Honor 400 Pro Review: Jack of All Trades

Final yr’s Honor 200 Professional cemented itself as a extra inexpensive mid-range (nearly) different to the standard flagship flock. It supplied a really flagship-like expertise, however with a extra approachable £699 .99price, and only a few compromises.

With the Honor 400 Professional, the model is trying to additional enhance on that providing. It is available in on the similar worth, however it has a quicker chip inside, the next IP ranking, extra megapixels, a barely bigger battery, and naturally, loads of AI options.

Thus far, so good, however the one solution to actually know what it’s like is to place it to the take a look at. After utilizing it as my major cellphone for the previous week, right here’s what I’ve discovered concerning the Honor 400 Professional.

Design & Construct

• Plastic body, curved glass again
• 205g
• IP68 / IP69 rated

The Honor 400 Professional has a quad-curved design on its entrance and rear, with gently curved aspect rails becoming a member of the 2. It’s an analogous form to the Magic 7 Professional and Oppo Discover X8 Professional, which supplies it a flagship-like vibe, regardless of remaining comparatively inexpensive.

Luke Baker

The obvious giveaway that we’re coping with a mid-ranger is the plastic body. In all honesty, I don’t have any considerations about sturdiness, the cellphone feels rock stable – however with out the cool feeling of an aluminium body, you may inform that this one’s on the extra inexpensive aspect.

On the plus aspect, it permits the cellphone to be pretty light-weight. At 205g, it’s lighter than most 6.7-inch handsets, and that feels nice in your pocket. It additionally doesn’t have an effect on the sealing, because the Honor 400 Professional has been awarded the best IP68/69 ranking for mud and water resistance.

There’s a brand new digital camera structure for this yr, which sees the lenses positioned in a triangular formation. It jogs my memory of a cross between the iPhone digital camera and the Huawei Pura 70-series. I wasn’t very keen on final yr’s oval design, so I’d name this a little bit of a glow-up.

Luke Baker

I’ve the Lunar Gray model in for testing, which has a silky-feeling matte glass again. It’s fully resistant to fingerprint smudges, and it’s deceptively grippy, which is nice information, as there’s no case included within the field. It’s additionally accessible in Midnight Black, which options black rear and aspect rails for a stealthy, skilled look.

Display & Audio system

• 6.7-inch, 2800 x 1280, OLED, 120Hz
• 5000 nits peak brightness
• Stereo audio system

The Honor 400 Professional has a large 6.7-inch OLED panel with an adaptive 120Hz refresh price. Peak brightness is supposedly 1000 nits increased than final yr’s mannequin, which makes it very straightforward to see if you’re out within the sunshine, and it additionally appears to be like nice if you’re watching HDR content material.

Luke Baker

Arguably, essentially the most impactful change with this mannequin is the form of the glass. The Honor 200 Professional had a conventional curved design, with sweeping curves on the left and proper sides of the show, whereas the 400 Professional has a quad micro curve design. 

I wrestle to get together with curved shows, as I typically find yourself swiping the sting of the show by accident, however these new micro curve designs remedy the issue totally. A lot of the show is flat, and the curves have a sharper radius that begins on the bezel. It signifies that gesture controls nonetheless really feel tremendous easy, however unintentional touches are fully eradicated.

Luke Baker

All in all, I actually haven’t any complaints concerning the show. It’s vibrant and vivid with colors that seem correct, together with the distinctive distinction that solely OLED panels can present.

I examined the usual Honor 400 earlier than transferring on to the Professional, and whereas the audio system sounded good, they weren’t notably loud. I assumed I used to be in for extra of the identical with the Professional, however they’re far more highly effective. There’s not as a lot bass response because the audio system on the model’s flagship Magic 7 Professional, however they sound very first rate.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage

The Honour 400 Professional runs on Qualcomm’s last-gen flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It’s a observe that we’re seeing extra mid-rangers undertake this yr, maybe as a result of there doesn’t appear to be an 8s Gen 3 equal for the 8 Elite on the time of writing.

Luke Baker

I’m all for it. The 8 Gen 3 continues to be a supremely highly effective chipset, and never way back, it was one of the best that cash may purchase. Making it accessible in additional inexpensive handsets creates a greater worth proposition in comparison with last-gen flagship refurbs.

