This is flagship killer zone, the Rs 35,000 – Rs 45,000 price band where value conscious consumers look for devices that can do flagship things without breaking the bank. Vivo’s V27 Pro is the newest device to land in this busy segment. This is not an easy price point. Consumers want style, performance, battery life and a capable camera system that won’t leave them too far behind in everyday scenarios. The V27 Pro promises all of this and a little more. Is this the flagship killer to buy?

Beat Monday morning blues

The V27 Pro joins a long list of devices with a colour changing trick. The back panel swings from powder blue to a deeper blue when you expose it to direct sunlight – we checked out the Magic Blue colour option. There’s also a more sober Noble Black colour option. Vivo has finished the rear of the device with ‘Fluorite AG’ glass. It’s not just the colour changing trick, this device also feels good in your hand with its 182 gm footprint. It’s refreshing to see more devices focus on a practical, weightless form factor. The other thing you will notice is the slim rear camera design that ensures this device doesn’t wobble when you place it on a table or any other surface.

All-round camera

Vivo finds the balance between a front cam that will please selfie fiends and a triple rear cam that has quite a few tricks up its sleeve. The default mode on the 50MP Selfie shooter is Portrait mode. It’s a great way to ensure you snap more images with the selfie camera’s portrait mode. It’s one of the best at this price point. The triple rear cam combines a 50MP primary lens, an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro lens. Portrait images on this rear cam are quite impressive too. You also get a clever ‘Made for India’ feature. A Wedding Style Portrait mode with warm and pastel shades with a blend of gold and pink tones that’s totally ‘shaadi’ proof. Vivo also scores with lowlight images (the Super Night mode on the V27 Pro is quite effective)

Flagship killer

The V27 Pro is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 8200 processor. It’s the same processor that propels the iQOO Neo 7 5G. Our review unit came with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of Internal storage. The V27 Pro is also available in 8GB/256GB and 12GB/256 versions. The device didn’t stutter even when we pushed it and has enough firepower for most users. It notched a respectable score of 3366 in our Geekbench benchmark test (multi-core). One of our favourite features is the curved 6.78-ibch FHD+ AMOLED display (2400 x 1080 pixels). Colours are quite vibrant while the 120Hz refresh rate keeps things ultra-smooth. This HDR0+ display makes for a great binge watch screen, we only wish Vivo had added stereo speakers; the bottom-firing mono speaker doesn’t quite keep up with this immersive display.

Vivo has packed a 66W charger in the box that powers this device in quick time. The 4600 mAh battery won’t let you down. It’s one more reason that makes the Vivo V27 Pro a great option at it’s asking price.

The Vivo V27 Pro comes in Magic Blue and Noble Black. It costs Rs 37,999 (8GB/128GB), Rs 39,999 (8GB/256GB) and Rs 42,999 (12GB/256GB). Vivo is offering an instant Rs 3,000 cashback on HDFC, ICICI and Kotak cards.