HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro review – is it worth waiting a few months?

Am I the only one who's been looking forward to more affordable phones like the HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro lately? Affordable in a looser sense, because just under €800 (and a good €500 for a regular 400) is still a lot of money, but at the same time, it's actually less than the most expensive ones.

If you want the best, it's clear that you have to pay more than €1,000. Or you can settle for a phone that's just below the top, and that you know will work normally for the next few years or until the battery dies. It's interesting that after all these years, this category (between €500 and €900) is still very dry. Huawei has its Nova series (which I find difficult to recommend to most people for obvious reasons), Xiaomi has T phones (the new generation is coming in September), POCO has treats for gamers, and then you can find some OnePlus, Oppo and similar phones that are very difficult to get here. If Google Pixel phones hadn't become more accessible on our market last year, we would basically only have two choices, Xiaomi or HONOR.

Why do I like them? First of all, obviously, because of the price, and then because of the fact that in this class they "skim" much less with components than in the lower class. The chips are usually a class or two worse than the best, the cameras are also usable at night and not just during the day, the support is usually longer, and so on.

That's basically all I want from a phone. I want it to still be responsive in a few years, that the cameras are versatile, and that I don't lose the ability to upgrade the system after two years (although support has improved significantly in the lower tiers).

And that's why I was so excited for the arrival of the HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro. Because they perform like phones that meet all the major expectations.

HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro price and specifications

• HONOR 400 8GB/512GB: €549
• HONOR 400 Pro 12GB/512GB: €799

HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro – they haven't quite broken away from their previous feudal lord

When I first saw them, I reached into my pocket and compared them to the Huawei Pura 70. The camera layout and placement are almost identical. The subtle changes they made remind me more of school, when you would turn your homework around a bit so it wasn't immediately suspicious that you copied it during recess.

But at least they are very different from each other. The HONOR 400 Pro has curves, is more comfortable to hold and has a more premium feel overall. The HONOR 400 is flat, a bit Apple-esque, but with a rather bold shade (golden rose back). The sides cut a little more in the hands than the 400 Pro, but nothing that you wouldn't get used to over time. With curves and flatness, it's all a matter of habit.

The only differences you can still see with the naked eye are the diagonal size and the number of lenses (the more expensive Pro is larger and also has a telephoto lens), but I can also mention the even better sealing (water resistance and dust resistance) of the HONOR 400 Pro (IP69 vs. IP65).

Both have brutally good screens

HONOR has been on a roll in the last two years, leaving most of the competition behind in the display space. When the best phones managed to exceed 1500 candela (nits) of brightness, we were stunned. Today, in the mid-premium class, we are talking about a maximum brightness of 5000 candela. It is incredible how quickly we have got displays that you can really use in bright sunlight without any compromises - without annoying reflections and without having to find that right viewing angle.

The refresh rate is the classic 120 Hz, which is what I didn't expect and don't need. The resolution (1280 X 2800 on the Pro and 1264 x 2736 on the regular 400) is just right for this size and at the same time not excessive enough to unnecessarily steal energy. The HONOR 400 Pro is slightly larger (6.7 vs. 6.55 inches), but you'll hardly notice these few millimeters even with the naked eye.

Again, I can commend the PWM dimming frequency speed (3840 Hz), which is a source of discomfort for many users who are sensitive to (mostly invisible) screen flicker. It is true that they did not opt for DC dimming, which completely eliminates flickering, but it is important that the flicker frequency is high enough that sore eyes will not be a result of using these phones.

Power on the HONOR 400 Pro, efficiency on the HONOR 400

Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 (HONOR 400) vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (HONOR 400 Pro), the difference is clear from the name. The HONOR 400 Pro has a chip that was the best among Androids last year, while the HONOR 400 got a chip that is intended for phones where you need to save a few euros, but still offer enough power for all tasks, including most games.

For gamers and possibly designers, Gen 3 is the clear choice, but for everyone else, 7 Gen 3 will suffice. Windows game fans and those who like to use emulators should also opt for a more powerful chip.

There is also a huge difference in overheating and maintaining performance. The less powerful HONOR 400 handles this much better. Of course, the amount of power is not the same as the HONOR 400 Pro, so the cooling system has a much easier job. With the HONOR 400 Pro, however, consistency or long-term maintenance of power is quite problematic. During prolonged gaming, the heat on the back was quite obvious on my palms. Nothing terribly alarming, or something I'm not used to, but still not completely unnoticeable.

HONOR 400 Pro tests

HONOR 400 tests

The battery capacity is the same on both phones, and both phones can last for a day and a half of use, maybe two days if you're really frugal. The more expensive HONOR 400 Pro charges faster (100W) and has wireless charging, but the HONOR 400's 66W charging is still more than most of the competition.

Just like the HONOR Magic7 Pro, you get a bunch of AI features for text enhancement, translation, deepfake detection, and more. In Gallery, you can edit photos with features like erasing, cropping, expanding the empty space in the image, and turning an image into a 5-second video.

The latter was the focus of the phone's presentation. But a lot is left to luck. If the subject is complex or part of the subject has to be created later (for example, part of a human face), the accuracy can be lower. When everything is optimal, it can create a fun shot, for example, it turned a cat portrait into a moving scene. Fun? Sometimes. Useful? Not even after initial experimentation. At least not for me, because I have a feeling that this scene is not real. It was created artificially, so it doesn't have much value for me.

Maybe your experience will be different.

Good photographer, telephoto and a more powerful chip make a decisive difference

The main shooter is a 200 MP sensor, which performs very well in good light. Details are very well displayed, the dynamic range is at a high level, and the colors are relatively true to the real ones we see ourselves. The HONOR 400 Pro processes the image faster, which is a result of the better chip. However, this is also the only noteworthy difference between the two phones when using the main camera.

HONOR 400 Pro gallery

At least until the sun sets and you want to take pictures at night. With the HONOR 400, I noticed more quickly that it starts to struggle with how to best display a scene in low light. Since it does not have a telephoto lens and consequently no optical zoom (up to 3x), noise creeps in very quickly when taking pictures with zoom, which is further worsened by shaky hands. The difference is even greater with the otherwise identical ultra-wide lenses (12 MP), where the HONOR 400's worse results are noticeable. The sharpness is otherwise satisfactory and the shots can be usable, but not at the level of the main camera.

HONOR 400 gallery

The videos are relatively good. The colors are natural, the stabilization works well for the most part, but that's only true when using the main camera. The ultra-wide camera is again at least two steps behind.

They lag behind the best photographers on the market, which is not surprising, since they are twice and in the case of the HONOR 400 three times cheaper. If I stop comparing them to premium phones, they are very good photographers. However, the telephoto lens is the weight that strongly tips the scales in favor of the HONOR 400 Pro.

HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro – very good, and soon to be great

They're already good, at least for me they might even be the best for the money (they don't have much competition), at least until Xiaomi introduces its new T series in September.

But I know that their price will drop significantly in a few months. Last year's HONOR 200 and HONOR 200 Pro (they skipped the 300 name) were very quickly available for up to €200-300 less, depending on the model. When the HONOR 400 is less than €400 and the HONOR 400 Pro is around €500 or even less, you really will get a lot of phone for relatively little money.

If you're not in a hurry and you're buying phones over the counter, it's worth waiting.