Latest news with #400Lite
Stuff.tv
22-05-2025
- Stuff.tv
My test found the Honor 400 Pro's image to video AI a bit freaky, but I still think it's a fantastic mid-ranger
Stuff Verdict An exceptionally capable all-rounder. The Honor 400 Pro might not have the same mainstream appeal as its Big Three rivals, but it easily competes with them on cameras, battery and software smarts. Pros Long-lasting battery with rapid wired and wireless charging Colourful, engaging photos in almost all conditions Extensive AI toolbox and upper-tier performance for everything else Cons Some might find all the AI photography features a little creepy A little less pre-installed bloat should be standard at this price Introduction Honor's mid-season smartphone launches have been blurring the line between mid-range and flagship for a while now. The formula is largely the same: show up roughly six months after the firm's tip-tier Magic model, packing the sort of spec you'd usually expect to pay a lot more for. The Honor 400 series also continues the firm's trend for starting with a cut-price Lite version, before following it up with a more potent bigger brother. The Honor 400 Pro feels like a very different proposition to the Honor 400 Lite, though. The iPhone-imitating styling is gone, replaced with more a bespoke look; photography is even more of a focus, with an extra-large helping of AI; and the price has put it closer to big-name rivals – while still staying the right side of affordable. At £699 (there's no US release planned, as is usual for Honor) it undercuts the Google Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25, and slips between the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16. With hardware that has all three beat in places, could it be 2025's first genuine upper-midrange model surprise? How we test smartphones Every phone reviewed on Stuff is used as our main device throughout the testing process. We use industry standard benchmarks and tests, as well as our own years of experience, to judge general performance, battery life, display, sound and camera image quality. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design & build: much more personality My first thoughts after taking the Honor 400 Pro out of its box? 'Now this is more like it.' I'd been disappointed by the 400 Lite's 'Me too' styling, which tried way too hard to be an iPhone at pocket money pricing; the Pro feels far more unique, with a slightly rounded frame, subtle quad-curved glass up front, and a distinctive rear camera housing. There really are three sensors underneath the three lenses this time, and it's glass on the rear rather than polycarbonate, which wraps neatly into the frame. OK, Lunar Grey and Midnight Black aren't the most exciting two colour choices, especially compared to some of Honor's more out-there offerings lately, but the materials feel suitably luxe for the money. Honor hasn't included the AI camera button found on the 400 Lite, which only further highlights how different the two phones are, despite sharing a name. I feel it would've made a lot of sense to bring it back here, given the better camera setup; maybe next year. At 8.1mm it's not the slimmest mid-ranger around; nor is it the lightest, tipping the scales at 205g. But it sits very comfortably in the hand and those subtly protruding camera lenses mean it slips easily in and out of a trouser pocket. It's also impressively durable, with both IP68 and IP69 resistance ratings. Protection from high pressure water jets probably isn't something you'll need on the regular, but it's still nice to have in a phone that doesn't cost four figures. Honor has brought back its secure face recognition, via an iPhone-esque pill-shaped screen cutout, and also offers fingerprint biometrics from an under-display sensor. I liked having both configured, so I could quickly skip the lock screen regardless of lighting conditions or the angle I was holding the phone. Both worked quickly and accurately enough. Screen & sound: easy on the eyes The 400 Pro's bright and colourful AMOLED screen isn't a huge step down from the flagship Magic 7 Pro's. It's ever-so-slightly smaller at 6.7in, but has the same 2800×1280 resolution, and Honor has carried over the subtle 2.5D glass as well. This doesn't reflect light anywhere near as much as a properly curved-edge screen would, yet feels more in keeping with modern phone design trends – without being a carbon copy of any flat-screened rivals. Viewing angles in general are fantastic, and given its an OLED panel underneath contrast is understandably rather brilliant. Black levels are suitably deep and inky, and the 120Hz refresh rate ensures scrolling is as smooth as silk. Streaming content was a pleasure to kick back with, particularly shows shot in HDR. Those really let the 400 Pro's extreme peak brightness shine. 