We haven’t seen anything like the vivo V27 in the midrange segment. It is fast, has a flagship curved body design and a good camera that stacks up to the latest flagship iPhone.
The vivo V27 is packing a powerful Dimensity 7200(4nm) processor which is about as fast as an iPhone 12. It’s got a nice curved 120Hz AMOLED Display that looks stunning when watching videos and playing games.
But probably the most unique thing about the vivo V27 is its one-of-a-kind Aura Light Portrait. It is simply a bigger flash at the back that gives the subject much better lighting. This totally impressed us when we tested it against the iPhone 14 Pro Max in low light. It simply blew our minds.
Key specs
- 6.78-inch AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate,
- Mediatek Dimensity 7200 (4 nm)
- Mali-G610 MC4
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB ROM
- Triple 50MP (wide), 8MP (ultra-wide), 2 MP (macro)
- 50 MP (wide)
- Under-display fingerprint reader
- Face unlock
- 4,600mAh battery (All-day battery)
- Android 13, Funtouch 13
- Loudspeaker
Click here to view the full specs sheet: vivo V27’s specs page on Unbox Diaries
Unboxing
In the box, we got the smartphone, a jelly case, and a 66W fast-charging brick. There is also a USB Type A to C cable, some paperwork, and a SIM ejector. The charging brick is probably heavier than the actual smartphone.
Design
The vivo V27 has a curved display and body design that is similar to what you will see on other flagship android devices. This is new for the vivo V series as we only got this from the pro version last year with the vivo v25 Pro.
At first glance, it is enormous yet elegant to look at. The phone may be big, but it seems thin and still fits perfectly to most hand sizes. The dimensions are 164.1 x 74.8 x 7.4 mm, yet it is surprisingly lightweight at only 182g. It also has an ultra-thin grip of 7.36mm, which is the thinnest 3D curved screen in the history of vivo smartphones.
It has perfect 60° curved edges which are super comfortable to clutch. The display does curve ever so gently around the edges of the smartphone, which I know not everyone loves. However, we’ve had very few issues with screen sensitivity and responsiveness. Even when you’re squeezing this thing pretty bloody tight, it still responds to your pokes and swipes with no problem.
If we flip around to the back, there is something special. It has Photochromic glass. It basically means that it can change color to a deeper Emerald Green when exposed to UV light. A cool little feature that you can use next time you are trying to start a conversation.
Disclaimer: This feature is only available on the Emerald Green variant so make sure to get that one specifically if you want to check out the color-changing glass.
It is also available in other colors, such as Magic Blue, Noble Black, and Flowing Gold.
Camera design
The entire v series seems to approach the camera and overall design from a minimalist perspective. The exquisite camera placement gives an elegant sense of balance. On other phones, camera modules usually take up a lot of space or get clumped in one corner.
Not in this case though because vivo created a clean minimalistic look that renders visual fluidity which we think is the key and the most trendy design approach.
Display
The display is a 1080 x 2400 AMOLED with full HDR10+ which gives you sharp and vivid images despite its gargantuan screen. Because of the 1B colors and the full HDR, we’ve got gorgeous contrast, nice deep blacks, and poppy colors when you want them.
You can also view from any angle that you like and have great outdoor visibility whatsoever. So media fans will certainly enjoy every bit. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate and it skills between 60Hz and 120Hz automatically which is perfect for gaming and quick switching in apps.
YouTube
We were able to watch 8K resolution on YouTube which provided a breathtaking viewing experience. With 7680 x 4320 pixels, it has four times the resolution of the V27, resulting in incredibly sharp and detailed images.
Just like on the Samsung Galaxy S22 ultra, the videos were more impressive because of the massive curved display, where individual pixels were much more noticeable. The colors were also more vivid and realistic, making the video look almost lifelike. This level of detail allows for a greater sense of depth, which can make the video seem more 3D-like.
Sound
Unfortunately, while many rivals do pack a stereo speaker setup these days, here on the Vivo v27, it is a basic little loudspeaker setup. We must say though that the “All-round audio enhancement” feature saves the day by optimizing the sound to create an artificial four-dimension resulting in a clearer and louder sound.
And yeah, there’s bugger-all headphone jack action on the v27 which is bad for content creators considering how important direct audio input is. However, it does also have Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless sound connection which is good for capturing audio with low latency.
