Honor 400 review: Striking the right balance

Finest Costs At the moment: Honor 400

£449.99

Final yr’s Honor 200 made a splash by providing nice pictures at a really affordable worth level. It stood out with its devoted 2.5x telephoto and the superb Studio Harcourt portrait mode, which landed first with the 200 collection telephones.

Now, its successor has arrived (there isn’t any Honor 300), however Honor is taking a barely totally different strategy. This mannequin ditches the telephoto, counting on an upgraded 200Mp most important sensor and AI-powered tremendous zoom tech as a substitute.

It’s additionally considerably cheaper, launching at £399.99, somewhat than £499 making it extra of a risk for the Tech Advisor’s finest mid-range telephones record.

Moreover, regardless of the lower cost, there are many upgrades right here. It now has a brighter show, an IP ranking, an even bigger battery and loads of new software program options.

The query is, has Honor managed to strike an ideal steadiness of upgrades and compromises for a £400-ish cellphone? The competitors is stiff, however this mannequin has lots to supply. Let’s see what it’s all about.

Design & Construct

• Aluminium body, glass again
• 184g
• IP65 rated

The Honor 400 takes the design in a barely totally different course from final yr’s 200. There are now not clean micro curves on the fringe of the show and on the rear panel, each are utterly flat, as are the facet rails.

The brand new form makes it really feel similar to an iPhone 16, or the Samsung Galaxy S25+, however this one’s considerably cheaper than both of these.

Luke Baker

Nevertheless, judging by its feel and look, you might simply mistake it for an expensive flagship gadget. I’d usually say the twin rear cameras give away its mid-range standing, however now that the Galaxy S25 Edge exists, that’s now not strictly true.

The 400s rear is constructed from glass with a clean matte really feel, and the body is constructed from plastic, but when it weren’t for the dearth of antenna strains, you’d by no means be capable to inform. I used to be definitely fooled. It’s a comparatively light-weight cellphone, at simply 184g, nevertheless it feels dense and strong all through.

I’ve the Midnight Black mannequin in for testing, which has a matte end on the rear. I really like the best way matt telephones look, however I’m all the time involved about fingerprint smudges. Fortunately, with this mannequin, it’s not a difficulty within the slightest; it all the time appears pristine.

Luke Baker

In order for you one thing that stands out a little bit extra, chances are you’ll be tempted by the Desert Gold possibility. In the meantime, the Meteor Silver colourway is a lighter possibility with a equally skilled look.

The design of the digital camera module has modified fairly dramatically since final yr; The Honor 200 collection telephones had a somewhat uncommon oval-shaped design, and I wasn’t too eager on it. This new structure jogs my memory of Huawei’s Pura 70 collection telephones, which I believe look nice. For my part, it’s a change for the higher.

Final yr’s Honor 200 lacked an IP ranking, which some discovered off-putting, however that’s been resolved this time round. The Honor 400 is IP65 rated, which suggests it’s resistant to mud ingress, and it’ll deal with jets of water from all instructions.

It’s very effectively sealed in opposition to the weather, simply don’t go submerging it absolutely.

Luke Baker

On a associated observe, this cellphone additionally options Honor’s wonderful “Tremendous Rainproof Contact.” So should you’re out in moist climate, the touchscreen will nonetheless work as anticipated – that’s an enormous win should you dwell within the UK like me.

Display & Audio system

• 6.55-inch 1200 x 2664 OLED 120Hz
• 5000 nits peak brightness
• Stereo audio system

The Honor 400 has a 6.55-inch display, which makes it larger than the usual iPhone 16 or Galaxy S25, however smaller than the S25+. I wouldn’t precisely name it a compact cellphone, however these with smaller palms will discover this simpler to wield than any bumper-sized flagship.

Luke Baker

It’s a 120Hz OLED panel with a 1200 x 2664 decision and a peak brightness of 5000 nits. These are very spectacular specs at this worth level, and as you may think, the panel appears great.

It’s greater than shiny sufficient to compete with direct daylight, colors are vibrant and correct, and the darkish areas are deep and inky. In the event you watch some HDR content material, the panel actually exhibits what it will possibly do. The dynamic vary is superb, and the highlights are dazzling.

As we’ve seen with lots of current Honor gadgets, the display comes with a plethora of eye care certifications and options. The record contains 3840Hz PWM dimming, low blue gentle mode, AI defocus mode, circadian night time show, movement illness reduction and extra.

In the event you’re involved about eye well being, that is among the many finest choices available on the market.

Luke Baker

The cellphone has twin stereo audio system positioned on the highest and backside sides.

It’s not a given on this worth vary, and I’m all the time glad to see a correct stereo set. The sound high quality is superb, there’s a number of element, and extra low-end response than most mid-rangers can present, however they’re not particularly loud.

In the event you max out the amount, an icon seems on display to let you understand you have got activated “200% excessive quantity mode”, however even then, it’s a little bit underwhelming. It’ll get the job completed at dwelling, however if you wish to get the celebration began, take into account selecting up among the best Bluetooth audio system.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage

The Honor 400 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. Bizarrely, that’s the very same chip present in final yr’s cellphone. Based mostly on that alone, we have already got a good concept of how this cellphone will carry out.

