Vivo V27 Pro Review

 Vivo V27 Pro Review: Is it Worth the Hype and Price Tag?

The Vivo V27 Pro is a recent addition to the mid-range smartphone market and has already caught the attention of many tech enthusiasts. This phone comes with a range of features that make it stand out, including a stunning curved display, a Dimensity 8200 processor, and a colour-shifting back panel. In this review, we'll take a closer look at the Vivo V27 Pro and determine if it's worth the hype and price tag.

Design

The Vivo V27 Pro is a beautifully designed phone with minimal bezels and a sleek, elongated frame. It comes with a Magic Blue version that features a colour-shifting back panel that darkens under daylight. The front of the phone has a punch hole in the centre and is mostly display. The fingerprint sensor is located under the display, and it's incredibly precise and quick.

The phone has a rectangular frame that houses three camera holes and a new circular LED flash that emits bright light. The curved edges add a premium touch to the phone, and the lightweight body makes it easy to use for extended periods. The button placements are the same as previous models, with the power button and volume rockers on the right side. The top of the phone only features a secondary microphone for active noise cancellation, while the SIM tray, USB-C port, and speaker grille are located at the bottom.

Display

The Vivo V27 Pro boasts a massive 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a density of 388ppi. With its 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support, you'll enjoy a visual feast with every use. The colours are incredibly vivid, bright and punchy, capable of producing over 16 million colours. With its curved, bezel-less design, the phone offers ample space for an immersive watching or gaming experience.

The V27 Pro comes with a Smart Switch mode that adjusts the refresh rate based on usage, making it perfect for gamers. It analyzes the requirements and automatically adjusts the refresh rate for a smoother, more seamless experience. With its excellent screen visibility, you can view the display with ease, even under bright daylight. Whether you're checking your messages, scrolling through social media or watching a video, the Vivo V27 Pro will deliver a clear, bright display.

Operating System

The Vivo V27 Pro introduces Android 13 with a layer of the exclusive Funtouch OS v13 on top. This is a significant improvement over the V25 Pro's Funtouch v12 operating system, with several new improvements and functionalities. While the new operating system has many new features, the general user interface experience is quite similar. This means you can still enjoy the familiar user experience while enjoying the new functionalities that the V27 Pro offers.

Processor

The Vivo V27 Pro is powered by the Dimensity 8200 chipset from MediaTek, built on the cutting-edge 4nm process. The chipset has eight octa cores, with one core clocked at 3.1 GHz Cortex-A78, three cores at 3.0 GHz Cortex-A78, and four cores at 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55, making it one of the fastest processors in Vivo smartphones. The phone can handle any task with ease, and the HyperEngine 6.0 feature of the phone enhances the gaming experience by supporting the Vulkan SDK for raytracing, improving the FPS, and optimizing resources intelligently.

The Mali-G610 MC6 GPU of the Vivo V27 Pro is clocked at a higher frequency of 950 MHz, up from 860 MHz compared to its predecessor. Gaming on this smartphone is a treat, thanks to the HyperEngine 6.0 and the widescreen combined with the high refresh rate. However, the phone does not incorporate the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that we can find in the similarly priced OnePlus 11R, which features the SDM 8+ Gen 1 processor.

Camera

Vivo has always been known for producing smartphones with great camera capabilities, and the Vivo V27 Pro is no different. The rear camera setup features a 50MP Sony IMX 766 Quad-Bayer sensor with an aperture of f/1.9, an optically stabilized lens (OIS), and PDAF. The primary lens also has 2x lossless zoom. The second sensor is an 8MP OV8D1 sensor with an aperture of f/2.2 lens, and the third sensor is a 2MP OmniVision OV02B1 sensor with an aperture of f/2.4 lens.

The primary sensor captures images in 12.5MP by default, and the daylight images captured are of very impressive quality, with perfect colour balance and proper contrast levels. The angles captured maintain every aspect of the subject with precise detailing. The 2x zoomed photographs provide a good amount of detail as well. The 8MP ultrawide images get a good dynamic range and great contrast, with vibrant colours and minimal noise. The 2MP macro camera does a wonderful job of getting close-up pictures. We also liked the camera's ability to segregate the subject from the background during the portrait shots. For capturing images at night, it is advised to use the Night mode as it maintains the shadows and dark spots in a stable way.

For selfies, there is a 50MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN1 sensor with a Tetracell filter and an aperture of f/2.45. The selfies maintain a natural skin colour tone, and the portrait mode does a very good job of separating the background. The noise effects on selfies are not visible at all, and even at night, the selfie sensor delivers vibrant pictures.

Battery

The latest Vivo V27 Pro comes with a 4600 mAh battery, which is slightly lower than its predecessor, the V25 Pro, which had a 4800 mAh battery. Despite the decrease in battery capacity, the phone can easily last a day on a single charge. Additionally, the phone supports 66W fast wired charging, which can fully charge the battery in about an hour, making it convenient for users who engage in heavy usage activities like gaming or watching movies.

Verdict

Overall, the V27 Pro boasts excellent performance, display, and camera capabilities, positioning it as a near-flagship device. However, the phone falls short of being the best option in the market by not incorporating the Qualcomm processor, which can be found in the OnePlus 11R running on the 8+ Gen 1 processor.