Vivo’s V-series is back with another solid midranger that is rightfully making headlines for being the best Camera phone in its category. But with the addition of the latest MediaTek Dimensity 8200, the V27 Pro could very well be an all-rounder that even gives some flagships a run for their money. We got our hands on the smartphone as soon as it launched and have been playing around with it for about a week. So, without further ado, here is our comprehensive Vivo V27 Pro review.

Read Also: Best ways to mirror your Android smartphone to a Smart TV

Vivo V27 Pro review: Design and Display

The Vivo V27 Pro comes packed in a rectangular grey box. Inside, you will find the smartphone, a clear plastic case, a power adapter, USB Type-C charging cable, a quick start guide, a warranty card, and a SIM ejector tool. The smartphone display comes with a preinstalled protective covering out of the box.

The 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display has a peak refresh rate of 120Hz and comes with HDR10+ support. With 2400 x 1080p resolution and ~388ppi density, the image clarity is top-notch. Speaking of notches, you won’t find any on the V27 Pro. The selfie camera is housed in a punch-hole cutout and there are minimal bezels surrounding the screen. The screen-to-body ratio is 90.4%, which is ideal for immersive viewing.

We streamed content across several platforms on the V27 Pro and were satisfied with the results. The image quality is sharp with balanced colour contrast. We were pleased by the lucidity and the level of detail that the display was able to present while streaming HD content. The smartphone also offers a ‘Visual enhancement’ feature which optimises the colour and contrast of the on-screen images, giving the vividness a solid boost. This feature can be enabled for individual apps and doesn’t need to be applied system-wide.

Moving on, the curved glass back panel retains its colour-changing prowess. It takes about 5 seconds under direct sunlight for the glass back to change its colour from light blue to a darker tone. With a portable UV light and a stencil, you can create original designs on the back, although they won’t last long. This is a fun party trick at best and if you find it to be too gimmicky, there’s a non-colour-changing Noble Black variant on offer as well.

The matte finish on the curved back feels quite premium and does not attract any fingerprints or smudges at all. The camera island gets a giant cutout at the top and houses three cameras – a 50MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro sensor. Sitting next to the vertical camera array is the ring-shaped LED flashlight which Vivo chooses to call the ‘Aura light’. 

One of the highlights of the V27 Pro is its sleek form factor. The smartphone is just 7.4mm thick and weighs only 182g. The top and bottom edges of the frame are flat while the side edges have a slight curvature to heighten the aesthetic appeal of the device. While the in-hand feel of the device is tremendous, it can be challenging to grip for some. Using a case for the phone fixes this issue, but compromises the look of the smartphone.

The volume rocker keys and the power button can be found on the right edge of the frame while the left side has been left completely empty. Up top, you’ll find the secondary microphone along with ‘Professional Portrait’ branding. The SIM card slot, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille have been housed at the bottom part of the frame. There is no secondary speaker on the V27 Pro which is a bit of a bummer.

The under-display fingerprint scanner works lightning-fast. Vivo offers a bunch of visual effects that you can use for the fingerprint scanner and the lock screen in general. However, the haptic feedback leaves a lot to be desired. Turned off by default, you will need to activate touch vibrations from settings. Once enabled, the haptic triggers missed the mark for us. While using the keyboard, the vibration feedback was a bit too overwhelming, hampering the flow of typing. There is haptic feedback for waking up the lock screen but none for the fingerprint scanner. Overall, the haptics seem poorly thought out. Like its predecessors, the V27 Pro does not come with an IP rating. Although the smartphone seems resistant to minor splashes, we wouldn’t recommend exposing it to rainy conditions.

Vivo V27 Pro review: Performance and Cameras

Powering the Vivo V27 Pro is the new MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC. Already a significant improvement over the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 on the V25 Pro, the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 is a versatile chipset and a great addition to midrange smartphones. This is the same SoC as the iQOO Neo 7 which is being marketed as a gaming smartphone. The V27 Pro is available in three RAM and storage options: 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 256GB. We used the former for this review.

After thorough usage across a week, we don’t have much to complain about when it comes to the performance of the smartphone. The V27 Pro handled basic tasks with absolute ease. Firstly, the 120Hz refresh rate offers a smooth scrolling experience. Even with multiple apps running in the background, the smartphone doesn’t break a sweat and carries on crushing the tasks that are thrown at it. We used the smartphone in split screen mode, playing YouTube videos in one panel while using the other to browse Twitter, Reddit, and other social media apps. We did not experience any stutters or lags in our entire duration of use. 

Moving on to the OS, the Vivo V27 Pro comes with Android 13 with Funtouch 13 on top. Unfortunately, the OS experience is severely hampered by the amount of bloatware on the phone. Some apps like V-Appstore cannot be uninstalled from the device and regularly send pesky notifications that occupy the notification bar. While you can restrict the notifications from these apps, it still isn’t a great look for the smartphone. The native browser app is also guilty of pushing unnecessary notifications.

