HONOR 400 5G Review: A Budget Win, Unless You're in a Hurry

The HONOR 400 is one of two new smartphones that HONOR recently announced. It’s the more affordable model in the HONOR 400 family, the other one is the HONOR 400 Pro. The HONOR 400 is more than enough for most people, though, as we’ve been able to find out during our review period. I’ve been using this phone for 10 days before starting to write this review, just to be completely transparent.

The HONOR 400 is a budget phone. It’s not meant for those of you who are used to flagship-grade models, that’s for sure. This is a very nice budget phone, however. We’ll first list its specifications, following which we’ll take a closer look at its design, display, performance, battery life, cameras, software, and ultimately, audio performance. With that being said, let’s get down to it, shall we?

Specs

HONOR 400 5G Review: Design

The HONOR 400 is a boxy phone, but that’s not a bad thing in this case. HONOR opted for a flat front side, and back side, in combination with a flat frame all around the phone. The company did curve the corners, so that the device is very easy to hold and use. Sharp corners are usually not a good thing as they cut into your palm when you’re holding and using the device.

It has the perfect size and weight

Considering that this phone weighs only 184 grams, it’s actually rather easy to use. Considering I’m used to notably larger devices, this one felt like a breath of fresh air with its 6.55-inch display and rather thin bezels. It felt like the perfect size for a phone, in all honesty. HONOR combined metal and glass to make the phone a reality, and its display has a centered display camera hole up top.

Yes, the device is quite slippery in the hand, due to its materials, but I’ve used even more slippery phones. It’s nice of HONOR to keep the backplate matte, and the same goes for the frame. Well, at least on this Desert Gold model that I’ve been testing. You can choose between Midnight Black, Tidal Blue, and Meteor Silver options. The phone is also only 7.3mm thick, which is actually quite thin, and feels great in the hand.

It feels good in the hand, and the buttons are in ideal places

It has your standard set of physical buttons. The power/lock and volume up and down buttons are located on the right-hand side. The SIM card tray is accessible from the bottom, while you’ll find an IR blaster up top. HONOR did not disclose anything, but I believe the backplate is plastic, even though it could pass as glass, too. The frame is made out of metal, aluminum. In all honesty, I love both the size and weight of this smartphone. It’s a perfect size and weight for a phone, while the design in general is not half bad, quite the contrary.

A case is not included in the retail box, and neither is a charger

One thing worth noting is that you won’t be getting a case or a charger in the retail box. All you’ll be getting is a charging cable, a SIM slot ejector tool, plus some paperwork. Most of you would like to use a case with this phone, so it’s a shame HONOR didn’t include one. The company usually offers regular silicone cases with these phones, which is more than enough protection, at least until you get something else.

HONOR 400 5G Review: Display

The HONOR 400 has a 6.55-inch display. It utilizes a flat AMOLED display with a resolution of 2736 x 1264. This display is capable of reaching a 5,000 nits maximum brightness, though only in theory, of course. In practice, it’s plenty bright, just don’t expect to ever measure that high of a brightness. It can go way higher on automatic/adaptive brightness than it can on manual, of course. Still, even if you use manual brightness, cranking it all the way up will be way too bright. At least it was that way for me. Brightness is not an issue here, trust me. The display is also plenty sharp, no complaints there.

The display has good viewing angles and high-frequency PWM dimming

The viewing angles are also good, and this display does offer a 120Hz refresh rate. It also comes with Ultra Dark Mode and a 3,840Hz risk-free PWM dimming. The AI Defocus Eyecare feature is also included, as is the AI Circadian Night Display feature. There is also a full-scene Sunlight Display Enhancement Technology built into the phone. Yes, this display looks like a flagship display on paper, and it’s really good. In fact, thanks to its PWM dimming, it has an edge over some flagship displays, in a way. If you’re sensitive to flickering, you’ll appreciate this.