This chip is paired with 12GB of RAM and both 256GB or 512GB of storage. Greater than sufficient for most individuals’s wants.

As you would possibly anticipate, with this a lot horsepower below the hood, the Honor 400 Professional feels lightning fast. Apps open immediately, swiping across the OS is easy as will be, and multitasking poses no risk.

Luke Baker

In fact, this efficiency extends to gaming, too. The Honor 400 Professional will fortunately play any title you may throw at it on excessive graphics settings with relative ease.

I loved a couple of hours of Genshin Impression on excessive settings at 60fps, and I by no means seen any stutters or slowdowns. The cellphone does get fairly toasty throughout lengthy classes, however when you have a case on it, I’m certain it’ll be a lot much less noticeable.

Honor 400 Professional benchmarks

Cameras

• 200 Mp f/1.9 major digital camera
• 50 Mp f/2 3x telephoto
• 12 Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide
• 50 Mp, f/2.1 selfie digital camera

The Honor 400 has an analogous digital camera setup to its non-Professional sibling, however it provides a separate 3x telephoto to the equation. So, you must get nicer pictures if you zoom in.

In any other case, you get the identical extremely high-resolution 200Mp 1/1.4-inch major sensor and 12Mp f/2.2 ultrawide. The principle sensor is a wholesome improve in comparison with final yr’s mannequin, however the ultrawide and telephoto appear to make use of the identical sensors because the 200 Professional. The one distinction is that the telephoto is a bit more zoomed in, at 3x, moderately than 2.5x.

Whereas the 200Mp major sensor shared by each 400-series gadgets can produce first rate digitally cropped pictures, the devoted telephoto nonetheless offers a transparent benefit. Pictures on the native 3x FOV are noticeably sharper and extra detailed, and if you push the zoom additional, that also stays true.

It’s simply as noticeable at evening. Zoomed-in pictures from the usual Honor 400 lack element and change into noisy, whereas the Honor 400 Professional’s devoted telephoto permits for a lot cleaner low-light snaps.

It will get slightly extra difficult at 15x zoom and above, the place you may select to make use of AI to upscale the picture, similar to the model’s flagship Magic 7 Professional. The AI processing does plenty of heavy lifting right here, and the outcomes change into way more comparable. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless a bonus to the Professional, as it could actually zoom all the best way to 50x, whereas the usual 400 maxes out at 30x.

I’ve been more than happy with the pictures from the Honor 400 Professional. The picture processing could be a little hit or miss (as I’ve discovered with most Honor telephones), however when it hits, it’s able to completely gorgeous outcomes.

The weak level of the system is macro pictures. It makes use of the ultrawide for macro pictures, which is the least spectacular lens of the trio, and it means it’s important to get the lens extraordinarily near the topic, often leading to shadows.

The cellphone affords the identical wonderful Studio Harcourt portrait results that debuted with the 200-series final yr. On this mannequin, they’re simply as gorgeous as ever, and whether or not you’re capturing individuals or pets, you may anticipate distinctive outcomes.

The selfie digital camera is unchanged from final yr, and that’s a disgrace, as a result of it’s slightly underwhelming. Don’t get me mistaken, you may take some nice selfies with it, however when a cellphone is so good at capturing portraits with the rear lenses, absolutely it’d make sense to beef up the selfie snapper, too.

For video seize, the Honor 400 Professional can shoot at as much as 4K 60 fps on the principle and telephoto cameras, whereas the ultrawide and selfie cameras max out at 4K 30 fps. It’s one other space with a transparent leg-up over the usual 400, which maxes out at 4K 30 fps on all of the rear lenses.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5300 mAh battery
• 100W wired charging
• 50W wi-fi charging

The Honour 400 Professional has a 5300mAh silicon-carbon battery inside. It’s bigger than your common cellphone, however in 2025, we’re beginning to see loads of Chinese language producers pushing to the 6000mAh mark and past, so it’s nothing too outstanding.

Nonetheless, in use, this capability proved to be greater than sufficient for me. I may simply make it over a day and a half on a cost, and two is feasible when you use your cellphone slightly extra conservatively.

Luke Baker

Charging is blazing quick, too. It helps as much as 100W speeds with a wire and 50W utilizing Honor’s official wi-fi charging stand.