5000nits is about as good as it gets in the phone world, although that figure only counts a tiny portion of the screen at a time. The phone doesn't get anywhere near as bright in everyday use, but I couldn't fault it for outdoor visibility. Even on especially sunny days, I could clearly see what was onscreen. It fared well against the impressively potent Google Pixel 9 XL, which costs considerably more. It's great to see all of Honor's usual eye comfort tech included here. As well as dialling out extra blue light, the phone supports high frequency dimming and automatically adjusts its colour temperature to lower eye fatigue. The defocusing mode softens the screen edges to help here too, which is something you won't find on rival Androids. I liked how dark the extra dim settings gets for night-time reading, too. The Honor 400 Pro's speakers put in a strong showing, with the earpiece tweeter and down-firing main driver delivering more than enough volume for headphone-free listening. Sound is generally clean and clear, with the usual lack of bass I expect from any phone speaker setup. Cameras: AI video arrives On pixel count alone, the Honor 400 Pro looks formidable. There's a 200MP lead snapper (with optical image stabilisation, naturally), backed up by a 50MP telephoto (also with OIS) equipped for 3x optical zoom. The 12MP ultrawide leans more mid-range, but also doubles as a macro shooter with a very short 2.5cm focus distance. A 50MP selfie can up front completes the set. Sensor cropping expands the camera's reach from 0.6x to 6x before digital zoom properly comes into play, and you're offered a trio of colour modes. These either give your snaps authentic, natural-looking hues, more vivid and highly saturated shots, or an analogue film-style treatment that ups the vignetting and strips out a little warmth. I liked experimenting with them on the Magic 7 Pro at the start of 2025, so it's great to see them return here – even if a lot of owners are likely to pick one of the three and rarely stray from it. Most of my shots were taken in Vibrant mode, which is selected by default. Honor's partnership with Studio Harcourt has also returned for the portrait mode, for moody black-and-white snaps that do a pretty decent job of preserving loose hairs and finer edge details. Algorithms are just as important as pixels, of course, and for the most part the Honor 400 Pro delivers. The lead lens captures a glorious amount of detail as you'd expect, along with convincing and vibrant colours. Colour and exposure consistency between it and the other two lenses is rather great too, if not quite up there with the class leaders. Dynamic range isn't quite as wide as some rivals can manage, leaving some of my most brightly-lit scenes looking a bit washed out as HDR processing exposed for both highlights and shadow detail. Outside of extremes, though, it held up rather well across all three lenses. The ultrawide definitely shows a detail drop-off compared to the other two, and the edges of the frame aren't super-sharp, but its narrow minimum focus distance meant I got some rather tidy close-up shots. I was genuinely impressed with the clarity of the zoom at 6x, too. In some cases I thought the colours were more convincing and the contrast more true-to-life than 3x shots taken from the same spot, despite cropping the sensor to achieve them. It quickly became my favourite 'lens' for travel snaps, so long as my subjects were far enough away from me. I'd sooner reach for this than a Galaxy S25. Honor's AI Super Zoom can take over beyond 30x, as it could on the Magic 7 Pro flagship. Your shots are optionally sent to the Cloud for processing, and come back either looking like someone took a decent stab at adding detail the sensor couldn't capture, or more like a poster illustrated version of what you saw in the viewfinder. Even without AI, there's clearly a lot of smoothing and noise reduction going on to create a usable image. There's still a bit of work to do in low light, where the colour disparity between lenses seems stronger and the ultrawide quickly runs out of pixels to preserve fine detail. The other two hold up well for contrast and exposure, though, and aren't far off the class leaders. Honor is also all-in on AI image editing at this point, and is first in line to bake support for Google's Leo Cloud processing straight into its gallery app. On top of the generation image expansion, smart subject cutouts, reflection and background object removal it could do previously, you now get AI image to video. There are a few limitations, like using single subjects and it rejecting blurry snaps, but it needs just a few minutes to turn a single static image into five seconds of video. These aren't basic clips, either: as well as animating your subject, it adds camera pans, zooms, and drone-like aerial climbs. Naturally you'll have to pay for this functionality at some point – it's labelled as a 'free trial' on my review unit. Honestly, it's freaky stuff at times: some of my test snaps looked incredibly convincing. A few were clearly AI slop, with nonsense creations and artifacts appearing