There are times when one simple idea becomes the starting point of something revolutionary.
In vivo’s latest smartphone offering — the V27 series – that idea was this: What if you could compress studio lighting, particularly a ring light, into a smartphone?
A ring light, for those living under a rock, produces soft, direct light on a subject, thereby minimizing shadows. Using a ring light ensures that a subject is lit evenly from the direction of the camera. Ring lights have become a fad to photography enthusiasts, vloggers, and those, who simply want to make their photos well lit, and therefore, better, that they have been a staple in studios and in even simple photography setups at home.
Aura Portrait Master
The good news is that vivo has successfully incorporated a ring light into its latest V27 series, the V27 5G and the V27e (our review unit), meaning you now have the ability to take your pictorial skills anywhere with these ‘pocket studios’. The built-in ring light serves as an extra light source, but with a smoother and more polished effect compared to a regular phone camera flash.
But the challenge isn’t just putting a ring light into a smartphone, as vivo has gone a step further with its Aura Portrait Algorithm technology.
Combined with the Aura Light (the soft light produced by the said ring light), another aspect in the V27’s camera system, particularly in the V27 5G variant, is the 50MP OIS Ultra Sensing main camera powered by SONY IMX766V sensor (a first in vivo’s V Series history), which has an ultra-large 1/1.56” sensor size, allowing 145 percent more light intake for a stronger picture quality even in low-light surroundings. Our V27e variant has 64MP OIS Ultra Sensing Camera and Super Night View capability to capture HD quality and vivid images.
These two, combined with the perfect synergy between hardware and software, complete the Aura Portrait Algorithm feature of the vivo V27 Series that intelligently adjusts the lighting according to the environment, perfectly capturing studio quality images for portrait shooting day and night.
The vivo V27 Series intelligently adjusts the lighting according to the environment, perfectly capturing studio quality images for portrait shooting day and night.
Camera modes
The V27e offers a wide range of camera modes, including night, portrait, photo, video, micro movie, 64 MP, panorama, documents, slo-mo, time-lapse, pro, double exposure, dual view, and live photo — features that impress, making the V27 series an excellent choice for smartphone photography enthusiasts.
Design
With its sleek and elegant design, as featured in the Glory Black or the Lavender Purple options, the V27e is surely one of the most attractive smartphones in the market today, the plastic feel on its back panel notwithstanding. The transparent case cover that is included in the unit, is a perfect complement to showcase its looks.
The slim and lightweight build, measuring about 7.7 mm thick, for the Glory Black, or 7.8mm, for the Lavender Purple, and weighing 185 grams (Glory Black) or 186g (Lavender Purple), makes the device easy to manage, even with one hand.
Display
The V27e’s large 6.62-inch AMOLED screen with moderately sized bezels and a resolution of 1080 x 2400, delivers impressive, vivid colors with great detail and sharpness, even under sunlight.
A standout feature in the display is its 120Hz refresh rate, leading to smooth and seamless scrolling for a great user experience. The device also features a punch-hole selfie camera, an alternative to the traditional water drop notch design.
Performance
Powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset and paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the V27e offers a reliable, almost ‘trouble-free’ gaming experience. This ensures the smoothness of the Android 13 interface, with FunTouch OS 13, allowing the user, or gamer for that matter, to spend hours in Call Of Duty, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and many other games. Just don’t do the hardcore games for extended periods of time if you don’t want a reduction in graphics’ presets.
But even if you’re not a gamer, the V27e is still a fine choice for everyday use, rendering seamless multitasking, and easy switches between various apps.
Battery
The V27e boasts of a 4,600mAh battery (a bigger 5,000mAh should have been more welcome) that can last all day on a single charge, from light to moderate, to heavy use.
Furthermore, the V27e has 66W fast-charge support, with a 15-minute charge giving the battery a 50% juice — a great feature for those who are always on the go and hate bringing those bulky powerbanks.
Our verdict
The vivo V27e won’t make you go ‘wow’ like the super vivo x90 does. But for an affordable midrange phone, that has a fantastic display, elegant style, a smooth performance for everyday tasks in both work and play, to go with unique and novel camera features such as the Aura Portrait Algorithm, the vivo V27e is a winner on its own.
Price
The vivo V27e retails for P16,999 while the vivo V27 5G is at P24,999. Both variants are now available for purchase in all vivo official stores nationwide. They are also available for purchase on vivo’s official website and Shopee, Lazada and TikTok pages.