 64MP primary camera and 8MP ultra-wide lens. The photos captured are sharp with excellent color accuracy, and the camera's night mode produces impressive low-light shots. The selfie camera is also impressive, with the 50MP sensor providing sharp images with good detail.
Vivo V27 Pro: Performance and Battery Review
The Vivo V27 Pro is a mid-range smartphone that boasts a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset, an eight-core CPU, 5G connectivity, and support for 120Hz QHD displays. This chipset promises a flagship experience and delivers smooth performance for daily tasks and gaming, although some apps may hang for a second upon launching. The phone's RAM management is remarkable, with 8GB RAM and an additional 8GB from system storage, making it capable of running multiple heavy apps simultaneously.
The battery life of the Vivo V27 Pro is impressive, with a 4600mAh battery that supports 66W fast charging. The phone can last all day with light use, and full-day usage can be achieved with the smart switching feature. Charging times are decent, with 0 to 50 percent charging in about 20 minutes. However, the phone can get extremely hot with extended gaming sessions.
Vivo V27 Pro: Camera Review
The camera department is where the Vivo V27 Pro shines. It has a triple camera setup on the back, consisting of a main 50MP snapper, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro sensor. The 50MP Sony IMX766V primary sensor captures images with accurate colors, excellent dynamic range, and minimal blur with OIS support. The OIS night mode enables clear shots in low light or at night, and the portraits have impressive edge detection. The 8MP ultrawide camera produces images with less warmth than the main lens, and the 2MP macro camera is the weak point in the phone's camera module.
The selfie camera is a 50MP shooter, an upgrade from its predecessor, with accurate autofocus and impressive edge detection in Portrait mode.
Vivo V27 Pro: Software Review
The Vivo V27 Pro runs on Android 13 with the Funtouch OS 13 skin overlaid. The software features unique light effects for incoming calls or notifications and a shelf dedicated to widgets alongside the app drawer. The Funtouch OS is visually pleasing, with animations and customizations that stand out from the crowd. However, there are pre-installed apps that clutter up the phone, including folders of hot games, making it a mainstay with many Chinese phone brands. Vivo's software update commitment is unclear, which might leave the Vivo V27 Pro behind as rival smartphones in the same price range move on to Android 14 and beyond.
Vivo V27 Pro: Competition Review
The Vivo V27 Pro is a solid mid-range smartphone, but there are alternatives that may be right up your alley if you're looking for models with comparable specs in the same price range. The Nothing Phone (1) has a unique design with LEDs at the back, decent cameras, and stellar battery life for $300. The OnePlus Nord 2T boasts a 120Hz AMOLED screen, a decent 64MP rear camera, and all-day battery life for $350. The Google Pixel 6a is a flagship-level performance smartphone powered by a custom-built Tensor chipset for only $449.
Vivo V27 Pro: Should You Buy It?
You should buy the Vivo V27 Pro if you want an all-around mobile phone camera that can take stunning photos even at night, a snappy performance without spending north of $500, decent gaming performance in a budget smartphone, and all-day battery life.
You should not buy the Vivo V27 Pro if you're looking for a phone with a long-range zoom camera, stereo speakers to enjoy audio without putting on a pair of headphones, or a phone that can withstand the elements.