It’ll be greater than highly effective sufficient for day-to-day duties, however avid gamers could also be left wanting extra.

Luke Baker

Except for the processor, the cellphone comes outfitted with 8GB of RAM and both 256- or 512GB of storage. I’m all the time happy to see 256GB provided as a base mannequin, as in 2025, 128GB can really feel somewhat limiting.

As anticipated, the cellphone by no means felt sluggish or underpowered whereas I used to be checking e mail, streaming movies and searching social media feeds. In reality, even throughout heavy multitasking, the cellphone by no means stuttered or struggled to maintain up.

It’s gaming the place this cellphone’s mid-range worth level turns into extra obvious. It could actually run the entire most demanding titles, however you’ll have to stay to decrease graphical presets to get pleasure from secure framerates.

Luke Baker

I discovered titles like Genshin Impression and Zenless Zone Zero may maintain a secure 30fps on the Medium graphics preset, whereas 60fps was secure on Low settings. It’s completely playable, however there are different, extra highly effective, choices on this worth vary if gaming is your precedence.

Honor 400 benchmarks

Cameras

• 200 Mp f/1.9 most important digital camera
• 12 Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide
• 50 Mp, f/2.1 selfie digital camera

The Honor 400 has a somewhat uncommon digital camera configuration. The devoted telephoto lens from final yr’s mannequin is gone, however the primary sensor has been upgraded massively. It’s now a 200Mp unit with a 1/1.4-inch sensor.

Luke Baker

It appears to be the identical sensor that the Xiaomi 15 Extremely and Vivo X200 Professional use for his or her telephoto cameras. For my part, they’re two of the very best digital camera telephones out there, and that’s largely due to the telephoto high quality.

That is the primary time I’ve seen it used as a most important sensor, and it performs simply as effectively, with distinctive readability and element. Nevertheless, it’s price noting that two of my favorite points of the aforementioned flagship telephotos don’t apply right here. With a 27mm equal focal size, you don’t get the identical background compression as an 85mm shot, and it doesn’t have the identical macro capabilities both.

Nonetheless, for close-ups, this comparatively giant sensor does produce some good pure bokeh. Plus, you’ll be able to all the time activate Honor’s wonderful Studio Harcourt portrait mode whenever you want some further topic separation.

There’s no devoted telephoto on this mannequin (you want the Honor 400 Professional for that) however with a high-resolution 200Mp most important sensor, you’ll be able to digitally zoom fairly far, as long as there’s sufficient gentle. I discovered that outcomes have been first rate as much as round 10x, however pushing it additional regarded fairly terrible.

Nevertheless, the Honor 400 has one other trick up its sleeve. It helps AI Tremendous Zoom, identical to the flagship Magic 7 Professional. At 15x zoom and above, an AI toggle seems on display, and should you activate it, your ensuing picture will likely be upscaled within the cloud.

I had blended outcomes with this on the Magic 7 Professional, nevertheless it appears to be getting higher over time. The Honor 400 produced far more life like outcomes. In fact, it nonetheless made up superfluous particulars on occasion, however that’s what AI does. The large distinction right here is that the zoom maxes out at 30x, somewhat than 100x.

The ultrawide on this mannequin appears to be the identical as final yr’s, and that’s not nice information. It does have autofocus and macro capabilities, which is helpful, however it will possibly’t come near the standard of the primary sensor. It actually struggles at night time, too.

The selfie digital camera takes good photographs within the daylight, nevertheless it lacks autofocus, and it will get grainy in low-light situations. It’s a good exhibiting, however there are higher choices should you’re a selfie addict.

For video taking pictures, you’ll be able to seize at as much as 4K 30fps on all lenses, however in order for you 60fps you’ll want to modify all the way down to 1080p. Stabilisation is superb, however switching between lenses isn’t the smoothest, so sticking to at least one focal size whereas recording is perhaps the best way to go.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5300mAh battery
• 66W wired charging
• No wi-fi charging

The Honor 400 has a 5300mAh battery, a modest improve on the Honor 200’s 5200mAh battery. It’s utilizing the newest silicon-carbon tech, and it’s an even bigger battery than you’ll discover in most equally priced telephones, so there’s nothing to complain about right here.

Charging, alternatively, has seen a little bit of a downgrade. It’s now 66W, somewhat than 100W, and also you now not get a cost within the field, a minimum of in Europe.

Luke Baker

Nonetheless, 66W charging is fairly fast, as long as you have got an appropriate energy adapter. I discovered it may take the gadget from absolutely lifeless to over 75% charged in simply half an hour. For most individuals’s wants, that’s greater than fast sufficient.

Battery life has been implausible all through my testing, too. I shouldn’t be stunned, as I used to be impressed by the Magic 7 Professional’s longevity, and this has the identical capability and OS, with a much less power-hungry chip. I used to be persistently getting round two days of use on a cost, it’s a pleasure to dwell with.