mid-scene. You've also got no input over the camera movement or what your subjects are animated to perform. There's a fun side to it, but I can't ever imagine forking over cash to be able to use it. Software experience: that's magic Honor usually saves big updates to its Android skin for flagship phones, so the 400 Pro arrives running the same MagicOS 9 software as the 400 Lite and Magic 7 Pro I tested at the start of 2025. It's based on Android 15, though a lot of the styling feels very iOS-inspired. All your apps get spread over multiple home screens by default, notifications and quick settings are on separate pull-down menus, and a few of the icons look pretty familiar. There's the usual extensive selection of own-brand apps, with dupes for most of Google's defaults (which are hidden away in a folder). I was also a little disappointed my review unit had so much pre-installed third-party bloat; it's a pretty common move on budget models, and was excusable on the sub-£250 Honor 400 Lite, but less so on a phone that costs a fair bit more. Your mileage may vary as the phone will be set up differently for different regions, admittedly, and it's only the work of a minute or two to erase them if you're not a fan. With a whopping 512GB of onboard storage, it's not like you're short on space right out of the box either. Magic Portal is quickly becoming an Honor standout, letting you drag images or text to the side of the screen to bring up contextual actions and relevant apps. Highlight an address and Google Maps shows up at the top of the sidebar that appears. It's a handy way for opening two apps in multi-window, too. I'm in two minds about the Apple-like Magic Capsule, which puts music controls, call timers and alarms around the pill-shaped camera cutout. Yup, it's Dynamic Island – except far more limiting, with no third-party app support. I'd love Honor to open up the API to app developers, or at least integrate more of its stock apps. The firm gets a thumbs up for its long-term update support, though. Honor flagships get seven years of Android versions and seven years of security updates now. The 400 Pro isn't quite a flagship, but six years of each is still a great showing, and puts it just behind the likes of Google's Pixel 9 and the Samsung Galaxy A56. Of course it's all the AI additions that Honor is putting the biggest emphasis on this year – and why not, given everyone else is doign the same. A lot of the various tools use Google Gemini, so of course you get Circle to Search, the Gemini voice assistant, and Gemini Live conversational AI. The writing tools, live language translation, voice transcription and subtitles are all par for the course, too.I wouldn't say they're better or worse than any rival offering, currently. Performance & battery life: what more do you want? The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the Honor 400 Pro isn't quite cutting edge today, but you don't have to go too far back in time to the point where it was Qualcomm's class-leading silicon. Paired with a healthy 12GB of RAM, it means this phone feels every bit the high-end hero, with a near-unflappable Android experience for the most part. Apps open in a blink, multitasking is no sweat, and even demanding apps run smoothly. It's not quite so fast in synthetic benchmarks, as single- and multi-core scores of 2046 and 6463 in Geekbench 6 show; flagship rivals with Snapdragon 8 Elites are some 2000 points quicker on the multi-core test. Single-core grunt is greater than Razr 60 Ultra flip phone, though – showing what a difference effective cooling can make on performance. At no point in real-world use did I feel like I needed any extra oomph. Gaming was a similar story. The 3Dmark Solar Bay test churned out a score of 7665, again putting it some distance behind the fastest phones on sale today – but not so much that games from the Play Store weren't nigh-on flawless. Horror fishing adventure Dredge isn't asking an awful lot of the GPU, so it was no surprise I saw perfectly smooth gameplay, but Genshin Impact was also stutter-free. You're in no way getting a sub-par processor for your money here. I like that the 400 Pro continues Honor's streak of offering plenty of on-board storage, too. You get 512GB as standard here, while rivals only offer 256GB – or in some cases just 128GB. Honor also puts its competition on blast when it comes to battery capacity. Admittedly the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 are both physically smaller phones, but there's a big gulf between their meagre cells and the 400 Pro's 5300mAh unit. Chinese brands have been quick to adopt silicon-carbon tech, and it has made a big difference to this phone's staying power. I comfortably lasted through full days of heavy use without having to plug in, and two days was achievable with lighter use. That's an excellent showing for a phone that's otherwise so capable everywhere else. I was never waiting around for the phone to charge, either. The 