Camera tests
Portrait
Apparently, vivo worked with SONY to create the large 50-megapixel IMX 766v sensor. It is a special custom version that was also present in some mid-range smartphones and even flagship smartphones last year. The larger pixels improve low-light photography and the results are super impressive.
Along with the assistance of the Optical Image Stabilization Ultra-sensing, ambient shots get as good as those taken on flagship smartphones. The colors appear to be bright and poppy and the shots are detailed and crips.
Bokeh
This could be one of the best features of this vivo V27. It is a feature that allowed you to adjust the level of depth of field of your portrait pictures according to your own preference. In other terms, you are able to increase or decrease the amount of blur in the background.
Night
In low-light situations, you can see a bright and clear image of your subject before you take the shot so you can get them all lined up properly. Thanks to the “Real-Time Extreme Night Vision”. The Super Night Algorithms 4.4 XDR also help in detecting subjects in the dark and brightening them up before you even take the picture.
We also noticed that the vivo night shots generally looked bright. Part of it was also because of the OIS which allows for longer exposure thereby increasing light intake by up 6 times more
Aura Light Portrait System
You can already tell that the company put a lot of emphasis on the camera system of the vivo V27 Aura Light Portrait system. vivo wants you to dump your professional photography equipment for this phone. I must say that to some extent you could depend on the AURA-Light for some decent night portraits.
The Aura Light adds light in a smart way for clearer and more delicate portraits. It uses three light bulbs to automatically adjust the brightness according to the environment you are taking the picture.
Shots taken using this special lighting give more natural tones compared to other rival mid-range and flagship smartphones. As you can see in the sample images you also get a deep contrast which makes pictures more lively and attractive.
As the name already suggests, the Aura Light specifically worked best on portraits. Even eyes look whiter on the Aura Light Portraits not to mention the skin details, thanks to the eye-brightening algorithms.
Another thing we also noticed was that, the Aura light on the vivo V27e works better when you are closer to the subject. On the contrary, the Aura light on the vivo V27 works at any distance which is a great advantage. Most people will look less photogenic in close-up pictures anyways.
Daytime portraits
For daytime shots, you get lots of details packed into every frame with reasonable natural tones. Things do not completely unravel when you are faced with harsh contrasts. We took great pictures of the backyard where we got so much detail of the plants with the greens looking mildly vibrant and natural.
As for the other two lenses, there is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor to fit more stuff into the frame. Although it is not the main star of the show, the ultra-wide angle shots we took looked quite decent. Even after cropping them, we still got reasonable detail with less softening than we expected.
The phone also does a great job of portraying textures accurately with the help of the AMOLED display with a 388 PPI.
There is also the 2 megapixel which you can use to take pictures up close of subjects like plants and insects. The biggest takeaway was how quickly the lens was able to focus on tiny objects. Besides that, we got a reasonable amount of detail with a nice depth of field.
Video
For your video, you can shoot up to 4k resolution but it tops 30fps. You can only shoot 60fps on the vivo V27 Pro. The lowlight results are fine but then again, the focus struggles when it comes to moving subjects, not to mention the grain.
Super Night video
vivo also included the same technology in the night portraits on the night videos and we loved it. They combined the Super Night Video mode and the OIS/ hybrid stabilIzation. This eliminated the blur in some videos.
Although it wasn’t as crystal smooth as what you would see on flagship smartphones, it significantly reduced the amount of noise. It also added extra brightness for the extremely dark conditions even without the Aura Light such that subjects could be easily identified.
Front Camera
The selfie-lovers out there will enjoy the new 50-megapixel front-facing camera with autofocus on the vivo V27. For your information, this lens is the highest resolution of a selfie lens in the midrange space. After cropping a selfie shot, we still got a decent amount of detail because the images are taken with a high resolution.
The only problem was that the pictures almost looked Photoshopped and unrealistic when we used the Bokeh effect. This was more prominent in the group portrait selfie where MJ almost looked like a sticker just slapped in the depth of field.
Additional camera features
For content creators, the Film Luts are some of the best things you can find on the vivo V27. These are 8 built-in film tone templates that can enhance and spice up regular-looking videos and vlogs. Some of the ones we loved when tried them were classic and nostalgic ones.
Performance
It’s not all about the camera, the performance of v27 is probably underrated. It has a new MediaTek Dimensity 7200 4nm flagship-level processor. Because of the excellent chipset architecture, the device has lower power consumption which gives it a long battery life.