Once you move past the bloatware, Funtouch 13 OS offers some cool features. If you use your smartphone for health and fitness tracking, you will notice that the default lock screen gradually changes its look as you rack up the steps through the day. You also get a widget panel which you can use to gain quick access to the music player, calendar, weather, and other functions. The dynamic effects for the lock screen, notifications, fingerprint scanner, charging, and face recognition are also pretty cool. There is also an ambient lighting feature on board. When paired with music apps, you can lock your screen and let the lighting take over. It may consume a bit more power from the battery, but the effects are quite appealing. Other than that, you also get the Ultra Game Mode which provides a handy toolbar while gaming.

We played games like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9 on the V27 Pro and the overall experience was much better than we expected. The phone maintains the ideal temperature for about half an hour after which it starts to heat up a little. Once it heats up, the smooth matte finish on the back can make it a bit slippery. We did not come across any major stutters or frame drops while gaming, although at higher temperatures the performance takes a shot. On the Geekbench 6 benchmark, the V27 Pro scored 1151 points in the single-core test and 3099 points in the multi-core test.

The 4,600mAh battery is a step down from the 4,830mAh battery pack on the V25 Pro, but the performance does not take a hit as the SoC is able to efficiently manage the power. After a day of medium to heavy usage, we were left with a 15-20% charge on the device. With 66W fast charging support, the Vivo V27 Pro can be fully charged in under 50 minutes.

Finally, the cameras on the Vivo V27 Pro are absolutely spectacular for a midrange device. This doesn’t surprise us as the V23 and V25 Pro were also brilliant camera phones. The V27 Pro gets a 50MP primary shooter at the rear along with an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro lens. Up front, you get a 50MP selfie camera. 

The 50MP Sony IMX766V lens produces stunning results in different lighting conditions. The images produced can easily match the results of some flagship phones. Vivo’s image processing remains superior to its rivals in this segment. In bright daylight, the images replicated the dynamic range of colours without being overprocessed. The level of detail captured by the main sensor is quite amazing and is aptly reflected in the vividness of the photographs. Even indoors, the primary shooter did justice to the frame and captured the subject with ease. 

The ultrawide lens does some heavy lifting in the camera setup as well. While the images are a little soft compared to the primary lens, the range of colours is still very diverse and there is minimal noise in the photographs. We were also quite pleased with how the two lenses exposed the sky. The resulting images are pretty rich in tones.

In limited lighting conditions, the primary shooter captures a lot of detail and you will rarely find yourself using the Night Mode. The images come out well-lit, without looking overprocessed or overly brightened. The image processing is top-notch in this regard. While shooting the subject against the night sky, the camera managed to light up the subject perfectly while also capturing the ideal colour tone of the sky. The images taken at night had minimal blur thanks to OIS. However, in ultrawide mode, the images have a fair bit of noise.

The images are ‘social media ready’, but you can also opt for natural colours. The photographs lose a bit of punchiness in this setting, but you get results that are closer to reality. If you like to have more control while editing your images, you should go for the natural control setting. You will also find a ton of features within the camera app. We liked the ‘Micro Movie’ feature which essentially allows you to make Reels in the camera app itself. After filming a shot, you can pause a recording and resume it later with a different set of effects applies to the frame. Like Instagram, you can save your unfinished ‘Micro movie’ in the draft folder.

The selfie camera takes brilliant images in different lighting conditions. But what we like the most about this 50MP sensor is that it can record 4K videos at 60fps. This will particularly appeal to vloggers and content creators that are looking for an excellent front-camera device to go with their shooting rig. That being said, the OIS does not work for 4K videos taken using the selfie camera. The rear camera allows OIS support for 4K videos taken at 30fps but not 60fps.

Read Also: Moto G73 5G price in India and key details leaked, launching on March 10

Conclusion

Starting at Rs 37,999, the Vivo V27 Pro certainly has one of, if not the best camera units in its category. On top of that, the smartphone offers a brilliant curved AMOLED display along with a sleek form factor that elevates the overall look of the device. With the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 onboard, the V27 Pro has something in store for gaming enthusiasts as well. An IP rating, stereo speakers, and less bloatware would have pushed the smartphone to near perfection, but for a midrange smartphone priced under Rs 40k, this is as good as it gets.

Pros

Brilliant display 

Stunning camera performance

Ideal for content creators

Good chipset

Cons

No stereo speakers

No IP rating

Significant bloatware

Haptics could have been better

For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date using the Gadget Bridge Android App. You can find the latest car and bike news here.

The post Vivo V27 Pro Review: More than just a camera focussed smartphone appeared first on https://www.gadgetbridge.com.