-
Appearance - 8/10
8/10
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Efficiency - 8/10
8/10
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Features - 8.2/10
8.2/10
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Materials - 8/10
8/10
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Performance - 7.5/10
7.5/10
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Portability - 8/10
8/10
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User Experience (UX) - 7/10
7/10
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Value - 8.5/10
8.5/10
Summary
The HONOR 400 Pro is a well-balanced smartphone that walks the line between premium experience and mid-range affordability. It doesn’t try to be a “flagship killer” in the traditional, aggressive sense. Instead, it takes a more refined approach — offering premium features, polished performance, and thoughtful design choices, all at a more accessible price.
Overall
7.9/10Pros
+ Premium Design and Build Quality
+ Impressive Display Performance
+ Solid Performance with Flagship-Level Hardware
+ Versatile Camera System
+ Long Battery Life with 100W Fast Charging
+ Extended Software Support
Cons
– Cluttered Software Experience
– Display Notch Limits Screen Real Estate
– Rivals Offer Slightly More for the Money
Unboxing
- USB-C to USB-C cable
- 100W HONOR SuperCharge charger
- SIM ejector pin
- Documentations
- Clear protective case
- The HONOR 400 Pro itself
Specifications
| SoC | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 4nm |
| CPU | 1 x Cortex-X4 @ 3.3 GHz + 3 x Cortex-A720 @ 3.2 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A720 @ 3.0 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A520 @ 2.3 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 750 |
| RAM | 12GB (+12GB HONOR RAM Turbo) |
| Storage | 512GB UFS 4.0 |
| Display | 6.7″ (2800 x 1280) AMOLED 1.07 billion colors, HDR Vivid, 100% DCI-P3, AI super Dynamic Display Tech, 3840Hz PWM dimming, 360° Adaptive Dimming, AI Circadian Night Display 460ppi, 5000 nits (peak), Up to 120Hz refresh rate |
| Camera | 200MP f/1.9 Super Sensing AI Camera 50MP f/2.4 Telephoto Camera 12MP f/2.2 122˚ Ultra-wide and Macro Camera 50MP f/2.0 Portrait Selfie Camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, 2×2 MIMO, Tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth 5.4, BLE, SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX HD GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo/QZSS Infrared NFC USB-C 2.0 with OTG |
| Battery | 6000mAh HONOR 3rd Gen Silicon-carbon Battery 100W Wired HONOR SuperCharge 50W Wireless HONOR SuperCharge |
| Dimensions | 160.8 x 76.1 x 8.1 mm |
| Weight | 205g |
| Ingress Protection | IP68 / IP69 |
| Software | MagicOS 9.0 based on Android 15 |
| Colors | Lunar Grey, Tidal Blue, Midnight Black |
Performance
In Antutu v10, the HONOR 400 Pro certainly shows flagship-level performance, albeit not current generation flagship. It’s interesting how it managed to score higher than its own brand’s 2024 flagship by a noticeable amount despite running the same chip. It packs quite a bit of a punch and is shaping up to be more than enough for most consumers today.
The same can be said in Geekbench 6, as it’s on par with last year’s flagships. Compared to the Magic6 Pro, the HONOR 400 Pro lost in single core performance but won in multi core performance, which is an interesting sight to see.
Then in 3DMark, the HONOR 400 Pro had a good showing in Wild Life Extreme, Solar Bay, and Steel Nomad Light. It’s on par for a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 device, but I found it interesting how it managed to beat a Snapdragon 8 Elite device in Steel Nomad Light but was practically left in the dust for the other two tests. What was bad here is the stability rating, as it only managed to achieve 40%, meaning that the cooling system isn’t adequate for sustained use.
Finally in PCMark’s Work 3.0, it is once again on par with last year’s flagships for daily use. This shouldn’t be a surprise given the chip but if you’re worried it might be a variation with less cores or underclocked in anyway, that doesn’t appear to be the case here or in any other benchmarks we had.
As for battery life, we managed to get 11 hours and 51 minutes from 100%, putting it in between the Magic6 Pro and Magic7 Pro. This shouldn’t be a surprise since the HONOR 400 Pro has a larger battery capacity than last year’s flagship but the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is generally considered to be more a more energy efficient chip.
