Priced at ₹27,999, the OPPO F27 Pro+ presents a conundrum. Despite its sleek design and sturdy build, its underwhelming processor, lackluster camera, and HDR-less display make it a tough sell. The software, riddled with bloatware, detracts from its otherwise premium exterior. Yet, if you cherish a beautifully designed phone with exceptional durability and impressive battery life, the OPPO F27 Pro+ does stand out under ₹30,000. It’s a decent buy for those who prioritise aesthetics and longevity over performance.
The OPPO F27 Pro+ made headlines by being India’s very first IP69-rated phone. The phone makes tall durability claims as well backed by a flagship Gorilla Glass Victus 2 display protection and an SGS 5 Stars Drop resistance certification, making it stand out to those who value durability above all. The claims got me pretty excited, and I knew I had to get my hands on the device to test them out. So, is the phone as water-resistant and durable as it claims? I will have the answer for you in my review. But that’s not all I wanted to test. To double down on the design and durability mantra, the OPPO F27 Pro+ makes a significant number of sacrifices in terms of raw processing power, camera prowess, and more. So, is the OPPO F27 Pro+ still a worthy phone to consider at a hefty price of ₹27,999? I will reveal that and more in my detailed OPPO F27 Pro+ review!
Build and design is the OPPO F27 Pro+’s strong point
The OPPO F27 Pro+ is undeniably a gorgeous smartphone. Its curves and contours, complemented by a suave vegan leather rear panel, make it stand out immediately. The rear panel features a central strip with an interesting pattern, and the camera module is surrounded by a glossy silver ring, giving the design an ornate appearance. I got the Midnight Navy colour for review which looks stunning. The Dusk Pink variant is no slouch too.
The OPPO F27 Pro+ stands out not only for its sleek design but also for its impressive slimness and light weight, measuring just 7.9 mm thick and weighing only 177 g. This makes the phone comfortable to hold for extended periods. Its in-display fingerprint sensor is both speedy and accurate, and its buttons are tactile. However, the absence of stereo speakers and an IR blaster is disappointing given its price range.
Despite these omissions, the phone’s biggest selling point is its exceptional durability in the mid-range segment. The OPPO F27 Pro+ is the first phone in India with an IP69 rating, meaning it can withstand high-pressure, high-temperature water jets, and steam cleaning. Additionally, it boasts IP68 and IP66 ratings, allowing it to survive splashes and submersion in water up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
The durability features don’t stop there. The OPPO F27 Pro+ includes a “Damage-Proof 360° Armour Body”, incorporating various measures to ensure drop resistance from up to 1.8 meters. It features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for display protection and has a Bionic sponge cushioning inside for enhanced protection. The phone has even received a five-star rating for drop resistance from SGS.
We tested OPPO’s claims, and the phone survived 2 hours submerged in a fish bowl and it survived 5 drops without a screen guard straight on its display from a height of 5 feet and 9 inches. You can check out our findings on the Digit Mobiles YouTube channel (video coming soon), where we show you how we tested the phone’s durability. Overall, the OPPO F27 Pro+ impresses not only with its design but also with its rock-solid build.
The Display lacks HDR
Despite featuring the flagship Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, the OPPO F27 Pro+’s display game is fairly mediocre. It boasts a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, but falls short in brightness and lacks HDR support. This limitation means you cannot view HDR content on OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
The OPPO F27 Pro+ has a maximum peak brightness of 950 nits, and in High Brightness Mode (HBM), the display can reach up to 800 nits. However, during my sunlight test in HBM, the brightness reading was just 673 nits, which is on the lower range of the spectrum for mid-range smartphones. As a result, screen legibility on bright days suffered.
When consuming content on this phone, the FHD+ resolution and 10-bit display ensure crisp visuals and decent colors. However, the lack of HDR support and stereo speakers significantly impacts the overall entertainment and immersion experience.
The OPPO F27 Pro+ is underpowered
There’s no way to sugarcoat this, the OPPO F27 Pro+ fails severely in terms of performance. Equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, its performance is notably inferior compared to its competitors. Given that the Dimensity 7050 is typically found in phones priced around ₹15,000, it’s disappointing to see it in a phone costing ₹28K. Additionally, the device features 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage, with no support for storage expansion.
