vivo V27 5G Review

Some phones look great aesthetically but don’t perform too well. Then some look like any other Android model in the segment but outshine the competition in terms of performance. Somehow vivo managed to do both with the all-new V27 5G. It not only looks good, but it also delivers in performance and more.

I’ve spent a lot of time with the new V27 5G, using it as a daily phone, and I’ve been enjoying it so far. With a price tag of only PHP 24,999USD 426INR 36,114EUR 406CNY 3,102, it’s not that expensive either, especially if it’s one of the phones you’re considering this 2023.

So, if you’re planning to buy it either as a replacement for your aging phone or even as a secondary phone to supplement your main unit, I suggest you keep reading on. Today, we’ll discuss everything we like (and didn’t) about the new vivo V27 5G and how it performs on a day-to-day basis.

Design and Construction

From the front, the vivo V27 5G looks like any other Android model with a pinhole camera at the top and a large 6.78-inch curved screen. Nothing too special here. But when you flip it over, you get this nice light green color with a marble-like design at the top. It looks and feels premium too with the glass back cover, and it is unlike other phones I’ve seen on the market.

That’s not all, the color of the back can change too. Like its predecessor, the V25, the V27 5G also comes with a color shift back panel. Expose it to sunlight, and the light green color turns into this blue-greenish hue. Which color pattern looks better? Well, I prefer the one with marble and a light green hue, but what do you think?

Aside from the color changing back panel, you’ll also notice the triple rear camera system. Instead of a pinhole flash, like most phones, there’s a different flash system here which we’ll discuss later on.

The phone feels nice to hold with a metallic side and easily accessible buttons. You won’t have to worry about accidentally touching the screen when you’re using the V27 5G with one hand. It’s got a good weight too, meaning it doesn’t feel flimsy.

Despite the glass back panel, though, it’s not smudge resistant. You can easily leave fingerprints that are easily seen. Still, I wouldn’t use this phone with a case. It would be a shame to hide the rear design.

Display, Biometrics & Multimedia

The vivo V27 5G features a 6.78-inch display with 2400×1080 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The colors look great without needing to tweak them in the settings. The blacks are deep, and the colors are very vivid but not too saturated that it doesn’t look natural. You can tweak this in the settings though if you want more saturated colors instead of a flat, natural output.

Paired with the 120Hz refresh rate, this makes watching videos and playing games on the V27 5G very enjoyable. There are no lags too, whether it’s quickly swiping through social media, watching videos, or playing games. However, the loudspeaker is a bit disappointing. It’s not that loud and you can easily cover it with your finger when playing games or watching videos. That said, it’s best to use the phone with a headset.

There are a bunch of biometric options available to keep your V27 5G safe and secure. These include a face detection using the selfie-camera, an under-display fingerprint scanner, alongside the usual authentication options (pattern, password or PIN). The face detection isn’t as fast as I expected, especially under low-light environments, but it’s okay. It’s the same with the fingerprint scanner. Still, not bad all things considered.

Cameras

One of the vivo V27 5G’s strong suits is the camera system. It features a triple rear camera highlighted by a 50MP main unit that uses a Sony IMX766V sensor. It’s then joined by an 8MP Wide Angle and a 2MP Macro. This makes it perfect for capturing images in all kinds of scenarios. Meanwhile, the front camera also captures images in 50MP.

Not to mention it also comes with OIS + EIS, which helps when you’re shooting in low light to no light conditions. Then there’s the Aura Light system that allows you to take close-to-perfect portrait images.

The photos are crisp and clear, but they are a bit soft around the edges for my liking. Then again, this is a phone camera after all, and not a professional camera with a lens. Shooting in High Resolution mode with the full 50MP does help sharpen up the images a bit.

If it’s too dark, there’s Super Night mode and the Aura Light doubles as the flash too. Depending on the mood of the image you want, you can adapt the camera settings to your liking.

But perhaps the vivo V27 5G takes images best in portrait mode. There’s a reason vivo Philippines calls it the “Portrait Master” after all. It does live up to the name when shooting in Portrait mode, you get great images. With the help of Aura Light, the images look similar to having soft box lighting in a studio.

The thing I didn’t like is that there is no option to dim the output of Aura Light. It’s either always on or off when you’re shooting in Portrait Mode. As a result, the photos end up too bright in some situations.