The Good
The HONOR 400 Pro stands out with a refined, professional look. The silky matte glass back not only feels premium but also helps resist fingerprints, while the 2.5D glass panels on both front and rear contribute to a smooth in-hand feel. It retains the subtly curved edges that help disguise its relatively hefty build — at 205g and 8.1mm thick — making it comfortable to hold despite being a large phone. A standout change is the new rounded trapezium-shaped camera module, a departure from the previous generation’s Casa Milá-inspired design. While the new camera bump may seem unconventional at first glance, it adds character to an otherwise minimalist back. More impressively, the phone carries both IP68 and IP69 ratings, offering a level of dust and water resistance that even pricier flagships sometimes lack.
HONOR has clearly paid special attention to the display. The 6.7-inch OLED panel delivers a resolution of 2800 x 1280 and a 120Hz refresh rate, offering fluid visuals and crisp details. It supports an eye-searing 5,000 nits of peak brightness in HDR scenarios, which is ideal for watching content outdoors or in bright lighting. Under regular use with auto-brightness turned off, the screen still achieves a respectable 600 nits. Color accuracy is excellent when set to Normal mode, although the Vivid mode may come off as oversaturated. What’s more, the panel supports 3,840Hz PWM dimming — a feature that reduces flicker and is especially beneficial for users sensitive to eye strain, something not commonly found in competitors. While the display curves slightly at the edges, it doesn’t interfere with usage or trigger accidental touches.
Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the HONOR 400 Pro delivers the kind of performance you’d expect from 2024’s flagship smartphones. This is a significant leap from the stripped-down Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 found in previous models, which lagged behind in GPU performance. In day-to-day use, the HONOR 400 Pro feels fast and responsive, capable of handling multitasking and graphically intensive games like Genshin Impact or Honkai Star Rail without breaking a sweat. Backed by 12GB of RAM and a generous 512GB of storage, there’s plenty of room for both speed and space.
The camera setup on the HONOR 400 Pro is both ambitious and capable. Its headline 200MP main sensor captures high-resolution images with excellent detail and handles various lighting scenarios well. Complementing it is a 50MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, further enhanced by AI for improved clarity at extended ranges. The ultra-wide 12MP sensor rounds out the trio, offering flexibility in framing. One of the more playful additions is the “Image to Video” AI feature, which animates still photos into short clips. While it feels more like a tech demo than a core feature, it’s still a fun way to experiment with content creation and showcases HONOR’s ongoing push into AI-powered photography.
The HONOR 400 Pro ships with MagicOS 9.0, based on Android 15. While HONOR’s software skin is far from universally loved (more on that below), the brand deserves credit for its forward-looking update promise: 6 years of OS and security updates. That level of support matches or exceeds nearly every other Android manufacturer aside from Google and Samsung, both of which promise seven years. HONOR has also committed to rolling out Android 16 before the end of 2025, giving users some assurance that they won’t be left behind anytime soon.
The Bad
While MagicOS 9.0 is fast and feature-rich, it remains one of the more polarizing Android skins out there. The interface carries a strong resemblance to iOS, from the lack of a traditional app drawer to the design of the notification shade and Settings menu. This iOS-inspired approach may not appeal to long-time Android users looking for a more stock-like experience. Worse still, the phone comes preloaded with a significant amount of bloatware, as well as redundant HONOR apps that duplicate existing Google services. While Magic Capsule (HONOR’s version of Apple’s Dynamic Island) is a genuinely useful feature, the overall software experience can feel overly busy and inconsistent.
Though the display is impressive overall, the extended notch housing the front-facing sensors can be intrusive for some. If you prefer watching content in full screen, the notch may be a distraction. It’s not a dealbreaker, but in a world of punchhole cameras and under-display solutions, the notch feels like a step back in terms of immersive design.
While the HONOR 400 Pro is an excellent all-rounder, it’s not entirely without competition. Devices like the Nubia Z70 Ultra and POCO F7 Ultra offer the higher-end Snapdragon 8 Elite at comparable — or even lower — price points. As a result, the HONOR 400 Pro might not be the top pick for raw performance enthusiasts.
Verdict
The HONOR 400 Pro is a well-balanced smartphone that walks the line between premium experience and mid-range affordability. It doesn’t try to be a “flagship killer” in the traditional, aggressive sense. Instead, it takes a more refined approach — offering premium features, polished performance, and thoughtful design choices, all at a more accessible price. While its software still needs refinement, it represents a solid option for anyone looking to step outside the usual flagship suspects.
It might not lead in every category, but the HONOR 400 Pro proves that you don’t need to spend top dollar to get a top-tier smartphone experience. That’s why we’re awarding it with our Silver Pokdeward.
