Vivo X27 Pro full review: good, but no match for Oppo Reno, OnePlus 7 Pro from same manufacturer

In its favour is its 6.7-inch display and wild gradient design on rear, but Vivo’s processor is low-powered and other features are standard on Chinese phones

The same company’s Oppo Reno 10X Zoom Edition and OnePlus 7 Pro are more powerful and take better photos, and Realme X has similar specs at half the price

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The Vivo X27 Pro is BBK’s weakest device compared to its other similar handsets – the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom Edition, OnePlus 7 Pro, and Realme X. Photo: Ben Sin

Published: 2:56pm, 28 May 2019Updated: 8:00pm, 28 May 2019

In the space of six weeks, Chinese phone maker BBK Electronics has released four very similar handsets – the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom Edition, OnePlus 7 Pro, Realme X and Vivo X27 Pro.

They all come with a pop-up selfie camera, in-display fingerprint scanner, 48-megapixel camera sensor sourced from Sony, and all-screen design. I’ve been testing all four devices for the past couple of weeks and the Vivo is the weak link among this group.

The Vivo X27 Pro is tall (a 6.7-inch screen) and heavy (200 grams). The back glass panel has one of the wildest gradient designs seen yet, reflecting a series of rainbow patterns that surround the triple-camera module. The lens system is headlined by a 48-megapixel Sony IMX sensor, flanked by a wide-angle lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

The Vivo X27 Pro with its retractable selfie-camera popped out. It’s a bigger module than usual because it houses a 32-megapixel lens and two LED lights. Photo: Ben Sin

The front-facing pop-up camera has a huge 32-megapixel lens, and is flanked by two LED light strips that Vivo claims help illuminate the face; I find them more gimmicky than useful.

Inside is a Snapdragon 710 chipset, which is disappointingly low-powered. The pop-up cameras on the recent Oppo and OnePlus are powered by the superior 855 chipset. There’s a fingerprint sensor embedded underneath the screen and a headphone jack.