HONOR 400 Pro Review: Affordable Android with Flagship AI

HONOR 400 Pro Review: This handset is a creatives dream. The AI features are powerful and your travel photos will always look amazing.

{Tech} for Travel

When HONOR kicked off 2025 with the Magic7 Pro, it set a benchmark for what a flagship Android should be: high performance, bold design, and a camera system that could rival anything in its class. That device earned our first five-star rating of the year.

A few months later, the 400 Lite followed, bringing a taste of AI-powered creativity to the budget end of the market. Now, sitting smartly in between, comes the HONOR 400 Pro, a smartphone designed to hit the sweet spot between power, price, and practicality.

HONOR is pitching the 400 Pro as a phone for the creatively curious. People who want the camera and AI smarts of a premium handset without the four-figure price tag. It also aims to give those who shop for refurbished flagship handsets a dilemma. Why choose a three-year-old device for the same price as a new handset boasting all of the latest features?

At £699, it’s positioned to undercut many of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 rivals while offering features that heavily focus on next-generation AI photography and everyday usability. This is not just about hardware, although there is plenty of that, too, but about the experience that MagicOS 9.0 and HONOR’s expanding suite of AI tools can deliver.

The HONOR 400 Pro is exciting because it flips traditional product tiering. This is not a stripped-back flagship or a specced-up budget phone. It is a mid-tier handset focused on high-end features, particularly photography, creative content, and intelligent user assistance.

At the heart of the HONOR 400 Pro is a camera system that puts creative control front and centre. The rear module is led by a 200MP Ultra Clear AI Main Camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor, optical and electronic image stabilisation, and a bright f/1.9 aperture, which promises to perform well even in low light. Paired with a 50MP telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide macro lens with a 112-degree field of view, the setup is versatile across all shooting scenarios.

Around the front is a 50MP Portrait Selfie Camera that uses HONOR’s portrait algorithm to create selfies with rich skin tones, natural depth, and fine detail. It is not just about the numbers, though. The camera app is packed with genuinely useful AI tools, including AI Portrait Snap and AI Enhanced Portrait. These features work together to identify motion and optimise focus in real time, helping you capture sharp, detailed portraits, whether walking down the street or shooting in backlit conditions.

The HONOR 400 Pro runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform, with 12GB of HONOR Turbo RAM and 512GB of internal storage. That combination provides fast AI computing power and a smooth multitasking experience, whether you are editing photos, switching between apps or gaming.

It is supported by GPU Turbo X, which boosts graphics performance for more immersive visuals, especially in high-resolution games. The display plays a big part in that experience. The 6.7″ AMOLED screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate and peaks at 5000 nits of HDR brightness.

That display is enhanced by HONOR’s latest AI Eye Comfort features. Dynamic Dimming and AI Defocus Display help ease eye fatigue during everyday use, while Ultra Dark Mode brings brightness down to just 1.5 nits for night flight browsing in a dark aircraft cabin. There’s also full support for Super Rainproof Touch, letting you scroll and type even with water droplets on the screen.

The experience is powered by a 5,300mAh silicon carbon battery, one of the biggest in this price range. HONOR claims up to 33 hours of call time, 27 hours of offline video playback, and 15 hours of streaming.

When you do need power, the 100W Wired SuperCharge delivers 50% in just 15 minutes, while the 50W Wireless SuperCharge allows you to top up cable-free. Battery health is another standout here. HONOR says the battery will retain over 80% capacity after 1200 full charge cycles, which equates to four years of daily use. Long-term reliability adds peace of mind for those who travel frequently or rely on their phone as a primary work tool.

Running MagicOS 9.0 based on Android 15, the phone is filled with AI tools designed to make daily tasks faster and more intuitive. Everything is built into the system, from AI Translation and Live Call Translation to Magic Portal for context-aware multitasking and Google Gemini for generating visual content and summaries. For creators, the AI Writing Tools, AI Recorder, and AI Summary features turn the HONOR 400 Pro into a useful productivity device.

With 6 years of Android updates and security patches promised for the HONOR 400 Series, users are getting long-term reliability alongside the innovation. That promise also includes an upgrade to Android 16 later this year, continuing HONOR’s track record as one of the fastest brands to adopt new versions of the OS.

What stood out most during the HONOR 400 Pro review was how little effort it took to get a great shot. Point and shoot, and the HONOR 400 Pro easily handled lighting, movement, and framing. The main lens coped well in low light, capturing detail without crushing shadows or blowing out highlights. When I switched to Portrait mode, the background blur felt natural, and the depth looked authentic.

AI Portrait Snap impressed me more than I expected. It automatically tracked the motion and locked focus, making capturing a moving subject easier and resulting in a sharper, less blurred image. Most phones struggle when someone moves, but the 400 Pro predicted the movement and made the capture easily.

The zoom also held up better than expected. I found 10x was perfectly usable, and while 50x lost sharpness, it was good enough to read signs or frame distant buildings. But again, HONOR has added an AI feature, AI Super Zoom, which performs exceptionally well on the 400 Pro.

It’s been a couple of months since I used the five-star-rated Magic7 Pro, but AI Super Zoom on the 400 Pro feels as though it performs better, possibly due to fine-tuning based on feedback.