The touch response is good, and the display as a whole is ideal

In case you’re wondering, the touch response is also good. So, what are the complaints here? Well, I have none, in all honesty. In fact, even if this phone cost a lot more than it does, this display would be in the right place. Even the bezels around the display are more than thin enough, despite the fact that things are not completely uniform. The phone looks great in this setup, and the display size is also kinda perfect. This panel was a joy to use, all in all. I didn’t even have issues with automatic/adaptive brightness, not at all.

HONOR 400 5G Review: Performance

The HONOR 400 is fueled by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor from Qualcomm. This chip was announced at the very end of 2023, and back then, it was a mid-range offering. Needless to say, it’s quite dated at this point, and unfortunately, I did notice that while I was using the phone. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the one that is used in the HONOR 400 Pro, is a much more powerful processor. I really do wish HONOR had opted for a more powerful chip for this phone. Don’t get me wrong, the performance is not bad, it’s just… not good either. It’s passable, I’d say. More on that soon.

The HONOR 400 comes with 8GB of RAM and a dated Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip

Before we get to talking about how the phone actually performs, let me just note that the HONOR 400 comes with 8GB of RAM. We’re not sure what RAM and storage HONOR used here, though, that info was not disclosed by the company. The device did not exactly share in benchmark testing, as you can see below. It did fine for a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, if you look at it from that perspective, but looking from a modern mid-range phone, not so much. Mid-rangers these days have rather more powerful chips, but you also have to note the price tag of this device. It costs €499 for a reason. Still, there are more powerful devices out there, at that price point.

Geekbench:

3D Mark (Wildlife Extreme Stress Test):

Stutters are a part of the experience, unfortunately

Now, regarding actual performance. For the most part, the phone worked fine for me. It was snappy enough, but I also experienced constant stutters. It wasn’t anything too annoying, but coming from much more fluid devices, it’s very noticeable. Then, when you open a more demanding app, like the Camera app, a slight delay is quite noticeable. Most people who are buying a phone at this price range won’t really notice, in all honesty. The HONOR 400 was not laggy, it was just as snappy as I’d like it to be. Once again, considering the SoC here, that is per course, it’s not unexpected.

You can easily play games that are not too demanding

What about gaming? Well, I didn’t play many games here, it’s not a gaming phone. However, I did try loading three games to represent different levels of strain on the phone, as I usually do on regular smartphones. I’ve played Chess, Subway Surfers, and Genshin Impact. The first two ran like a dream. I literally had no issues. With Chess, that is to be expected, it’s not graphically demanding at all. Subway Surfers is definitely a step up in comparison, but it really ran perfectly fine. Genshin Impact… well, I didn’t really expect it to be ideal, and it wasn’t. There was a lot of choppiness included. This is definitely not a phone for you if you’re aiming to play demanding games, that much is obvious.

3D Mark (Wildlife Extreme Stress Test) thermals:

Genshin Impact thermals:

HONOR 400 5G Review: Battery

HONOR managed to fit a truly beefy battery inside this phone. There is a 5,300mAh silicon-carbon battery included here. That is a large enough battery for almost any phone. If you take into consideration that the HONOR 400 has a 6.55-inch display and the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, you’ll quickly end up expecting great battery life. That’s exactly what you’ll be getting here, well, at least from my experience. For most people, the HONOR 400 will likely be able to go on for two days without a charge. That will, of course, depend on your usage.

The battery life is excellent, to say the least

I’ve ended my days around 6-7 hours of screen-on-time, as I simply didn’t use the phone longer than that in a single day. At the 6-hour mark, I still had around 40% of battery life left. This phone can pull a lot higher than the 6-7-hour mark, it would seem. Considering that many people don’t use their phones that much in a single day, yes, this device could last for many of them for two days before a charge is needed. Just to be clear, I did not baby the phone during my usage, I’ve used the camera quite a bit, on most days, while I’ve done plenty of browsing, messaging, emails, image editing, and so on. I even delved into some light gaming here and there, mostly Chess and Subway Surfers, outside of one day when I played Genshin Impact for testing purposes.

