We kid you not! the vivo V27e shocked us with how it took better night shots than the iPhone 14 Pro Max because of one cool feature. You don’t believe me? Okay, keep reading.
Lots of people who like mobile gadgets want to buy a great smartphone that do not cost too much. Sadly, many companies don’t make phones that have a good balance of features, because the cost of parts has gone up because of the economic crisis.
There is however, one company from China called vivo, which doesn’t seem to have these problems. Their new phone, vivo V27e we will be reviewing today, combines beauty and function in a unique way.
It comes in three colors, Glory Black, Lavender Purple and Lively Green but the one that stands out the most for us would be the Lavender Purple. That is also the one we will be unboxing and reviewing, so here we go.
Key specs
- 6.62-inch AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate,
- Mediatek MT8781 Helio G99 (6nm) 4G
- Mali-G57 MC2
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB ROM
- microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot)
- Triple 60MP (wide), 2MP (macro), 2 MP (depth)
- 32 MP (wide)
- Under-display fingerprint reader
- 4,600mAh battery with 66W fast wired charging
- Android 13, Funtouch 13
- IP54, dust and water resistant
- Loud speakers
Click here to view the full specs sheet: vivo V27e’s specs page on Unbox Diaries
Whats in the box?
In the box we have the device, a 66W fast charging brick, a USB Type A to C cable, a clear jelly case, the paperwork and a SIM ejector tool. And yes the irony still remains: the less you pay, the more you get in the box!
Design
Let’s talk about that textured back panel. Damn that is stunning! That is how we came up with the nickname “unicorn” for this device. It screams pure elegance, a symbol of beauty and magic that inspires wonder in all who behold it. It’s feather-like glittered back feels like a precious gemstone.
Okay, dilly dallying aside, if only vivo had not made the back panel out of plastic, it would have been a solid 10/10 in terms of design. But then again folks, we are trying to stay in the mid-range space here, so there is that.
I also think it goes without saying that I don’t really see this specific variant being a daily driver for most people given how feminine it looks. But I think anyone who is more on the feminine side will love it.
On the bottom you find the USB Type-C 2.0 OTG port which not the best but fine for a mid-range phone I guess. Don’t worry about your other SIM card because there is also a Hybrid Dual Nano-SIM slot at the bottom. You also find the grills for the loudspeaker. I must say though that this devices is actually very light, coming in at 185g.
Display
I love me an under-display fingerprint scanner on a budget phone, I mean who wouldn’t? On top of that, the 6.62 inch AMOLED display which is actually one of the best displays on the market. It is also complemented by the thin bezels. The display is also surprisingly bright and its quite visible even when you are outside, as you can see on the picture.
The only exception is at the bottom, where the bezels are a bit thicker. The phone is still over 85% screen to body ratio so we will let it slide. Backed up with a camera whole punch, it is almost seamless and it is placed right in the center where the balance factor is most at play.
The 1080 x 2400 resolution brings vivid colors and gives at a great advantage when it comes to pictures and videos. More on that later. Another thing that most people will love on this phone is the 120Hz refresh rates. If I would describe it, I would say it is like the phone feels your fingertips easily and smoothly executes each touch gesture in split second.
On YouTube, the phone was capable of watching videos at a 1440p resolution which is already way above majority of phones. Most phones only watch youtube videos at 1080p resolution. Thanks to the combination of the powerful processing power of the Helio G99 and AMOLED. Check the sample screen recorded video below.
Camera: Aura Light OIS Portrait System
This is probably one of the prettiest camera layouts we have seen on mid-range devices. Its minimalist, but prominent. Its like saying “I’m here but, I’m just chillin“. There are 3 lenses at the back but the best part is the Aura Light OIS Portrait System. This is probably the best part of this phone.
The Aura Light OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) Portrait System is a camera technology that is designed to improve the quality of portrait photos by stabilizing the camera, enhancing lighting, and optimizing image processing using a combination of software and the massive ring-light hardware that you see on the back.
