After using the HONOR 400 Pro as my daily driver for over a week, I came away with one clear takeaway: this is a phone that feels like a flagship even if it’s priced closer to the midrange.
It’s not perfect, but for its price bracket, it punches way above its weight—especially in design, display, cameras, and AI functionality.
Design & In-Hand Feel. I wasn’t expecting to be this impressed by the build quality. The 400 Pro has a premium feel with a matte-glass back and gently curved 2.5D front and rear glass that sit nicely in the hand. Despite weighing 205g, the phone never felt too heavy or unwieldy.
The camera module is… unique. I usually roll my eyes at experimental layouts, but this rounded trapezoid actually works. It adds character without going overboard. The silver trim gives it a polished, modern touch.
HONOR also gets points for practicality: IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance, plus the “Super Rainproof Touch” feature, which kept the display responsive even in light rain.
Display That Stands Out. The 6.7-inch OLED panel is simply stunning. With a resolution of 2800×1280, 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 5000 nits peak brightness, everything from YouTube and Netflix to mobile games and social feeds looked crisp and vibrant—even in direct sunlight.
The curved edges make swiping gestures feel more fluid, and the palm rejection tech actually works. That’s a big win for someone like me who normally avoids curved displays due to accidental touches.
Performance & Battery. Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and backed by 12GB of RAM, the HONOR 400 Pro handled my workload with zero issues. From gaming (Genshin Impact, COD Mobile) to multi-app multitasking (browsing, YouTube PiP, and Google Docs open simultaneously), it stayed cool and responsive.
Battery life was another standout: the 6000mAh cell consistently got me through more than a day and a half of medium to heavy use. And when I needed a quick top-up, the 100W charging (yes, the adapter’s included) took me from 0% to over 50% in around 15 minutes. Full charge? Just under 45 minutes.
Camera: AI-Enhanced and Seriously Impressive. The camera system is where the 400 Pro really shows its ambition. You’re getting a 200MP main sensor with OIS, a 50MP telephoto with 3x zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide.
Main camera: Captures excellent detail, vibrant colors, and balanced highlights—even in tricky lighting. Slight over-sharpening, but nothing major.
Telephoto: Surprisingly great results even at 6x zoom. The AI-enhanced 50x digital zoom can be hit or miss, but sometimes it genuinely surprises.
Ultra-wide: The weakest of the trio. It gets the colors right but softens the detail. It’s usable, just not standout.
Portrait mode deserves special mention. Shots had that creamy bokeh with crisp subject focus, and the Harcourt Studio-inspired tweaks add a professional vibe.
Low-light shots are generally good, though if the lighting’s really poor, compression and over-processing creep in.
One fun but gimmicky feature? Image-to-Video AI, which animates still images into short clips. It’s more of a party trick than a daily tool, but I found myself playing with it more than I expected—especially with old photos.
AI Tools. HONOR packed in some genuinely helpful AI-powered features:
AI Recorder: Live transcription with summaries—excellent for meetings or lectures.
AI Translation: Live translation between languages worked surprisingly well in my tests.
AI Eraser & Reflection Remover: These aren’t perfect, but when there’s enough background data, they clean up photos quite effectively.
The only drawback? Some of these features might move behind a paywall in future updates. So far, my trial hasn’t expired even after processing dozens of photos.
MagicOS 9.0. MagicOS 9.0 feels like Android trying on an iPhone outfit. I didn’t mind that too much—it’s fluid and well-organized, and the performance is snappy. But there are quirks:
- Always-On Display isn’t really “always on” unless you tap the screen or enable the gaze feature, which isn’t always reliable.
- Notification interactions on the lock screen are clunky—you need an extra tap or two to respond or expand.
- Preinstalled bloatware like Temu and Booking.com is annoying, but removable.
Despite that, there are some clever touches like Magic Capsule (a Dynamic Island-like UI), and expandable app icons that turn into mini-widgets. Customizing folders and home screen layouts felt intuitive and gave me a sense of control.
Tech Jungle‘s Verdict. The Honor 400 Pro is a compelling hybrid—priced like a midrange, but with a user experience that leans heavily toward flagship. The camera performance, AI features, stellar screen, and battery life all deliver on expectations and then some.
It’s not flawless: the UI has its friction points, and the ultra-wide camera could be sharper. But overall, if you’re looking for a phone that blends design, smarts, and daily dependability—without paying flagship prices—this one’s hard to beat.
