Smartphone companies often dazzle us with their latest and greatest flagship offerings. These nearly thousand-dollar devices usually take center stage during keynotes and product launches. But do you really need an expensive flagship device?

With the Vivo V27 and V27 Pro, Vivo is trying to prove you could get a fantastic, flagship-like smartphone experience without breaking the bank. So, let's check out how these two devices and see how they perform in your hands.

What You Get in the Box

The Vivo V27 and the V27 Pro both come in a minimalist gray box, with the word Pro on the latter the only differentiation. When you open them, you're greeted by the smartphone right away. Under the tray holding the phone, you get a clear TPU case and the warranty booklet.

You also get an 80-watt FlashCharge adapter and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable. But aside from those, you don't get any other goodies. This is a slight disappointment, as the previous generation V25 Pro included a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter and a pair of wired earbuds.

Nevertheless, we're still happy to see a fast-charging adapter included in the box, which is more than what we can say for flagship models from Apple, Google, and Samsung.

Vivo V27 and V27 Pro: Spec Comparison

It isn't easy to spot the differences between the V27 and V27 Pro, even when you have them on hand. So, what advantage does the latter bring over the former? Let's check out their specs below:

As you can see on its specs, the only difference is the better CPU on the V27 Pro. But does this change justify its $60 premium?

Performance Numbers

Although the V27 and V27 Pro aren't flagship devices, they still score decently on benchmarks. Furthermore, even the former outperforms the last generation V25 Pro, getting consistently better scores across various tests. Here are our results:

Geekbench 6

The Vivo V27 scored 1,201 points in single-core and 2,699 points in multi-core CPU benchmarks. The V27 Pro received almost the same single-core score, at 1,209 points. However, its multi-core score is nearly 1,000 points higher at 3,630.

Let's also look at their GPU test results: the V27 received 3,477 points in OpenCL and 3,524 in Vulkan. The V27 Pro, on the other hand, got a 4,117 OpenCL score and a 4,270 Vulkan score. This shows the advantage you get with the more powerful Dimensity 8200 chip on the V27 Pro.

Wild Life Extreme Stress Test

If you're a gamer, you'd want to check out 3Dmark's Wilfe Life Extreme Stress Test. This benchmark pushes hardware to its limits running intensive apps for 20 minutes straight. And since we're only looking at mid-range phones, don't expect high-end results for both devices.

The Vivo V27 only scores an average of 1,153 points on this test—averaging 7 FPS and with its core temperature jumping to 36 degrees Celsius. The V27 Pro received an average of 1,784 in the Stress Test, but it got a 10 FPS average. However, because of this extra power, its core temperature reached 44 degrees—significantly higher than the V27 but still comfortable.

PCMark Work 3.0

This benchmark is excellent for checking a phone's performance against productivity tasks like web browsing, writing, and photo editing. The results are surprising: the V27 garnered 12,363 points, while the V27 Pro only received 10,974 points.

The latter performed better in Writing 3.0 and Photo Editing 3.0, but the former outclassed it in Web Browsing 3.0, Video Editing 3.0, and Data Manipulation 3.0.

The V27 Pro is clearly more powerful than the V27 in most metrics, but does it justify the higher price point? After all, the two devices are identical externally.

Vivo V27 and V27 Pro: Build and Design

Despite getting decent benchmark results, these aren't as fast as other flagships, like the Vivo X90 Pro. However, you're unlikely to notice this, especially if you're not pushing them to their limits. What's more important is how the V27 and V27 Pro look and feel in your hands.

Let's first look at the only external difference between the two devices—the glass back. The Vivo V27 comes in Magic Blue, Emerald Green, Noble Black, and Flowing Gold.

The first two options—Magic Blue and Emerald Green—also sport the Vivo V-series' iconic thermochroic glass back, turning into a beautiful darker hue. Furthermore, the Emerald Green glass back uses a unique processing technique which results in a marble-like finish.

On the other hand, the V27 Pro has a matte glass back that's smooth to the touch. It's also available in two colors: Magic Blue and Noble Black. However, you can only get the color-changing effect with the Magic Blue color.