We took some shots with the V27e in a low light setting to see how good the Aura Light really is. Boy oh boy! The results were mind blowing. This feature improved the lighting of the subject being photographed and adjusted the color temperature and brightness of the light emitted by the camera’s LED flash. As a result the images showed that the subject’s skin tone looked more natural and flattering.
Just from comparing the two pictures side by side, you can tell already that the Aura Light Portrait is like an instant studio lighting setup, except right in your pocket. It gives you what you would get when you use a ring light or a soft box.
We went a step further to compare it against the best of the best : the iPhone 14 Pro Max and it absolutely crushed it. The picture of the iPhone was good but it seemed a little too cool and the color tones where less accurate and more on the cooler temperature.
On the vivo, the colors where more natural and more saturated, not exaggerated but just the right amount. The picture shot on the iPhone 14 Pro Max showed a more pearly skin because of lack of contrast. On the vivo, the skin tone seems to have a much better color contrast, sharper and with more vivid detail.
Dynamic range and wide-angle shots
The 60MP (wide) lens on the smartphone does an amazing job on the standard photos. From the sample shorts, you can really see how the higher pixel count comes in handy. Because of the size of the sensor, there is more detail and the sensor allows more light allowing it to produce a better and more vivid image overall.
Since it also has a High Dynamic range, the vivo V273 manages to show details in both highly exposed parts of the photo and on the lowly exposed. Colors are not blown out and there is still a good color balance in most of the photos.
Photos taken against the lighting can be challenging for most cameras to still be able to show the subject clearly. This phone however did an amazing job. Take a look at the plant on the bottom, for example. The sky is still vibrant and the plan still looks well exposed with all the details showing despite being against the sun.
Macro shots
vivo sacrificed a bit on the numbers when it comes to the macro lens. Remember that horse drawing assignment meme? Yeah something like that. They did not give enough love to the macro lens. This lens is designed for taking close-up photos of small objects such as flowers, insects, or jewelry. It has a shorter focal length than the primary lens and can focus on objects that are very close to the camera, producing highly detailed images.
That is why a high pixel count is still important. Despite being only 2MP, the lens still managed to take impressive macro shots. You can see some of the details start to get pixelated the more you get closer to the subject.
Portrait shots
The portrait shots on this phone are great, amazing detail, vibrant colors. However, the lens is kind of a hit and miss. Sometimes the lens failed to clearly separate the subject, especially when there is a busy background. That doesn’t discredit it from the great overall performance though.
Low-light shots
When it comes to low-light shots, the vivo V27e was a bit of a “run of the mill”: It was ordinary. The shots had a fair amount of noise and smooth textures. It wouldn’t say they are the sharpest low-light shots I have seen but also they probably cross the average line on the midrange level. The real magic happens when you use the Aura Light, thats where you are guaranteed the best results always.
There is still plenty of detail in the images in most cases and less motion blur. If I will give it a score, it would be 6.5/10.
Front camera
The 32MP wide front lens on this device is definitely worth it. Selfies taken by one person have good color saturation, not too saturated, not too faint, just on spot. Hair details look crips and it performs fairly well indoors. Although you lose more detail with less light, it is still on the money.
In most cases, group selfies usually tend to distort the shapes of the subjects like the head but not in this case. Everyone still looks natural and proportional.
Video Quality
According to GSM Arena, this phone is supposedly capable of recording 4K resolution videos. However when we did the video quality test, the highest resolution we got was 1080p at 30fps. Our guess is maybe on the variants with a bigger RAM, there might be 4K option.
So how is the performance? I would say it’s so-so. Not too bad not too good. Perhaps the most notable feature is the Gyro EIS which brings stabilization during the video. It significantly reduces the bounciness of the video and we loved it.
Benchmark/Gaming
Helio G99 (6nm)
While the technical specifications of the device may not stand out compared to its other advantages, it would be unfair to criticize the performance of its MediaTek Helio G99 processor, 8GB RAM and Mali G57 MC2 graphics core.