400 Pro supports 100W top-ups from a compatible power brick, so I could complete a full refuel in under ah hour. Wireless charging is impressively speedy at 50W, too, though compatible charging plates are a little rarer. Honor 400 Pro verdict In just a few short years, Honor has transformed its upper-midrange phones into true mainstream flagships. The 400 Pro can comfortably rub shoulders with Google and Samsung's mass market models, thanks to its capable rear camera trio, high capacity battery, and impressively wide-reaching software smarts. Not everyone wants their photo galleries filled with AI-adjusted images, and Honor still needs to remember customers paying this sort of cash have a lower tolerance for pre-installed bloat. But the colourful screen, modern (yet still unique) styling and slightly more affordable price make it a genuine alternative for those who aren't obsessed over brand names. Stuff Says… Score: 4/5 An exceptionally capable all-rounder. The Honor 400 Pro might not have the same mainstream appeal as its Big Three rivals, but it easily competes with them on cameras, battery and software smarts. Pros Long-lasting battery with rapid wired and wireless charging Colourful, engaging photos in almost all conditions Extensive AI toolbox and upper-tier performance for everything else Cons Some might find all the AI photography features a little creepy A little less pre-installed bloat should be standard at this price Honor 400 Pro technical specifications Screen 6.7in, 2800×1280 120Hz AMOLED CPU Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Memory 12GB RAM Cameras 200MP + 50MP + 12MP rear 50MP front Storage 512GB on-board Operating system Android 15 w/ MagicOS 9 Battery 5300mAh w/ 100W wired, 50W wireless charging Dimensions 8.1mm thick 205g
Nylon
02-05-2025
- Business
- Nylon
HONOR's flagship smartphone 400 Lite with premium AI is now available in Singapore
With Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the forefront of almost every tech brand, HONOR is expanding the reach of AI by offering it at an affordable price point in its flagship HONOR 400 Lite, now officially available in Singapore. Image courtesy of HONOR. Integrating advanced AI capabilities into its mobile photography and display technology, the 400 Lite also features an intuitive AI button for camera controls to enhance your photography experience with smart vision capabilities. Here's a closer look at some of its key features. Image courtesy of HONOR. Image courtesy of HONOR. Built with a slim 7.29mm profile and weighing in at just 171g, the HONOR 400 Lite features a minimalist geometric lens design and a velvet-like soft mist texture that has been enhanced by the Excimer process for a refined, reflection-free finish. Made for everyday use, the device holds a SGS Five-Star Drop Resistance Certification and supports IP65 wet-hand touch technology for use even in wet conditions like rain. Image courtesy of HONOR. Featuring a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, you'll be able to enjoy your content with smooth, vivid visuals and sharp clarity. You also don't have to worry about eye comfort as the 400 Lite includes seven eye care technologies to help you reduce eye strain and improve viewing comfort. With a 108MP main camera and a 5MP sensor for wide shots and depth detection, you are going to get a standout photography experience and the ability to capture crisp, high-resolution shots that are applicable even in low light. Image courtesy of HONOR. Photos taken in Portrait mode — Environmental, Classic, and Close-up — will also have a natural bokeh effect to add artistic depth for your versatile and creative shots. Image courtesy of HONOR. Powered by the AI HONOR Image Engine and RAW Domain Algorithm, the 400 Lite's 16MP front camera ensures that you get balanced, detailed selfies in any lighting while a built-in selfie light helps to add a soft, professional glow for low-light portraits. Image courtesy of HONOR. The AI Button on the HONOR 400 Lite introduces you to a revolutionary Camera Control feature that allows you to take photos, record videos, and adjust focus with ease. It also provides quick and easy access to Google Lens, providing you with the opportunity to explore and interact with your surroundings. Image courtesy of HONOR. Through this integration with Smart Vision (Google Lens), you can transform your smartphone into a powerful tool for exploration and learning where you can identify plants, animals and artwork with ease, or even translate foreign text from menus and signs in real-time across 100 languages. Video courtesy of HONOR. Together with a Google Gemini Power Button, you can unlock more AI possibilities with the 400 Lite, even getting quick access to AI Eraser & AI Outpainting tools for effortless photo editing, as well as to activate Google Gemini to act as your personal AI assistant to help with various tasks such as drafting emails, looking up flights and hotels, and planning a holiday!