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HONOR AI Super Zoom

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Editing on the device was fast. AI Eraser worked well for removing distractions from travel photos. I used it to clear people from a church square without messing up the stone texture underneath. AI Outpainting, also known as Generative Expand, and found in high-end desktop software like Photoshop, fills in believable details to expand a photo if you cropped it too tightly when taking it.

HONOR was keen to show off its new AI Image to Video feature in the lead-up to the 400 Pro launch. This feature transforms a still image into a 5-second video. It is a first for smartphone users, powered by Google Cloud, and isn’t even available to Google Pixel owners yet!

It took less than a minute to process and complete. During the HONOR 400 Pro Review, I had varying levels of success, but this technology will only improve with each update and for content creators needing extra B-roll, your problem has been solved.

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HONOR AI Image to Video

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Performance

This is the first phone I have used in a long time where I stopped thinking about battery life. I spent a day and a half taking photos, using maps, streaming music, and playing with AI tools, and I never once looked for a charger. The 5,300mAh battery just kept going.

When I finally did need to plug it in, the HONOR 400 Pro hit 50% in under twenty minutes using a 140W charger.

The screen is bright and consistent. I used it in full sunlight and had no problem reading directions while navigating Google Maps. Indoors, it adapts quickly, and when evening came, the eye comfort features kicked in with warmer tones and lower brightness.

Performance is smooth across everything. Apps open fast, stay ready and respond without delay. I ran a few graphics-heavy games while in flight, and the phone stayed cool the entire time. I had music playing, maps preloading and AI Recorder running, and nothing slowed down. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 keeps everything moving and does it quietly.

What stood out was how natural it all felt. This is not a phone that shows off or overreaches. It feels like it was made to be used. If you are travelling, working on the move or want something that does not need constant attention, the HONOR 400 Pro delivers a balanced experience that fits into daily life without getting in the way.

Software

When I set up the HONOR 400 Pro, it felt responsive and familiar. MagicOS 9.0 is clean and quick to navigate. The home screen layout is easy to customise, and widgets behave like they should. Apps open quickly, and multitasking is smooth as expected on an Android handset.

What makes this system work is how quietly the AI runs in the background. There are tools if you want them, but even the default experience delivers results expected of a handset in a higher price bracket. The HONOR 400 Pro takes the friction out of the process.

Knowing the phone will get six years of updates makes the experience even better. You do not have to worry that all of these tools will be forgotten after two years. Android 16 is coming later this year, and HONOR has already proven it is fast with updates.

That kind of support on a phone at this price is rare and makes a real difference if you plan to keep your device for a long time.

Magic Portal worked well when circling an address in a message to move straight into Google Maps, but this almost felt like the old AI technology compared to what’s been packed into the 400 Pro. HONOR’s approach to AI feels practical.

The phone translated a restaurant menu for me in real time and later did the same with a conversation using Live Translation. It didn’t perform as well as I was hoping for as a frequent traveller, but it will only improve over time. The best part is that it all works on the device. Nothing is sent to a server, which makes it feel private.

HONOR has implemented an on-device large model that enables real-time processing for tasks like Deepfake Detection, Live Call Translation, and Magic Portal intent recognition. No user data is uploaded to the cloud.

HONOR

I don’t quite know how HONOR is doing it, but getting Google-powered features onto the 400 Pro before the Pixel is some achievement. What ties the experience together is how naturally it all works.

You can see HONOR’s focus on AI as a daily companion, not just a novelty. Whether you are booking travel, navigating a city, or running a quick voice note through the AI Recorder to capture a meeting summary, the 400 Pro adapts quickly and quietly. It may sit at a mid-tier price but offers an experience that feels anything but.

And this is what I enjoyed the most during the two-week review period. While many high-end smartphones boast plenty of AI-powered features and tools, most are far beyond the daily use of many owners. The majority of AI tools HONOR is shouting about for the 400 Pro are ones most smartphone users will use on a daily basis. They are easy to learn, simple to access, and more importantly, they enhance how many use their phones today.

The HONOR 400 Pro is a true AI powerhouse for under £700.

Features	HONOR 400 Pro
Dimensions	170x80x8.1mm
Weight	205g
Colour Options	Lunar Grey Midnight Black
Display	6.7″ AMOLED 2800×1280 120Hz 5000nits
Camera	200MP + 50MP Telephoto + 12MP Ultra-Wide 50MP Portrait Selfie
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Battery	5300mAh 100W Wired 50W Wireless
Operating System	MagicOS 9.0 Android 15 (Android 16 update confirmed)
Storage	512GB
Water Resistance	IP68 + IP69
In the Box	HONOR 400 Pro USB-C Cable SIM Tool Quick Start Guide
Website	honor.com

The HONOR 400 Pro is available in the UK from 22nd May for £699 at honor.com in two colour options: Lunar Grey and Midnight Black.

That price includes the full 512GB storage model as standard, so you don’t need to pay more for additional capacity. It is available directly from HONOR’s online store and major retailers, including EE, O2, Three, Vodafone, Tesco Mobile, Argos, Currys, Amazon, and Very.