In benchmark tests, including CPU benchmarks like AnTuTu, GeekBench, and PCMark Work, and GPU benchmarks such as 3D Mark and GFXBench, the OPPO F27 Pro+ consistently scored lower than cheaper alternatives. Competitors like the Infinix GT 20 Pro (review), OnePlus Nord CE4 (review), and Nothing Phone (2a) (review), which are priced ₹2-3K less, outperformed it in every single benchmark I ran.
On the positive side, the phone did not throttle in our tests. In our CPU Throttling Test, it maintained performance without throttling even after 15 minutes with 20 threads active.
However, real-world performance was disappointing. While the phone handles basic tasks adequately, it lags and stutters during intensive activities such as video editing and gaming. The gaming experience is subpar, with popular titles like BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile only running somewhat smoothly on the lowest graphic settings.
The software, ColorOS 14 on top of Android 14, is cluttered with unnecessary bloatware and frequent ads, which hinder the overall user experience. Overall, this phone is not suitable for power users or gamers, but it could be a decent option for those who use their phone primarily for basic tasks.
As for AI, the phone scored 27/100 in our Digit AI-Q tests. It has a couple of AI features baked in such as AI Eraser, Auto Pixelate, Portrait Blur, and more, however, it didn’t do too well in our AI benchmarks resulting in the low score.
The Cameras are a disappointment
The string of disappointment continues. The OPPO F27 Pro+ has a very weak camera setup. The phone packs a dual camera setup consisting of a 64 MP primary camera with no OIS and a token 2 MP portrait lens. There’s no ultrawide, no macro, no telephoto shooter here, which is quite pitiful at ₹28,000.
The primary camera clicks lacklustre pictures with an oversharpened look and overly saturated colours. The lack of OIS means that shots come out blurry even if your hand shakes a bit. This is compounded at night, since Night Mode shots require you to keep your hand steady for longer, so the low-light shots are almost always blurry or out of focus. Portraits look decent, but the edge cutout and skin tone representation could be better.
Overall, I’m very displeased with the OPPO F27 Pro+’s camera performance, there is nothing that could excuse a pricey phone like this one serving up the kind of camera performance we would expect from a phone costing ₹10-15K.
Battery life on the OPPO F27 Pro+ is excellent
Given that the OPPO F27 Pro+ has a large 5,000 mAh battery and it has an weak processor that is not to power-hungry, the phone’s battery lasts quite long, which is a silver lining to the whole mediocre performance debacle.
During my testing, I was constantly getting a screen-on time of 9-10 hours, which is pretty good for most users. In fact, if you’re a light user, this phone can go without being charged for two whole days. In our 4K video loop test, the phone lasted a whopping 1,012 minutes, which is nearly 17 hours. So, it’s safe to say that if battery life is your primary concern, the OPPO F27 Pro+ has you covered.
The phone supports 67 W SUPERVOOC charging, and has the charger provided inside the retail box. It charged the phone from 0-100 in just 52 minutes.
Should you even buy the OPPO F27 Pro+?
Priced at ₹27,999, the OPPO F27 Pro+ presents a conundrum. Despite its sleek design and sturdy build, its underwhelming processor, lackluster camera, and HDR-less display make it a tough sell. The software, riddled with bloatware, detracts from its otherwise premium exterior. Yet, if you cherish a beautifully designed phone with exceptional durability and impressive battery life, the OPPO F27 Pro+ does stand out under ₹30,000. It’s a decent buy for those who prioritise aesthetics and longevity over performance.
However, if you’re a gamer seeking speed, a content lover craving vivid visuals, or a photography enthusiast, look elsewhere. Consider the OnePlus Nord CE4, Nothing Phone (2a), or Infinix GT 20 Pro. And if you can stretch your budget by just ₹2,000, the blisteringly fast POCO F6 is within reach.
OPPO F27 Pro+ 5G Key Specs, Price and Launch Date
| Release Date: | 17 Jun, 2024 |
| Market Status: | Launched |
Key Specifications
Storage
128 GB
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Battery capacity (mAh)
5000
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Rear Camera Megapixel
64 + 2
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Screen size (in inches)
6.7
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Dhriti Datta
Perpetually sporting a death stare, this one can be seen tinkering around with her smartphone which she holds more dear than life itself and stuffing her face with copious amounts of bacon. View Full Profile
