Ever since HONOR made a comeback to the Philippine market in 2022, we were able to review their major mid-range smartphone launches like the HONOR 90 5G, HONOR 200 5G and most recently the HONOR 400 5G. For the first time ever, we were offered to review the Pro version – the HONOR 400 Pro 5G. As always, of course we accepted the offer. Here’s our HONOR 400 Pro 5G review.
Table of Contents
HONOR 400 Pro 5G SPECS
| OS: | MagicOS 9 based on Android 15 |
|---|---|
| Processor: | 3.0 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 3 Octa-Core Processor; Adreno 750 |
| Display: | 6.7-inches 1280×2800 AMOLED Display |
| Wireless Connections: | 5G, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, NFC, IR, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
| Memory: | 12GB+512GB |
| Connectors: | USB Type-C, OTG |
| Cameras: | Rear Camera: Main – 50MP, f/1.8 Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.2 |
| SIM Card Slots: | Dual SIM, eSIM compatible |
| Battery: | 6,000mAh 100W Wired Charging 50W Wireless Charging |
| Price: | P32,999 |
The Unboxing
Inside the box are the HONOR 400 Pro 5G unit, silicon case, SIM Card Ejector, type-C USB cable, 100W USB Charger Head and User Manuals.
The Looks and Feels
I expected the HONOR 400 Pro 5G to look like the HONOR 400 5G, but was surprised to see a phone with a different form factor. It resembles the HONOR 200, which honestly is my preferred design over its newer version.
The dimensions of the HONOR 400 Pro 5G are 160.8mm in height, 76.1mm in width, and 8.1mm thick. It’s slightly thicker than the HONOR 200 though it still maintains its sleek design. Found on top are the IR sensor and speaker. Three buttons are found on the right side – the power button and volume controls.
At the bottom are the SIM Card slot that accommodates two Nano SIM Cards (also eSIM compatible), Type-C USB port, and the other speaker.
The back looks elegant whether its on Midnight Black or Lunar Grey. It also sports a triangular camera module similar to the HONOR 400. I liked our Midnight Black review unit which has a matte finish – less smudgy to your fingers.
The HONOR 400 Pro 5G is quite easy to hold. I could feel the screen’s edges but isn’t really bothersome. At 205 grams, slipping it inside your pants won’t pull it down. Its slimness won’t produce any bulge to your pants pocket too.
The Sound and Display
The HONOR 400 Pro 5G’s screen is a 6.7″ AMOLED display with a resolution of 2800×1280 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19:5:9. It also has a refresh rate of 120Hz. On top of the display are two camera sensors inside a pill-shaped cut-out called the Smart Capsule. Like other earlier HONOR phone models, the Smart Capsule on the HONOR 400 Pro 5G displays call duration, notifications or music currently playing on the phone.
I watched a few videos on the HONOR 400 Pro 5G and it didn’t disappoint. Thanks to its superb display, I appreciated watching “Becoming Led Zeppelin” and “WWE Unreal” on Netflix. Likewise with playing games which I will discuss later.
The stereo speakers were satisfying enough to listen to. No 3.5mm headphone jack here so you’ll need to pair a bluetooth headphones or earbuds for some private listening.
The Performance
Under the hood of the HONOR 400 Pro 5G is a 3.0GHz SM8650-AB Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with Adreno 750 GPU. While this isn’t the top flagship phone of the brand, it is still considered a flagship albeit priced lower than the Magic7 Pro.
We did some benchmark tests on the HONOR 400 Pro 5G. Check these out:
This high-end chipset produces excellent performance for everyday tasks. As expected, we didn’t encounter any bugs or hiccups whether we used social media or entertainment apps. Apps open in a snap and doesn’t lag at all. Storage of 512GB paired with 12GB of memory normally found in flagship phones are also present in the HONOR 400 5G Pro.
Same goes to gaming. I haven’t been playing much games these days, but I was able to try Honor of Kings on the HONOR 400 Pro 5G. All of the game’s settings were set to max and played the game for almost an hour. Again, no lags during gameplay and it played smooth throughout my matches. It was a little bit warm though but nothing for me to complain about. With these specs inside, I am very sure it could also play other popular games like Genshin Impact on higher settings.
The HONOR 400 Pro 5G is pre-installed with MagicOS 9.0 based on Android 15. Typically the same functions as we’ve experienced with previous HONOR phones three years ago. What’s new here are the AI features introduced in the HONOR Magic V3 5G and the HONOR 400 5G. For productivity, it comes with AI Magic Portal, Live Translation, AI Writing Tool, and AI DeepFake Detection. Under imaging, it has AI Eraser 2.0, AI Cutout, AI Outpainting, and Remove Passers-by.
HONOR being a major player in the smartphone market also offers 4 years of major Android updates, ensuring that your 400 Pro 5G will go a long way.
The Cameras
Cameras on the HONOR 400 Pro 5G are pretty much the same with the HONOR 400 5G. They both have 200 Megapixels main camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and a 12 Megapixels ultra-wide camera. The difference is the addition of the third camera on the HONOR 400 Pro 5G – a 50 Megapixels Telephoto.
Let’s check each photo we picked:
The skies in the street shot are detailed while the greens of the trees show a slight saturation boost, but still look fine in our opinion. Blue skies at the background of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel were evident.
Images are well-detailed, except for the chili parts where some areas are not fully in focus. Ideally, all parts should have been sharp.
The portrait mode showcases the smartphone’s capability with detailed fur strands and excellent subject-to-background separation. What’s impressive is that the kitten was moving a lot, yet the camera still managed to capture this level of detail. In portrait mode, the camera highlights gradient focus on the jet, sharply capturing the tip of the plane while gradually blurring the back part.
When zoomed in on the Pastor, you can notice AI smoothing on the face and even on the wall behind him. However, this is hardly noticeable once posted on social media due to compression. It becomes visible only on the original image when zoomed in.
It’s impressive that it managed to capture a clear scene with decent detail and without blur, even when taken from inside a moving car. On the yacht photo, the camera balanced both the dark parts of the yacht and the bright lights of the building, resulting in a well-exposed image.
Selfie photos produced great natural skin tones and realistically separates the subject from the background.
Some more pictures we’d like to share:
Overall, the HONOR 400 Pro 5G produces good detail in both daylight and low-light shots. Colors looked natural and well-balanced and AI smoothing is applied when taking zoom photos.
The Battery Life
The battery capacity of the HONOR 400 Pro 5G has a huge 6,000 mAh which is more than what the flagship phones currently have. Battery life is impressive! I’ve used it for the usual calls and messaging, social media apps, watching TikTok, YouTube and Netflix, or playing Honor of Kings for the whole day. The result, I reached around 14 hours of usage upon reaching 10%. I used this on 5G for the whole time.
A 100W charger is included in the package. It charges really quick, you may charge it for at least 20 minutes then you can still go on doing your thing with the phone.
DR’s Conclusion
My experience with the HONOR 400 Pro 5G was really good, so good I am willing to use this as my main phone for work and leisure. It has flagship performance at a price much lower to the high-end flagships. I prefer its slim form-factor compared to the HONOR 400 and the cameras with the 50 Megapixel telephoto is a big plus for my needs. Battery life is excellent thanks to its larger capacity. If you can stretch your budget to buy the HONOR 400 Pro 5G, I highly recommend to pull the trigger.
