I’ll tell you now, this isn’t your typical review. I got my hands on a brand new HONOR 400 and decided to give it a try after years of having an iPhone. Instead of benchmarks and other typical things reviewers do, I put it simply through my normal day-to-day pace. This is the adulting review of the HONOR 400 (12/512GB).
In this age of cost-cutting guise as environmental responsibility, it’s nice to see this midrange phone still comes with a charger. It’s also rated at 100W, so fast-charging is ensured, and you can use it on other devices as well, even some laptops. The USB-C also doubles as an OTG only or an extended storage, and nothing else. It’s fine since it doesn’t present itself as a professional or cutting-edge phone.
Once I had the HONOR 400 in my hands, I realized metal is overrated. This has a plastic back, and my god, it felt good in the hand. It’s not pretentious, does not mimic any metal with its texture, and is incredibly light as well. I did not miss the metal construction, since aside from the weight, it immediately disappears once I put a phone case on.
Another thing is the phone’s size. It has the same height as my iPhone Pro Max, but it’s narrower. The camera bump is a bit more than the iPhone, though. It makes up for it with the single-column volume and lock buttons. All of these make it easier to operate with one hand, which is a treat nowadays.
There’s also an OLED screen and an Always-On Display that’s a bit too dim when outdoors but very legible indoors. Unlocking the device can take a bit of getting used to, at least for me. It won’t recognize taps or gestures – you’d have to press the lock button at the side, then you can swipe down to enter the Home Screen. A bit of a stretch, but nothing annoying.
The screen is vivid, scrolls smoothly, and has an adaptive refresh rate too. This means it’s not always at 120Hz to conserve battery. It can go down to 1Hz if you’re static and will instantly go up if you scroll or swipe to give a smooth render. Basically, a really smooth and efficient visual experience.
Watching and reading things are pleasurable as well. I appreciate their dot-selfie camera as it blocks minimal things to what I read or watch. There’s a bit of over-saturation when it comes to watching Netflix or anime in Crunchyroll, but you’ll only recognize it if you have a neutral screen like me in my workstation. Otherwise, they seem okay and vibrant.
The battery life is great as well. I was able to watch the whole Tokyo Drift, and it only consumed 12% on mid-brightness and mid-volume, which is already plenty loud. If you’re not a doomscroller and do adult stuff mainly, the phone can last two days. But if you do a lot of phone browsing, it can still last a whole day without worry. It also has a second notice once you’re out of charge already. Charging is also fast, with a little over an hour from 0-100%.
The sound out of the HONOR 400 is midrangey but respectable. I do wish they had more control over the vibration, though. The sound coming out of the speakers can be felt via the whole phone, even with a phone case on. I guess this is why the speakers lack bass, because if it’s a bit warmer, it will certainly shake some components there.
Like others, HONOR focused on the camera system of the 400. It has a huge 200MP main camera, and another 12MP ultrawide camera, while on top of the screen is a 50MP selfie camera. They are certainly high in resolution, but it doesn’t equate to quality 1-1. They are dependent on good lighting to really show their prowess, especially the selfie camera. It also prioritizes a clean image rather than a bright one. This is why when you move indoors or when the lighting is dimmer, it prefers to have a slower shutter rather than raising exposure, so you’ll have a less pixelated image.
The main camera has more contrast in general than the eye can see. It employs that over saturation to make images more vivid. It also has a good blur when taking photos of smaller objects near it. I wish it had more bokeh capability without going for the Portrait Mode because the latter tends to polish skin and faces too much. As for the ultrawide, it’s fine for the most part, but can’t really do much at night or in very dim lighting.
The good thing about the camera system is its insistence on dynamic range. Don’t move immediately after clicking the shutter because the HONOR 400 seems to be taking multiple exposures so that the highlights and shadows are both visible.
It also couldn’t escape the Android curse of cameras. The photos and videos you produce can be fine, but are hindered once you use them via social media apps. Make sure you do photo stories by uploading from the gallery and not straight from IG or TikTok’s camera function. Otherwise, you’re using like 20% of the camera’s capability. The resulting images are very far from what you can have with your native camera app. That means online classes will portray a downgraded version of you compared to what you post in socmed.
The selfie cam, despite having a lot of pixels on paper, isn’t confident in taking photos indoors. Sometimes the colors are a miss, especially the skin tone. Other times it was too sharp, or a bit noisy. I’d rather do the Gen Z selfie of using the rear cam rather than utilizing the one on top of the screen. Or, get a real camera as it reacts fluidly to apps from Canon, Fuji, or Sony.
I am amazed at how far phones at this price point have come. What really drove the HONOR 400 to my liking is its simplicity, honesty, and lightness. It felt good in the hands, was a solid performer day to day, and doesn’t really try to be anything other than it already is. The best part is that it promises six years of Android support, including safety patches, so you’re sure that it will last quite a while. In the saturated Android space, the HONOR 400 is not an immediate looker but is a solid choice once you find it.
Photos by the author