Stuff.tv
25-04-2025
- Stuff.tv
The Honor 400 Lite does iPhone looks for less, but I'm not convinced
Stuff Verdict A very affordable all-rounder that's rather shameless in its iPhone inspirations. The Honor 400 Lite appeals to those who like the Apple look, but budget rivals have more unique personalities Pros Modern styling and sharp screen make it a real looker An iPhone-like camera experience on the cheap Comfortably lasts a day per charge Cons Camera quality is merely OK, even at this price Competing cut-price phones have even bigger batteries Copycat looks aren't for everyone Introduction Where Apple treads, others tend to follow. With the 400 Lite, Honor is following about as closely as it can – yet this sharp-looking Android costs less than a third of the price of its iOS inspiration. It's the first affordable phone with a customisable camera button, which controls a rear lens duo headlined by a 108MP snapper. That's an impressive pixel count, regardless of price. This is still a budget phone at heart, of course. At £250/€299 (sorry America, Honor still won't sell to you directly) it costs half as much as a Google Pixel 9a, and the rest of the spec sheet reflects that. The cut-price competition has also really hotted up lately; the Poco X7 Pro proved slim dimensions don't have to come at the expense of battery capacity, and the upcoming CMF Phone 2 has very much gone its own way on the design front. Can the 400 Lite do more than just a convincing impression of an iPhone and earn a place in your pocket? How we test smartphones Every phone reviewed on Stuff is used as our main device throughout the testing process. We use industry standard benchmarks and tests, as well as our own years of experience, to judge general performance, battery life, display, sound and camera image quality. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design & build: sincerest form of flattery? There's no escaping it: the Honor 400 Lite is the spitting image of an iPhone 16 Pro. I'm not saying Apple has the monopoly on flat sided rectangles, but once you factor in the Dynamic Island-mimicking selfie camera cutout and rear camera module it's a dead ringer. Especially in the Velvet Grey of my review unit, which looks very metal-like from a distance. You won't find any titanium here, of course; the whole thing is made from polycarbonate. Only two of those rear lenses actually have sensors behind them (the third contains the flash), and the facial recognition isn't secure enough for your banking apps. But what did you expect for the cash? Honor has fully committed to the bit with the touch-sensitive AI Camera button, which sits in the exact same spot as the iPhone 16's Camera Control. Which means it's too far up the side to reach comfortably when holding the phone in landscape. It feels as well-built as the budget competition, is satisfyingly thin at just 7.3mm, and lightweight without feeling toy-like at 171g. The flat sides make it easy to grip and the screen bezels are some of the skinniest I've seen at this price. IP64 dust and water resistance is merely OK, though, with some rivals now managing IP68 protection. The under-display fingerprint sensor sits a little too close to the bottom edge for my liking, making one-handed unlocking a little tricky, but it was as fast and accurate to recognise my prints as any other sub-£300 phone. Screen & sound: shine on OLED screens are even a given on affordable phones these days, and the Honor 400 Lite doesn't disappoint. Its 6.7in panel fills the entire front of the phone, with skinny, symmetrical bezels that curve neatly at all four corners. It looks like a much pricier device as a result. The 2312×1080 resolution looks sharp at arms' length and I like the vibrant colours. You get a 60-120Hz dynamic refresh rate here, a welcome improvement from the Honor 200 Lite's 90Hz maximum. There's an option to force 120Hz on all the time for the smoothest scrolling, but the phone was quick enough to react to my inputs that I was happy to leave it on the automatic setting. Contrast is great, as you'd expect given the tech, as are black levels. The dark and moody Tron: Ares trailer had an impressive amount of depth, with HDR support making each Light Cycle's light trail really pop. It helps that viewing angles are top notch within its price bracket, and the screen can get plenty bright when you need it to. A peak 3500 nits isn't quite as high as Honor's similarly priced Magic 7 Lite, but it meant I could use the phone outside without having to squint when the sun came out. rapid 3840Hz PWM dimming and a Circadian Night setting that strips away unwanted blue light protect your eyes at night, too. Audio is a step behind the visuals, on account of only having a mono speaker. It's a big clue this is a budget phone. There's enough volume for podcasts and YouTube clips, but you'll want headphones for anything with even a tiny amount of bass. Cameras: beat the count Honor has gradually been turning its back on macro shooters, which in my mind is a good thing given they add such little value to a phone. So while the 400 Lite has one less lens than the outgoing 200 Lite, it keeps the two important ones. OK, the 5MP ultrawide very much gives the game away that this is a budget device, but the 108MP lead lens should balance things out. Pixel count isn't everything, of course, and it lacks optical image stabilisation, so will be a step behind the Magic 7 Lite for low-light precision. That phone doesn't have the 400 Lite's AI Camera button, though. Press it at any time and you're taken straight into the camera app, while a press and hold wakes up Google Lens for visual searches. Once in the camera app, a half-press will lock focus, a press-and-hold starts recording a video, and swiping left and right controls the zoom level. So far, so iPhone, but there's no way to change the function to control depth blur or exposure. You can't set it to toggle between lenses rather than zoom levels – no surprise given you have just two to choose from here. That meant I used digital zoom (which crops the sensor to maintain detail levels) quite a bit during testing. Unfortunately the lack of OIS and some aggressive noise reduction/smoothing algorithms meant a lot of the detail ended up crushed out of my shots. As with the Magic 7 Lite, 3x shots seemed to hold up better than 2x ones, preserving that little bit more clarity. Honor 400 Lite 1x (left) vs 3x digital crop (right) When given the whole sensor to play with, images looked clean and colourful for an affordable phone., Dynamic range is alright for most scenes and the finer details are maintained. In good light colours have plenty of pop, and the highlights capture mode made getting crisp shots of subjects that refuse to sit still that little bit easier. It's not as good a low light performer, with noise creeping in and needing a steady hand for crisp shots. Dynamic range also takes a hit, and HDR processing can't rescue the more intense highlights. The ultrawide lens can pack a good amount of a scene into the frame, but that low pixel count is pretty blatant when comparing with the lead camera. There's not much in the way of fine detail, noise is present even during the day, and dynamic range was that bit narrower. It's still a more useful inclusion than a macro shooter, but other budget phones do better. As much as the AI Camera button and iPhone-aping camera arrangement implies this should be a phone for photographers on a budget, it can't deliver the goods to the same level as other sub-£300 phones – and spending just a little more gets considerably better results. Software experience: Lite on AI Honor's take on Android 15 is a known commodity at this point. MagicOS 9 isn't a grand departure from previous versions, so the visual similarities to iOS aren't a shock. Quick settings and notifications live in separate pull-down menus, there's no app drawer as standard, and you'll spot the extensive selection of own-brand apps before you see Google's defaults hidden away in a folder. Other Apple-esque features include Magic Capsule, a sort of cut-down Dynamic Island. Music controls appear here, along with call timers and alarms, but that's your lot. It's not the first time I've seen it on a budget Honor phone, and its functionality hasn't expanded at all, but it works well enough. Magic Portal is an Honor original, putting context sensitive actions onscreen when you drag an image or text selection to the floating sidebar. It's handy for jumping between apps, as it puts the most relevant one at the top of the list – maps if you've highlighted an address, for example. Unsurprisingly for an affordable phone, the 400 Lite has a fair few pre-installed apps from third-parties. I've seen worse offenders, and they can be scrubbed from the onboard storage easily enough, but it's a firm reminder you're using a budget handset. The 256GB capacity means you're hardly hurting for space, at least. Honor might've recently committed to seven years of update support for its flagship phones, but that doesn't appear to have filtered down to its more affordable models yet. It's unclear exactly how many new Android versions the 400 Lite will get, but I'd bank on it being just a few. If long-term ownership is the goal, it might make more sense to save some more cash and check out something from the Apple or Google camps. Performance & battery life: no speed demon With power coming from a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 chipset, the Honor 400 Lite is a modest performer. This is budget silicon, with enough oomph to run Android at a fair lick but landing at the bottom end of most benchmark leaderboards. Geekbench single- and multi-core scores of 951 and 2284 put it very close to the Magic 7 Lite and its Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 CPU, which is several years old at this point. Android's animations were smooth for the most part, and apps opened quickly enough, but I noticed they would reload or refresh a little more often here when multitasking than a Nothing Phone 3a. It won't bother you when sticking to the basics like social media, web browsing and video streaming, but more demanding creative apps might feel sluggish. If you're coming from a higher-end phone, you'll feel the speed difference, though it's not a total dealbreaker. This isn't a top choice for mobile gamers, either. 