Verdict
The Honor 400 is a great Android mid-range option for smartphone photography enthusiasts and casual mobile gamers. With its AMOLED display and rapid charging, it’s another in a long line of impressive offerings from Honor. It’s just a shame it's so hard to get in the US.
- Excellent main camera
- Sleek and stylish design
- Lovely display
- Rapid charging
- Better gaming options at the same price point
- Can get hot
- Hard to get in the US
In recent years, one Android brand has impressed me more than most, and no, I'm not talking about Samsung or Google Pixel. I'm talking about Honor, a company you might not know much about if you're reading this in the US, owing to a lack of retail presence since emerging as a new player in the industry just a few years ago. I use the brand's 2024 flagship, the Magic6 Pro, every day, and now I've got my hands on its latest mid-ranger, the Honor 400.
From all the marketing surrounding the Honor 400, it's pretty clear that this is one for the smartphone photographers, boasting a 200MP lens that blows almost everything else at the same price point out of the water. Still, to find a place in our guide to the best mid-range phones, a device needs more than just cameras, so let's dig into the details and see if it's worthy of lining up alongside the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, the iPhone 16e, and the rest of the moderately priced competition.
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Price and availability
The Honor 400 is now available in the UK, with prices starting at £399.99 for the 256GB version and £449.99 for the 512GB model. You can pick up the phone directly from Honor or through a retailer such as Currys, Amazon, or Argos. Unfortunately, the Honor 400 isn't available in the US, so if you're determined to get one, your only option is to look at imports.
In terms of colorways, you can pick from Desert Gold, Meteor Silver, or Midnight Black. For this review, we received the 512GB version of the phone in Meteor Silver, and it looks great.
Specs
Here are the Honor 400's specs:
Performance and gaming
Let me be clear from the off and say that the Honor 400 isn't a gaming phone. Instead, it prides itself on its cameras and AI capabilities, so you shouldn't be expecting the level of gaming performance you might get from the likes of the latest RedMagic or Asus devices. That said, day-to-day performance is very snappy, and I had no problem going from app to app while testing, even when I had multiple apps open simultaneously.
As usual, I installed Honkai Star Rail, PUBG Mobile, and a couple of other picks from our guide to the best Android games to test out the performance capabilities of the Honor 400. HSR is a pretty demanding mobile game, but the phone managed to keep up at high graphics settings and 30FPS with just a little stuttering, which, considering the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 inside, is pretty impressive. It can't quite compete with the picks from our guide to the best gaming phones in terms of maxed-out settings and frame rates, but if you're a relatively casual mobile gamer, it should do the trick.
While the gaming performance is relatively solid for a mid-ranger, I have to point out that the Honor 400 occasionally gets much warmer than I'd like. I noticed that the phone became almost too hot to handle while downloading all the files for Honkai Star Rail, but fortunately, it cooled down pretty quickly and only got half as toasty while actually playing the game. Still, it's something to look out for, especially if you're planning on installing a few games on your device.
Features and software
The Honor 400 ships with the brand's MagicOS 9 skin of Android 15 out of the box. This custom version of Android is pretty user-friendly, especially for anyone making the leap from iPhone, and it doesn't take long to figure out how to find the apps and settings you use the most. It's also pretty light on bloatware, so you don't have to spend too long removing Booking.com and the like before you can customize your home screen to your liking.
As is the case with almost all new cell phones in 2025, the Honor 400 is teeming with AI features. Now I'm not really one to dabble in AI tools outside of translators or a bit of Google Gemini restaurant research while I'm traveling, but there is some pretty interesting stuff on offer here. The AI Image to Video tool is the headliner, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. The results vary, often depending on how much is going on in the image you use as a prompt, but it makes for a fun little experiment and a reminder of how far AI technology has come in the last few years.
In terms of software support, Honor has significantly upped its game with the 400, offering six years of Android and security updates. It's still a year shy of what Samsung offers, but in my opinion, seven years is slightly over the top, as anyone who's spending more than $400 on a phone is likely to pick up a new one at least every three or four years.
Design and display
The best way to describe the Honor 400's design is elegant but unremarkable. It looks a lot like an iPhone, but these days, almost everything looks a lot like an iPhone, so that's no real surprise. While it might not win any points for originality, the phone is comfortable to hold and use, and it feels just as premium as a flagship, which is a pretty big win considering it's around half the price of the Google Pixel 9 or Samsung Galaxy S25.
