HONOR 400 5G Review | Geek Lifestyle

It’s always fun to see a brand come into their own, and HONOR, a company once known as a sub-brand for HUAWEI, has definitely defined their brand within a short amount of time. As someone who had a background in brand management, marketing, and advertising this is no easy feat — but it helps if you constantly have products that offer innovative (and memorable) features on a regular basis …like that found on the HONOR 400 5G.

As mentioned on our first impression article, we’re thoroughly surprised that HONOR is making their midrange line test beds for first-to-market features. During HONOR 90’s launch the brand showcased its first phone with a super high PWM Dimming capability; for HONOR 200 we got the Studio Harcourt partnership for dreamy portrait shots. This time around we’re seeing another first from the brand with the introduction of its first AI Image to Video capability. This feature is baked into the system already and truly showcases the partnership between HONOR, Qualcomm, and Google.

AI is still the big story in a lot of smartphones this year but HONOR is pushing the boundaries of what that means to consumers and we are all for it.  But pushing that aside, does the HONOR 400 5G have what it takes to be properly included in the brand’s growing line of remarkable products?

Geek-sthetic

Sleek, simple, gorgeous. The HONOR 400 5G’s design shifts dramatically from the more trendy versions of HONOR 90 and HONOR 200 to a more classic and streamlined look. Rendered in soft gold with chromed out accented bezels, the HONOR 400 utilizes symmetrical rounded corners for easier grip and usage as well as a flat glass display reminiscent of a, um, fruity competitor. Still, the new camera module lends to a more playful nuance than.

The phone also feels surprisingly lighter than at 184g and has a profile of just 7.3mm considering the overall chunkier look of the phone.

Since quiet luxury has been the trend for the past couple of years and we see more fashion houses adapting this, the HONOR 400 5G’s design seem to pair well with this overall subdued but luxurious aesthetic.  Overall we’re loving the vibe of the phone as we can easily pair this with more items on our wardrobe. The phone also comes in Midnight Black colorway.

Binge-Watching Factor

Despite its size, the HONOR 400 5G is an excellent (and handy) entertainment machine. The adequate 6.55″ OLED display is big enough to binge all your favorite shows online. It has up to 120Hz refresh rate for stutter-free entertainment and can go up to 5000 nits brightness so you can still enjoy what you’re watching even under the blazing sun.

The dual speakers on the unit also produces loud, crystal clear sound even if you clock it at 200% Max Volume Mode. But perhaps what we love about the new device is the brand jam-packed it with a bunch of Eye Health features like having a very high 3840Hz risk-free PWM Dimming capabilities, AI Defocus Eyecare, AI Circadian Night Display, and for the firs time, Motion Sickness Relief feature which makes viewing the phone on a moving vehicle much more convenient.

We love that HONOR is constantly thinking of improvements that doesn’t (pun intended) catches the eye at once but is there to improve your overall experience nonetheless.

Gaming Prowess

The HONOR 400 5G is powered by a 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 Processor, 12GB of RAM and  512GB of Internal storage. While it may be almost a year old, the 7 Gen 3 chipset is still very capable and highly optimized to play your favorite games on mobile right now.

We tested it with our usual rotations including more demanding titles like Genshin Impact and (to a degree) Zenless Zone Zero and both ran at pretty well at the default setting. For Genshin Impact, that means putting the graphics to low so you can enjoy stutter-free gaming, and for ZZZ, it sits comfortably at medium settings.

Of course, for titles like Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang, feel free to crank everything way up. The phone should be able to handle it — but even if you stick by the device default, you’re still getting high graphic settings with high framerates for smooth 5 on 5 battles across the Land of Dawn.

HONOR’s Game Manager also helps improve gameplay further by removing unwanted notifications, reduce unwanted screen touches (although the flat screen of the HONOR 400 5G lends to a beautiful gaming experience), and locking your display orientation. You can also manage power consumption if and when you need more to boost your gaming experience.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

This is where the device shines the brightest — and where majority of the appeal of getting an HONOR 400 5G is found. If you’re in the market for a handy and reliable smartphone that can capture life’s most precious moments… and then enhance them even further then this phone is definitely for you.

To start with, the HONOR 400 5G has a large 200MP main shooter and 12 MP Ultrawide camera. It’s also equipped with a 50MP selfie cam that has 2 focal ranges to choose from. What’s missing on this device from previous generation is the dedicated telephoto camera. In the HONOR 200 5G, the device comes with this handy tool. So, is this a downgrade from the previous generation? Well, not entirely.

