Vivo V27 Pro vs OnePlus 11R: Which is India's best smartphone under Rs 40,000 in 2023?

The Vivo V27 series was unveiled in India last week. The line-up brings two new smartphones into the fray, including the Vivo V27 and Vivo V27 Pro. We will focus on the top-end phone in the line-up during this comparison, the Vivo V27 Pro 5G.

The Vivo V27 Pro price in India starts from Rs 37,999. In our first impressions of the Vivo V27 Pro, we noted that it featured significant upgrades over its predecessor and could very-well contend for the spot of best smartphone under Rs 40,000 in India. And in that aspect, it has one main competitor for the title of best smartphone under 40,000 in 2023, the OnePlus 11R 5G. So let’s compare the specifications of the Vivo V27 Pro 5G and OnePlus 11R and see who comes out on top.

OnePlus 11R 5G vs Vivo V27 Pro 5G

When it comes to the design, the sleek aesthetics of the Vivo V27 Pro coupled with the display’s extreme curvature gives the Vivo V27 Pro a slight edge in its design. Additionally, the V27 Pro also has a unique colour charging back panel, which does give it an edge in the aesthetics department. On the flip side, the OnePlus 11R 5G features glass protection on the front and back as well as a metal frame as opposed to a plastic frame on the Vivo V27 Pro. The Vivo V27 Pro is easily one of the sleekest smartphones we’ve used and it doesn’t feel cheap but the OnePlus 11R does have the edge in terms of overall build quality.

Also Read: Vivo V27 Pro Review in Five Minutes: Is it the best smartphone under Rs 40,000 in India?

Display

The Vivo V27 Pro has a slightly larger screen with a more curvature along the sides, giving you a more immersive viewing experience. On the other hand, the OnePlus 11R 5G opts for a more adaptive display with improved ADFR algorithm for an adaptive refresh rates from 40-120Hz. Additionally, the touch sampling rate on the OnePlus 11R tops out at 360Hz, while the V27 Pro features a touch sampling rate up to 240Hz.

Performance

In terms of performance, both devices can multitask and game on high graphics without much effort. Both devices also run pretty cool under pressure. However, the OnePlus 11R 5G’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip does have an edge over the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC, both in gaming and benchmarking. Additionally, the OnePlus 11R also uses faster LPDDR5X RAM as opposed to LPDDR5 on the V27 Pro.

Battery & Software

Since we haven’t tested the battery life on the OnePlus 11R, we’ll go solely by capacity, where OnePlus has yet another edge. Additionally, the charging speed on the OnePlus 11R is higher than that on the V27 Pro. The OnePlus 11R will also receive three years of major OS updates and four years of security updates. Vivo is yet to specify the exact update cycle for the V27 Pro.

Cameras

We haven’t tested the camera on the OnePlus 11R 5G, while our initial impressions of the main camera on the V27 Pro are mostly positive. The OnePlus 11R 5G features a 50 MP Sony IMX890 primary sensor with OIS. The Vivo V27 Pro, on the other hand, get a 50 MP Sony IMX766V main sensor with OIS. It is worth noting that the OnePlus 11R 5G’s main camera uses a flagship-grade sensor, which in theory should give it a slight edge over the V27 Pro but we haven’t gotten our hands on the Vivo V27 Pro, so we can call this down the middle.

Both the Vivo V27 Pro and the OnePlus 11R feature an 8 MP ultrawide shooter and a third macro unit. On the front, the V27 Pro has a 50 MP selfie camera, while the OnePlus 11R gets a standard a 16 MP selfie camera. On paper, the V27 Pro’s 50 MP camera appears to have the upper hand but without testing the OnePlus 11R, it is hard to tell which one comes up on top. In terms of camera hardware, we’ll call it down the middle.

Here's what we think!

When it comes to performance, battery, charging, and software, the OnePlus 11R clearly has the upper hand. It also features a tougher build and does appear to come out on top more often than not during this comparison. However, the Vivo V27 Pro is the better looking of the two phones with its sleek design and curved display. Despite the performance and battery gains over the V27 Pro, we didn’t feel like the phone was lacking in any area during our first impressions.