Software program & Apps

• Magic OS 9, primarily based on Android 15
• A lot of AI options
• The primary cellphone to come back with Google Picture to Video
• An enormous improve on software program assist promise

The Honor 400 runs Magic OS 9, the newest model of Honor’s Android 15 pores and skin. It’s a divisive working system that strays fairly removed from the inventory Android expertise, however personally, I’ve change into fairly keen on it.

Luke Baker

In some methods, it feels extra like iOS than Android, however as somebody who often switches between the 2, I really feel proper at dwelling. The notifications and settings shade are cut up and accessed with swipes from totally different sides of the show, there’s no app drawer by default, and there are even Honor’s personal variations of Dynamic Island and StandBy mode.

A number of the battery-saving measures are a little bit excessive, however that may be remedied by tweaking choices within the settings menu. There’s additionally a little bit of bloat to scrub up whenever you first arrange the gadget, nevertheless it’s nothing too egregious, and you’ll have all of it eliminated in a matter of minutes.

In the event you’ve used an Honor gadget in the previous few years, none of that is new. What’s totally different this time is that Honor has added a slew of latest AI options into the combo. Some debuted early final yr, like Magic Portal, however there’s a lot extra to discover now.

Luke Baker

One of many large ones is Google’s new Picture to Video software, which is debuting first on the Honor 400 collection telephones. This allows you to take any picture, hit a button, and it’ll spit out a 5-second video. It’s fairly wild, and it may be unpredictable, however that’s a part of the enjoyable.

There’s no prompting or management of any sort, the AI will simply do because it sees match. Generally it’s easy, like water flowing down a stream, or somebody smiling and blinking, and typically it’s simply weird, like a vase of flowers that telescopes into an even bigger one. In any case, the outcomes look shockingly life like.

It is a function that’s developed by Google (like Circle to Search), so it would arrive on different telephones sooner or later, nevertheless it’s touchdown right here first. It’s free for now, nevertheless it feels like Google might cost for the privilege sooner or later. Personally, I may by no means think about myself paying for one thing like this, nevertheless it’ll possible be bundled with extra helpful stuff like Google Photographs and Gemini options.

Honor’s personal AI purposes have a tendency extra towards the sensible facet. There’s all the same old stuff, like AI translation, summarisation and writing instruments, plus some extra uncommon ones like AI deepfake safety for video calls.

Luke Baker

Nevertheless, the picture modifying instruments impressed me probably the most. The thing eraser is superb and the brand new AI outpainting function lets you develop photos to have a wider discipline of view, which might be very helpful. Reflection elimination works fairly effectively, too. We’ve seen related options from opponents however Honor’s implementation could be very spectacular.

It’s additionally price mentioning the software program assist phrases. Honor is now promising 6 years of main Android OS upgrades and 6 years of safety patches for the 400 collection. It’s an enormous enchancment over the thre Android upgrades and 4 years of safety patches promised for final yr’s fashions and just one yr off Samsung and Google.

Value & Availability

The Honor 400 launched on 22 Might 2025 within the UK, alongside the Honor 400 Professional. It’s out there to order outright from Honor’s website and authorised retailers like Amazon, Argos, Currys and Very.

It can even be out there on contract from community suppliers like Three, EE O2, Vodaphone and Tesco Cell.

Globally, the Honor 400 collection will likely be out there in most areas, however Honor telephones hardly ever launch within the US, and this one’s no totally different.

The Honor 400 retails for £399.99 with 256GB of storage or £449 with 512GB storage.

Within the EU, it’ll price you €499 for 256GB or €549 for 512GB.

Try our record of the very best mid-range telephones for extra alternate options.

Must you purchase the Honor 400?

The Honor 400 is a compelling all-rounder at a really approachable worth level. It appears and feels nice, the display is beautiful, the cameras are good and the battery lasts for ages. The software program won’t be to everybody’s style, nevertheless it works effectively for me, and there are many new AI options to check out.

Honor appears to be gunning for the Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy A56 with this launch, and it stands up effectively in comparison with both. It’s considerably cheaper than each, however typically bests them in specs. Neither can match the battery capability and charging speeds, for instance, and it’s the one one with a 200Mp snapper.

That mentioned, there are many different tempting fashions on this worth vary. The Nothing Telephone (3a) and (3a) Professional are undoubtedly price contemplating, and should you’re a gamer, the equally priced Poco F7 Professional blows all of those telephones out of the water with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

In the event you’re on the lookout for a mix of photographic chops and AI smarts across the £400 mark, although, the Honor 400 stands out as among the best choices out there.

Specs

• Magic OS 9, primarily based on Android 15
• 6.55-inch, 1200 x 2664, OLED, 120Hz
• Optical under-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage
• Cameras:
• 200Mp most important sensor
• 12Mp ultrawide
• 50Mp selfie digital camera
• As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 5300mAh battery
• 66W wired charging
• 156.6 x 73.8 x 9.9 mm (folded)
• IP65 licensed
• 184g
• Colors: Midnight Black / Meteor Silver / Desert Gold