Aside from the finish of the glass back, the V27 and V27 Pro feel and look the same in your hand. Both phones have a large camera module covering about one-sixth of their backs. However, this module isn't as thick as the ones you can find on other flagship phones, making the V27 and V27 Pro easier to pocket.

The phone's camera also has an Aura Light Portrait System, which uses its main camera sensor, some software magic, and the ring light back flash to light up your model. While both V27 and V27 do deliver excellent flash portraits, the flash is too small to provide the light ring effect we see on professional images.

Like its older siblings, the volume rocker and power switch are on the phone's right side. You also get a USB-C port, the speaker, and the SIM card tray on its bottom. Both devices also have two microphones—one at the bottom, beside the USB port, and another at the top.

The V27 and V27 Pro screens curve slightly on both edges, making them easier to hold. It's also easier to swipe from the left or the right, which is a boon for fans of gesture-based navigation. The 120Hz screen makes for smoother animation and transitions when browsing the phone. But since its SoC isn't that powerful, you'll unlikely enjoy this high refresh rate when playing demanding titles.

We also noticed one slight difference on the screen—the V27 has a cooler, bluer tone than the V27 Pro. We're unsure if this is by design or just the nuances of screen manufacturing, but it's not a significant issue. Furthermore, you can adjust the screen in the phone's Eye Protection settings if you prefer a warmer tone.

Funtouch OS 13: User Experience

Funtouch OS is Vivo's skin on the stock Android 13. The experience you get with Funtouch isn't that far from other Android operating systems—it's smooth and responsive, plus you get a bevy of customization options to suit your taste and personality.

However, we have one major gripe—Funtouch OS comes with a lot of bloatware. You can easily uninstall many of these apps, but even more annoying is how Vivo constantly pushes its own V-Appstore.

We've received a ton of notifications promoting various apps we don't use. And every time we finish installing a new app from the Google Play Store, it is eager to promote another app from the V-Appstore.

Since you cannot remove the V-Appstore, one way to fix this is to turn off its notifications and in App info and then delete it from your home screen. With that out of the way, you can continue using your phone in peace.

Vivo V27 and V27 Pro: Photography Comparison

Although the V-series phones don't have the premium ZEISS optics of the flagship X-series, it still delivers in the camera department. Its 50MP primary camera has enough pixels, allowing you to zoom in up to two times without losing details. The smaller 8MP ultrawide camera also takes excellent photographs, despite having fewer pixels.

Since both phones have the same hardware, the difference you'll see between them is how the device processes them. Looking at the V27 Pro, you'll see that its photos have more vibrant colors. It has brighter greens and a warmer color tone.

In dark conditions, both cameras perform admirably. However, the V27 Pro's processing looks more natural. It avoids smoothing out the details too much, especially in the darker parts of the image. It also seems to apply some grain to the photo, making it feel more like the film cameras of yore.

However, the Vivo V27 Pro's processing could make the photo lose some details. When we photographed a low-flying aircraft, the V27 captured the registration details on its wings. But on the V27 Pro, we only saw a blur. The plane itself isn't clearly seen in the image, so this is something to remember if you're considering long-distance or landscape photography.

We also saw a similar story with macro photography—the V27 has better details, exposure, and background blur than the V27 Pro. Again, this all comes down to software, so all it takes to fix this is a software update from Vivo.

Should You Get the V27 or the V27 Pro?

If you're on a budget, you already get a lot of phone with the Vivo V27. It lets you do your everyday social media browsing, video watching, listening to music, and light gaming with no problems. But if you're more of a gamer or plan to edit photos and videos on your smartphone, the V27 Pro is worth the extra US$60 you have to shell out.

When it comes to photography, both phones have their pros and cons—the V27 Pro has more vibrant colors and looks more natural in challenging light conditions, but the V27 performs better with finer details in macro mode. Nevertheless, we'll still recommend the V27 Pro for photography because of its more powerful SoC.

The Mid-Range Phone for Every User

Five years ago, you needed to buy a flagship smartphone to get high-quality cameras, ultra-fast charging, long battery life, decent memory and storage, and a great screen. But with the V27 Pro, Vivo has shown that you can get these and more without spending a ton.

So, if you're looking for a smartphone that'll do everything well and is enjoyable to use, go for the V27 or the V27 Pro. You can't go wrong with either phone.