This phone can be fully charged in 45 minutes, if you have HONOR’s 66W charger

Charging is not really an issue here either. Why? Well, the phone supports 66W wired fast charging. So, if you have a charger, you can top it up real quick. I say “if you have a charger” because one does not come included in the retail box, unfortunately. You’ll have to grab it on the side, and I sure do recommend you do. That 5,300mAh battery is quite beefy, and fast charging is a must, at least in my case. Anyway, the phone can be fully charged in around 45 minutes, from the point of being completely depleted. Needless to say, this is plenty fast, especially for a 5,300mAh unit.

HONOR 400 5G Review: Camera

The camera setup on the HONOR 400 managed to surprise me a bit. The main reason for that is the main camera sensor that HONOR opted to use. This budget phone comes with a 200-megapixel camera, which includes a 1/1.4-inch sensor. That is a larger sensor than the one the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ use, for example, and larger than the one inside the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Those devices cost considerably more in comparison. OIS is supported on that camera, and there is an f/1.9 aperture lens included.

There are two cameras placed on the back, and the main one is much better

There are two cameras included on the back of the phone, though. The other one is nowhere near as impressive, but does come in handy. It’s a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture. You’re getting a 112-degree FoV here, which I wish was wider, to the 120-degree level at least. That camera is also used for macro shots on this device. I do think that a periscope telephoto camera is a better option for macro photography, but considering that this is a budget phone, such a camera is not included. it’s nice to see the macro option included either way, on the ultrawide unit. That’s not out of the ordinary, as many phones include it on the ultrawide camera.

The phone’s selfie camera is actually really, really good

This phone can also handle selfies like a champ. HONOR didn’t skimp out on that camera, as the company included a 50-megapixel portrait selfie camera. It is actually quite capable for a selfie camera, which is not something we can say for a lot of selfie cameras out there… especially in this price range.

The camera performance is not top-notch, but it’s good considering the price

So… how does all that work? Is it good enough? It is good enough, yes. The phone’s main camera, in particular, will satisfy most of you, especially if you keep the phone’s price tag in mind. It is a good sensor, and HONOR’s processing does a good job, for the most part. Some images that I took did end up looking a bit off, as the exposure could have been better, and the same goes for saturation… but, those are nitpicks that I’d delve in with a flagship phone. Considering the price here, the main camera does a really good job, even in low light, actually. The phone does a great job with portraits, by the way, its Harcourt collab is back, and that’s where the phone truly shines.

You may want to stick to the main camera, however, especially in low light

The ultrawide camera is… well, average, at best. It does okay, on par with other phones in this price range, I’d say. It’s a step or two below the main camera, that’s for sure. I’d definitely recommend you to stick with the main camera when you can, especially in low-light situations. It’s a shame a telephoto camera is not included here, so you do have to rely on digital crop, which is not ideal. It is what it is, though.

Main camera samples:

Ultrawide camera samples:

Thermals:

We’ve tested how much the phone heats up after video recording for 5 and 10 minutes. Do note that we usually do this with 4K video at 60 FPS, but the HONOR 400 5G is limited to 4K video at 30 FPS, so that’s what we did. You can see the results below (measured by a heat gun in Fahrenheit). You’ll also see two other phones thrown in there for comparison purposes.

HONOR 400 5G Review: Software

The HONOR 400 comes with Android 15 out of the box. On top of Google’s operating system, you’ll find HONOR’s MagicOS 9.0 update. HONOR is all about AI, it’s using that buzzword constantly, and granted, there are a lot of AI features built into its software offering. MagicOS 9.0 is different than stock Android, considerably. In both look and feel, even though it’s still an Android skin, so… after a period of adjustment, you’ll be right at home. The company does also offer some additional bells and whistles as part of MagicOS 9.0, of course.

MagicOS 9.0 clearly gets inspiration from all sides

The general look of the UI still looks a bit cartoonish to me, personally, but much less than it did before. It’s much closer to looking modern now, it’s moving in the right direction. Every time I use MagicOS 9.0 I feel like it’s inspired by both Android and iOS in a way, which is not a bad thing at all. The animations are great, while HONOR’s first-party apps are not half-bad either.