I might not sound super enthusiastic about the Honor 400's design, but if there's one thing I can appreciate, it's that this device is nice and lightweight. At just 184g, there's little chance of it weighing you down. However, it is only IP65 rated, which means it's not fully waterproofed and can't provide protection against accidental dunks, but just water jets. You shouldn't have a problem using it in the rain, but be careful if you're near open bodies of water or if, like me, you use your phone to listen to podcasts while doing the washing up.
Considering the price point, the Honor 400's 6.55-inch AMOLED display is mightily impressive, offering a peak brightness of 5,000 nits and 120Hz refresh rates. For context, the iPhone 16 caps out at 2,000 nits and 60Hz, so for a lower cost, you're getting a more impressive display. Whether you're scrolling social media, watching your favorite shows on Netflix, or checking out some of the best mobile games, everything looks fantastic on this screen, with vivid colors and deep blacks aplenty.
Honor 400's cameras
With its 200MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide, the Honor 400 is an ideal pick for any smartphone photographer on paper. While megapixels can often be misleading - sometimes less is more if the software isn't there - these cameras live up to their billing, especially the main lens, and the Android mid-ranger is more than capable of capturing some gorgeous shots. The ultra-wide isn't quite as good as the main camera, which makes me wonder why Honor didn't go the same route as Apple did with the iPhone 16 in offering just one stellar camera, but it's not awful by any means.
Still, it's the Honor 400's camera zoom that impresses me the most, maintaining an impressive level of image quality even when zoomed at x6 on a subject. If you go 15x or above, up to 30x, the phone employs some AI magic to upscale your images, and honestly, the results are remarkably impressive. If you're someone who goes to a lot of concerts or sports events where you might find yourself further away than you'd like from the action, this feature can make sure you're still getting some snaps worthy of your social media channels.
The 50MP selfie camera on the front of the phone is similarly impressive as the rear lenses, but perhaps a little unforgiving if you're not using the beauty filters. Like the ultra-wide camera, it struggles a little more than you might like in low-lit scenarios, but fortunately, there are plenty of AI-powered editing tools that you can use to upscale your images before posting them online.
Battery
Honor always seems to impress me when it comes to battery life and charging speeds, and that certainly applies to the brand's latest Android phone. While the 5,300mAh battery might not be the biggest I've used while testing a mid-range Android, it goes the distance Hercules-style, lasting up to two days if you're using it sporadically. It's not quite as impressive if you're using it constantly, with battery drain sitting at around 10% an hour when gaming or streaming, but that should still be enough to get you through a normal day without reaching for your charger.
In terms of charging speeds, the Honor 400 isn't quite as impressive as some of the other Android options out there, but with 66W juicing, I was able to get from flat to the full 100% in around 45 minutes. If, like me, you find yourself remembering you need to charge just before you leave the house, that means you can get upwards of 30% from just fifteen minutes plugged in, which is a pretty sweet deal. Unfortunately, there isn't the option to charge wirelessly, but the Honor 400 isn't the only phone at this price point that doesn't offer that perk.
Should you buy the Honor 400?
With fantastic cameras, a long-lasting battery, and a comfortable form factor, the Honor 400 is a pretty impressive mid-range offering. It's a reliable all-rounder that packs just enough AI magic to impress without ever getting confusing or feeling like it's forcing you to engage with features you've no real use for. Ultimately, for £399.99, the equivalent of around $540, it's the latest in a long line of impressive Honor phones that should have both Apple and Samsung worried.
On the other hand, if you're looking for something capable of running your favorite games at the highest settings and that can charge up to 100% in under half an hour, the Honor 400 might not be for you. Admittedly, you're going to struggle to find anything that juices that quickly for under $500, but if those two considerations are at the top of your list, you might be better off saving up a little more and springing for a RedMagic or Asus flagship.
Alternatives
If our Honor 400 review hasn't convinced you, check out our suggestions for similarly priced alternatives below.
iPhone 16e
The iPhone 16e is a little more expensive than the Honor 400, but if you're looking for something with great gaming performance and access to the massive library of Apple Arcade games, it's worth it. In my opinion, the Honor option's display is a little more impressive, but there's not much in it, and with Apple preparing to reinvigorate the gaming experience, the iPhone 16e is likely the better choice for any mobile games enthusiast.
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro might just be the best-looking mid-range Android out there at the moment, with a design that stands out from the crowd of iPhone lookalikes. In terms of performance, it's on a pretty even playing field with the Honor 400 while also offering a similarly impressive battery life. For more details, check out our Nothing Phone (3a) Pro review.