There’s no charger included, only a cable, however with the suitable wall adapter, you may take the cellphone from absolutely useless to 85% charged in simply half an hour. Wi-fi charging is shockingly fast, too, however Honor’s Wi-fi SuperCharger is a dear add-on, and also you’ll want that to achieve the max velocity.

Software program & Apps

• MagicOS 9, based mostly on Android 15
• New Google Picture to Video function
• A lot of AI performance

The Honor 400 Professional runs MagicOS 9, Honor’s closely customised model of Android 15. Should you’ve used one other latest Honor machine, you’ll know what to anticipate. But when not, it’s fairly iOS-inspired, and for that cause, it’s slightly divisive.

Luke Baker

Personally, I fairly like MagicOS. The structure and styling can take some getting used to, however if you’re extra conversant in it, there are tonnes of helpful options packed in. It additionally feels fast and snappy, and it appears to take advantage of out of your battery.

The largest change with this model is the addition of quite a few AI-powered options: some designed by Honor itself, and a few in collaboration with Google.

The Honor 400 collection telephones are the primary fashions to debut Google’s new Picture to Video device. Basically, it means you may decide any picture in your gallery, faucet a button, and AI will magically remodel it right into a 5-second video.

The outcomes are astonishingly lifelike, however you solely get a single button to activate the function; there’s no solution to immediate the AI, so the outcomes are moderately unpredictable. Because it stands, it’s mainly a celebration trick, albeit a really spectacular one.

Honor’s different AI options are extra sensible. There are all the standard issues, like translation and summarisation options, and a pair that you could be not have seen earlier than, like AI deepfake detection for video calls and AI-generated subtitles that work throughout all apps.

It’s the picture modifying instruments that I discovered myself utilizing essentially the most, although. Enhancing pictures from the Gallery app now contains choices to chop out and transfer topics, and AI will fill within the background. It’s also possible to open individuals’s eyes in the event that they blink throughout a bunch shot, take away reflections, improve low-quality pictures, and develop a picture’s subject of view. It’s very complete.

One other massive win is that Honor now guarantees 6 years of main OS upgrades and 6 years of safety patches. Final yr’s Honor 200 Professional solely acquired 3 main updates and 4 years of safety patches. So, whereas it doesn’t fairly match the flagship 7+7 coverage, it’s an enormous step in the suitable path.

Worth & Availability

The Honor 400 Professional is accessible to order now within the UK from Honor’s web site, Amazon and numerous different authorised retailers. It’s accessible in most areas globally, however as typical, this mannequin received’t be launching within the US.

Within the UK, it begins at £699.99 for the bottom mannequin with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, within the EU, the identical mannequin begins at €799. Honor has additionally confirmed that the 400 Professional will probably be accessible on contract by way of EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and Tesco Cell.

The outright worth means it’s in direct competitors with gadgets just like the iPhone 16e and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. The Pixel 9 may also be discovered at an analogous worth, although there are many different different mid-range telephones which are value contemplating.

Do you have to purchase the Honor 400 Professional?

The Honor 400 Professional is a stable higher mid-range handset that doesn’t fall brief in any specific space. Regardless of your priorities, the 400 Professional has one thing to supply.

The cameras are nice (though the ultrawide may use an improve), and the Harcourt portrait results are as spectacular as ever. The display screen is gorgeous, the battery lasts a very long time, and there’s loads of energy for hardcore players.

There are additionally plenty of AI options to play with, every thing’s included from productivity-focused instruments to picture modifying and past.

As for downsides, the plastic body detracts from the in any other case premium really feel, and Magic OS strays very removed from the inventory Android expertise, so it received’t be to everybody’s tastes.

In any other case, this cellphone trades blows with its equally priced rivals, and sometimes comes out on prime.

Specs

• MagicOS 9, based mostly on Android 15
• 6.7-inch, 2800 x 1280, OLED, 120Hz
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage
• Cameras:
• 200Mp major sensor
• 12Mp ultrawide
• 50Mp 3x telephoto
• 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/ax
• Bluetooth 5.2
• 5110mAh battery
• 66W wired charging
• 50W wi-fi charging 
• 160.8 x 76.1 x 8.1 mm
• IP68 / IP69 licensed
• 205g
• Colors: Midnight Black / Lunar Gray