Compared to the previous vivo V25, the V27 feels way more fast and smooth because of the jump from 90Hz to 120Hz. It switches automatically between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you are operating on the phone.
According to vivo, the vivo V27 has a 40% less power consumption rate than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset which is found on most mid-range smartphones.
When downloading and launching apps, it almost feels like you are using a flagship phone on the vivo because of the GPU boots. This is also because of the powerful 12GB RAM and the enhanced UFS 3.1 which helps load apps and transfer files faster. The RAM can also be expanded via eRAM for up to 20GB.
Battery
We all love a phone with a good battery, especially when it comes with all the other cool features that consume battery. From our tests, the vivo V27 had an excellent battery life, lasting all day with a full charge.
Since it also came with the 66W charging brick, it only took us about 19 minutes to charge it to 50% which is quite fast. vivo used the Dual-engine Fast Charging Technology which allows for 66W of charging power and a peak energy conversion rate of up to 97.5%
Combined with the advanced cooling system, we comfortably charged the phone without it overheating. We will discuss more of the cooling system later in the gaming section. vivo also claims that the battery can perform well for up to four years.
Benchmark Tests
The performance analysis would not be complete without benchmark tests. Benchmark tests are important in smartphone performance measurement because they provide a standardized way to compare the performance of different devices.
AnTuTu Score
The V27 scored 609111 which is way above average, especially for a mid-range smartphone. With that kind of score, the device was able to run apps and games, quickly and perform tasks such as browsing the web, opening and closing apps, and multitasking.
It, however, struggled with more demanding applications and intensive games that require more processing power like Genshin Impact.
Geekbench Score
On this platform, it scored 1174 for the single-core and 2632 for the multiple-core. While the scores may look impressive, the handset would slow down and heat up a bit when put under intense loads like running multiple apps in the background and playing Genshin Impact and Call of Duty.
But, other than that, the device handled almost everything thrown at it without any hiccups. It was quick to launch apps and run games like Mobile Legends smoothly. The handset also offered a seamless multitasking experience with lesser apps open in the background.
Gaming
Regarding gaming, there was a lot of good stuff to commend about the V27. First of all the AMOLED display gave us enhanced visuals. This is also partially due to the Dimensity 7200 computing power which uses vivo’s most advanced AI capabilities to create more vibrant and sharp images.
Secondly, the 120Hz refresh rate and the touch sampling rate made it easy to enjoy the games. It gave precise control during the game along with timely reactions. We also utilized the Game Turbo configuration to boost the overall performance of the game and it did wonders.
Lastly, almost all the games we played, except for Genshin Impact ran smoothly without the phone overheating. Kudos to the Ultra Large Vapor Chamber Bionic Cooling system. This enabled the chip to go into overdrive while maintaining a cool temperature.
Mobile Legends
Unfortunately, the maximum graphics setting was High Graphics, which is expected within the midrange level. Apart from that, the gameplay was smooth and enjoyable with no lags. You would probably think that there would be a lot of mis-touches due to the curved display but that was not the case at all.
Genshin Impact
For Genshin Impact, it was a bit of a disaster! The game is quite demanding so there were occasional frame drops now and then. Despite the phone having the option for High Graphics at 60fps, it ruined the general experience. With that in mind, for you to enjoy smooth gameplay, we would recommend playing the game at 30fps with medium graphics on this phone.
Call of Duty
In this case, the game was quite stable with the Highest Graphics quality and High refresh rate in the standard mode. The only problem we noticed was that there was a lot of lag when a lot of background apps are open. Weird enough you would expect that in Genshin Impact since it’s more demanding. The most ideal thing to do would be to close all background apps before you play COD on the V27.
Pros and Cons
What we like about the vivo V27e
- Color changing back (photochromatic)
- Cooling System
- Curved Display
- Excellent Night Portrait Photography
- Fast Charging Speed
- Decent gaming capabilities
What we dislike about the vivo V27e
- No stereo speaker
- No earphone jack
- USB C 2.0
Pricing
The vivo V27 is available now in the Philippines for ₱24,999.00.
Conclusion
The vivo V27 is an amazing mid-range smartphone that will not only tease you with flagship promises but will live up to its claims. It has the perfect aesthetic and premium design that is backed up by a powerful smartphone night camera system and an excellent chipset that will allow you to perform any task with ease. Above all, it still comes at an affordable price.