HONOR swapped the dedicated telephoto lens with their hard-working AI Zoom Capabilities that we saw work wonders on the Magic 7 Pro. And while you’ll need to trigger this at 30x digital zoom, the 4x native hybrid zoom is more than capable of capturing subjects and details from afar. Here are a couple of samples:

Speaking of AI enhancements, what surprised us about the HONOR 400 5G is the inclusion of all the AI Photo editing suites from previous generation (flagship included) made available for their midrange device. Aside from that, the phone also introduces the brand’s first Image to Video capability.

According to the brand, this is the first phone that integrates this AI feature on the device. No need to download any third party app as the program is baked into the brand’s proprietary photo album system.

This mind-bending, jaw-dropping tech is made possible because of HONOR and Google’s joint venture in optimizing the HONOR 400 5G to make easy use of Google’s Veo 2 AI Video generating tech. Currently the access to generate video from still images is free for a limited time (you get about 10-30 tokens per day), after that we’re not too sure if you go into a subscription model for more tokens or buy tokens outright.

Still for early adaptors of the HONOR 400 5G, you should get a few months in of generating so many images to 5 second videos. There’s no prompting and HONOR intelligently analyzes the images to determine which animation might be the most suitable for the given scenario. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t — and sometimes when it doesn’t work you can get amazing results. Like this absurdity:

Yes, that’s me, floating on a cup of Nespresso.

Everything from taking the photo to cropping my image and sticking it in the coffee glass was done via the HONOR 400 5G. Aside from Image to Video, explore other fun AI Photo editing options like AI Cutout (which is what I used to cut myself out of the pool), AI Outpainting (for moments when you need to extend an image), and AI Erase where multiple options allows you to remove unwanted passerby, reflections, and whatnots. Ultimately, these tools are there so you can capture your art to your heart’s desire.

For the front-facing camera, the 50MP f/2.1 AI Selfie Cam takes excellent color-accurate images as well. Granted that HONOR’s color temperature falls on the cool side of things, you can easily amp up the saturation with a few filter usage and/or any of their in-device editing features.

Everyday Reliability

You’d think that because HONOR reduced the overall size of the device, they’d reduce the battery as well, right? Nope. That’s not the case. In fact, the HONOR 400 5G has one of the biggest battery we’ve seen on a midrange phone clocking in at a whopping 6000 mAh Silicon-Carbon Battery with 80W HONOR SuperCharge wired fast-charging capabilities. Even when we were out and about in Binondo for a Photo Walk activity, it took a while before we were able to drain the battery on the unit.

This is great for people who don’t like to carry powerbanks and are heavy users whether for streaming, gaming, or capturing a lot of photos or videos.

Aside from this, the HONOR 400 5G also benefits from the brand’s  acclaimed AI Deepfake detection on video calls as well as other AI productivity tools like AI translation, AI recorder, and AI Writing tool which is co-developed with Google Gemini.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The HONOR 400 5G is the perfect companion for those who travel and loves to document life’s little milestones whether it’s preserving them on long-form video formats, stunning Portrait Still Photography, or quick 5 second AI-assisted image to video animations. The HONOR 400 5G’s capable mix of choice hardware and optimized software makes this a fitting addition to the brand’s growing midrange portfolio.

The phone currently retails for Php 22,999 (Php 2,000 below the initial SRP of the HONOR 200 5G) and you can enjoy a host of pre-order freebies when you place your orders on June 18, 2025 to June 27, 2025. Right of the bat, you’ll be receiving Php 9,397 worth of goodies like the HONOR Choice Earbuds Clip – PHP 4,999 2, JBL Go 4 Speakers – PHP 2,599 3 and JISULIFE Fan Pro1 – PHP 1,799. On top of this, you’ll also be entered into a raffle to win either Rolex GMT Master II Green Arrow worth around Php 600,000 c/o Gentry Timepieces or an Hermés Lindy Mini worth Php 420,000 c/o Purse Maison.

You can place your pre-orders at their official Lazada, Shopee, or Tiktok Shop.

For more on the HONOR 400 5G, follow HONOR Philippines on their social.

HONOR 400 5G Specs:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 (4 nm)
• Adreno 720
• 6.55” OLED Display HDR (2736 x 1264), 120Hz refresh rate, 5000 nits peak brightness
• 12 GB RAM (12GB HONOR RAM Turbo)
• 512 GB Storage
• Rear Camera: 200 MP, f/1.9, (wide) 1/1.4″, PDAF, OIS main camera + 12 MP, f/2.2, 112˚ POV ultrawide camera
• Front-Facing Camera: 50 MP, f/2.1, (wide) AI Portrait Camera
• 5G, LTE, Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, fingerprint scanner (under display), USB Type-C
• 6000mAh battery with 80W HONOR SuperCharge support
• Android 15, MagicOS 9.0
• Midnight Black, Desert Gold
• Php 22,999