It offers plenty of customization options, and also AOD

In terms of customization, there’s plenty to look forward to here. You can choose whether you want to use the app drawer or keep all your apps on home screens. Lock screen is also customizable, as you can even choose the theme for it. Icon styles are available as a separate tweak, and the same goes for layout and effects. Fonts are customizable, as are the icons that the launcher uses, but you can only use the ones you grab from HONOR’s theme store, not third-party ones from the Play Store, which is a shame.

If you are used to using the Always-On Display (AOD) option, that’s an option here too. You can choose between Full screen and Partial screen options for AOD. The partial screen version keeps things extremely dark and only shares the most important info, black (background) on white (text).

More features are placed under the ‘Accessibility features’ section

There are more options under the ‘Accessibility features’ section in the Settings. You can enable ‘One-handed’ mode, which doesn’t work as it does on Pixels and Galaxy phones, not at all. In order to activate it, you need to swipe from the central part of the bottom of the screen towards the bottom-right corner and wait a second or two. Then, the screen will lower itself to the bottom-right corner. It’s not a bad implementation at all, in some ways, I like this more than the swipe down to lower the display.

Knuckle gestures are once again included… and useful

Various shortcuts are gestures are available here, such as knocking twice on the screen with your knuckles. HONOR’s phones have had knuckle gestures for quite some time, and they work well. Here’s you’ll also find the Multi-window mode settings, and the Favorites Space. That is one of my favorite features on MagicOS, actually. You can drag and drop images, videos, text or documents in Favorites Space, and then have quick access to those when you need them. It’s a neat feature.

HONOR AI has its dedicated section in the menus, for a good reason

HONOR is big on AI, and there is a dedicated section on the phone for HONOR AI. There you’ll find Magic Text, Magic Portal, AI Suggestions, AI Subtitles, AI Translate, AI writing, and AI Deepfake Detection options. Magic Text, for example, allows you to pull text from images. AI Deepfake Detection, on the other hand, detects AI-synthesized faces during video calls, and so on. There are plenty of features to explore here.

HONOR 400 5G Review: Audio

The HONOR 400 does include stereo speakers, yes. That was not the focus of the company on this phone, but those speakers are good enough. No, they will not break any records, but they serve a purpose. They’re loud enough and clear enough that very few of you will end up complaining about them. You can’t really expect miracles at this price tag, so… the phone does provide in the speaker department.

Bluetooth 5.4 is here if you don’t like cables

The audio through its earpiece was good. It was not too quiet or anything of the sort, it was perfectly fine, and based on the feedback I received, I sounded fine as well. In case you’re wondering if there’s an audio jack included here, the answer is… no. You can still use the phone’s Type-C port in order to connect your wired headphones, though. Alternatively, Bluetooth 5.4 is supported here and works perfectly fine.

HONOR 400 5G Review: Should you buy it?

The HONOR 400 is not the snappiest phone out there, and it’s not meant to be. At its €499 price tag, it’s supposed to be a solid phone with good features, and that’s exactly what it is. Even though I wish HONOR used a better processor here, as it would make a huge difference, the phone works fine, as long as you don’t mind some stuttering. It has a solid camera, good display, and great battery life. Fast charging is also here, along with plenty of features, both AI and others. There’s plenty to like here, and the only thing that I truly didn’t like is that chip on the inside, it simply makes the phone less snappy that it should be.

You should buy the HONOR 400 5G if you:

• Are on a limited budget
• Want a phone that is a great size for a… phone
• Don’t want your phone to be heavy
• Need great battery life
• Like AI features
• Appreciate customizability
• Want a really good display on a budget phone
• Take a lot of selfies

You shouldn’t buy the HONOR 400 5G if you:

• Want stutter-free performance
• Play demanding games
• Are demanding in terms of cameras