Meanwhile, the front camera is great too, especially when taking selfies. Unlike other phones, people in the background aren’t blurred or pixelated because of the low resolution.

As for the video, the V27 5G can shoot at a maximum of 4K@30FPS for the front and rear and cameras. This makes it perfect if you want to create some cinematic footage or content. The downside is that you can’t fully utilize the OIS+EIS when shooting in 4K. If you do, it automatically bumps the video quality down to 1080P.

Check out our sample shots with the vivo V27 5G below.

Performance & Benchmarks

Under the hood of the vivo V27 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 with 12GB RAM + 8GB Extended RAM. This makes it very capable of running most games on medium settings in addition to doing most day-to-day activities. The only downside of the phone is the internal storage – limited to only 256GB.

Unfortunately, there’s no microSD card slot. As a result, you might need to back up the phone often especially if you are shooting video in 4K and photos in 50MP. Not to mention there are also other apps and games you want to install. Apart from taking several photos and videos, I only installed Genshin Impact, Blue Archive, and Subway Surfer, along with a few benchmarking apps, and I only had around 180GB left.

Despite the small storage space, it can run the game very well without any issues. Genshin Impact was capable of running on high, and the phone could handle it. However, there is noticeable lags and frame rate drops, and I had to dial down the settings a bit to make it more enjoyable. It was a similar experience when playing Blue Archive.

As for the benchmark scores, you can check them out below.

OS, Apps, & UI

The vivo V27 5G runs on Funtouch OS 13 based on Android 12. First time android users won’t have a hard time using it even with gesture control mode, but there is the drawer mode as with most Android phones.

FunTouch 13 looks nice too; not too heavily skinned, but it doesn’t look too basic either. There are a bunch of widgets too, allowing you to customize the layout, icons, and more to your liking. There are also a bunch of gesture shortcuts that you can try out to make life with the V27 5G easier.

Connectivity and Battery Life

In terms of connectivity, the vivo V27 5G comes with all the connectivity options you’d expect from a phone in this segment – 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, OTG, and NFC. There’s dual nano SIM support and both slots are 5G capable.

As for the battery, it packs a 4,600mAh unit which is average for most smartphones today. Still, I do wish they added a larger battery, especially since vivo marketed this phone for taking photos, videos, and vlogs. Based on our normal usage though the battery should last more than a day but it could change depending on user behavior.

According to PCMark’s Work 3.0 battery test, the vivo V27 5G scored 16 hours and 51 minutes which is actually above average.

While the battery is small, there is a 66W fast charging which vivo claims can provide 50% charging in just 19 mins. Not the fastest considering other fast chargers on the market, but it’s still a great feature to have.

Conclusion

With phones becoming ever more expensive, the vivo V27 5G manages to find a balance between pricing, style, and performance. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s still a great, well-rounded smartphone I enjoy using.

It’s got everything you would want and more. With the 50MP camera and 4K video, this phone will especially be useful for those that love creating content such as vlogs, videos, and more. Best of all, it’s reasonably priced too at only PHP 24,999USD 426INR 36,114EUR 406CNY 3,102, and you can pre-order this phone very soon.

Pros:
– Great Camera Quality with OIS+EIS
– Looks good aesthetically
– Good quality and construction
– Not too expensive

Cons:
– Small battery size
– Small storage space, not expandable
– Loudspeaker quality isn’t good
– Can’t adjust the output of Aura Light

vivo V27 5G Specs:
6.78-inch FHD+ (2400×1080) AMOLED display
120 Hz refresh rate
MediaTek Dimensity 7200
12GB RAM (+8GB Extended RAM)
256GB internal storage
Triple-rear camera:
50MP OIS main f/1.88 (Sony IMX766V Sensor)
8MP wide f/2.2
2MP macro f/2.4
Front camera: 50MP selfie f/2.45
Dual-SIM
5G, 4G LTE
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.3
NFC
GPS with aGPS
USB-C, OTG
Fingerprint Scanner
Funtouch OS 13 Global (based on Android 12)
4600 mAh battery w/ 66W FlashCharge
164.1 × 74.8 × 7.4 mm (dimensions)
180 grams (weight)
Emerald Green