Geekbench test score for the vivo V27e was actually way better than we though, bagging a 721 points for its single-core performance and 1905 points for multiple-core. These numbers are not exponential but they sure are enough to get the job done. For context , the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G performs right around the same score for multiple core on Geekbench.
On AnTuTu, the device scored 389469 which is also quite decent for midrange phones. When the processor is paired up with a good GPU, numbers will probably not matter that much. It all comes down to the execution like intense gaming, multitasking and so on. And I can say vivo delivered.
For you to understand better in simpler terms, the smartphone performs better than the POCO x4 NFC and even the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. Thats ridiculous!
User interface
The vivo V27e comes with Android 13 and the Funtouch 13 user interface which combines vivo’s design-driven value with improved personalization options, upgraded privacy and security features, and control features for a smoother, uninterrupted experience. Icons are minimalistic and personalizable which we really loved.
Gaming
One of the most important, if not the most important aspect of a phone’s performance these days is gaming. For a phone to be considered good for gaming, we have to consider things like graphics settings, refresh rate, battery life, temperature management and other control feature.
Multi-Touch: Having a score of 10 on the multi-touch test is a great bonus on this device especially for mobile gaming. A 10-point multi-touch screen refers to a touch screen that has the ability to recognise and respond to ten simultaneous points of contact.
This allows you to easily zoom, flick, rotate, swipe, drag, pinch, press, double tap or use other gestures with up to ten fingers on the screen at the same time. You see why this is important?
Gaming graphics
After testing three different games (Call of Duty, Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends), we came up with these results.
For Call of Duty, the game runs pretty smoothly on High Refresh Rate and Medium Graphics. That is also the highest graphics settings you can get while playing the standard mode. Honestly I think its quite fair for a mid-range smartphone.
In Genshin Impact, the highest frame rate you get is 60fps which is also the default. The animations appears to be smoother, and the movements of characters and objects in the game appear to be more fluid. To enjoy the game better, we recommend that you play the game at 60fps since the AMOLED display and the G99 processor can handle it. You also get high graphics.
The only problem is that, Genshin Impact is actually quite demanding and at some point, the device will start overheating and that will result in frame-freezes and lags. The best frame rate that the game can handle without overheating is at 30fps. But that means you will experience a delayed motion in the animations and movement of the gaming characters. At the end of the day, the choice is yours.
Mobile Legends was more enjoyable to play compared to Genshin Impact. Although the highest Graphics Settings you can get is High, as well as the Refresh Rate, the phone performed well throughout the game. As long as there is good connection, the processor and the display can handle the game fairly well.
Game Turbo is one of the additional features that comes with the vivo V27e. It is designed to enhance the gaming experience by optimizing the device’s performance while playing games. When activated, the Game Turbo interface can do several things to improve the gaming experience.
Battery
So for a 4600mAh battery, the phone has a screen time of about 8hours. It comes with a 66W fast charger and of course we had to do the charging speed test. It charged from 0 to 50% in about 19 minutes. Probably one of the best things on this phone.
Audio quality
It is kind of disappointing to have a simple Loudspeaker at a mid-range price level. So many mid-range smartphones already have one speaker at the top and one at the bottom but thats not the case here. The loudspeaker is still “speaks loud”, as the name suggests, but you do not get to experience that wider and more immersive soundstage.
Pros and Cons
What we like about the vivo V27e
- Exquisite and unique design
- Under-display fingerprint scanner
- Aura Light OIS Portrait System
- Fast Charging Speed
- Decent gaming performance
- High video resolution for YouTube
What we dislike about the vivo V27e
- Plastic back (feels cheap)
- Loudspeaker
- Bad heat management (weak chipset)
- USB C 2.0
Pricing
vivo V27e is officially available in the country with an official price of ₱16,999 for 8GB/128GB.
Conclusion
The vivo V27e really steals the show when it comes to low-light performance. Its Aura light is a great feature that comes in handy when environments are dark. Besides that, it still gives you value for money with the decent performance and the gorgeous design.