3Dmark test scores again see it outperformed by similarly-priced rivals, and many of the games I tried from the Play Store defaulted to lower graphics settings. 2D titles and simpler games run well enough, and with some of the visual niceties switched off you can play 3D fare too – just not as well as a pricier device. MediaTek knows a thing or two about efficiency, though, and the Honor 400 Lite's 5230mAh battery is a competitive capacity. Sure, it's less than you'll get from the Magic 7 Lite or Poco X7 Pro, but there's easily enough juice here for a day and a half of more relaxed use. Heavy gaming and video recording will drain it faster, but I never struggled to see out an entire day on a single charge. Honor can usually be relied on for rapid wired charging speeds, so the 400 Lite's 35W refuelling feels a little modest – especially when rivals manage 90W for similar money. Wireless charging doesn't make the grade, either, though that's less of a surprise. Honor 400 Lite verdict If the Honor 400 Lite looked any different, it'd be lost in the shuffle. As affordable phones go it's an alright performer, takes a decent enough photo, and can go all day on a charge – but the same can be said for most of its rivals. The top contenders also excel in one or more areas. The Poco X7 Pro lasts even longer and has more power; the Nothing Phone 3a has unique looks and streamlined software; the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion is way tougher. Honor's own Magic 7 Lite remains the longevity champ, and you won't mistake it for an iPhone. But maybe that's exactly what you want? None of the cheap competition do such a convincing impression of a premium handset. If you don't mind paying for that design, you'll be happy enough with what the 400 Lite offers for the cash. Stuff Says… Score: 3/5 A very affordable all-rounder that's rather shameless in its iPhone inspirations. The Honor 400 Lite appeals to those who like the Apple look, but budget rivals arguably have more unique personalities. Pros Modern styling and sharp screen make it a real looker Long-lasting battery An iPhone-like camera experience on the cheap Cons Camera quality is merely OK, even at this price Competing cut-price phones have bigger batteries Copycat looks aren't for everyone Honor 400 Lite technical specifications Screen 6.7in, 2312×1080 OLED w/ 60-120Hz CPU MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra Memory 8GB RAM Cameras 108MP+5MP rear, 16MP front Storage 256GB on-board Operating system Android 15 w/ MagicOS 9 Battery 5230mAh w/ 35W wired charging Dimensions 161x75x7.3 mm, 171g
Irish Examiner
24-04-2025
- Irish Examiner
Honor 400 Lite: Feature-packed, stylish, and surprisingly smart for the price
The 400 Lite is the latest in Honor's budget 400 series of smartphones. While it doesn't scream for attention with flashy gimmicks or ultra-premium specs, it offers a clean, refined experience that nails the essentials and then throws in a few smart extras that genuinely enhance everyday use. Design and build The 400 Lite is one of those phones that instantly feels nice in the hand. It's just 7.29mm thick and weighs very little, making it super comfortable for prolonged use, whether scrolling on the couch or snapping pics on the move. The rounded corners and flat edges give off iPhone vibes, but I'm fully on board with this latest design trend. I love the clean lines — it feels great in the hand, with no sharp edges — and the device is well-balanced. The black variant I tested has one of the nicest finishes I've seen in this category. It looks modern, with a distinctive rear camera bump, and strikes a stylish balance without being overly flashy. The frosted finish on the back and the triangular camera module add a touch of character, giving it a premium look at a budget-friendly price. The pill-shaped notification cut-out at the top of the screen is a direct copy of Apple's Dynamic Island. Still, it's smaller and less intrusive, serving a practical purpose (music playback, notifications, etc.). Display Here's where the 400 Lite really shines — literally. The 6.7-inch AMOLED panel delivers full HD+ resolution with bold colours, sharp contrast, and deep blacks. With a peak brightness of 3,500 nits, I had no issues using this phone outdoors. No need to shield the screen or crank up brightness manually — it just works. The 120Hz refresh rate makes everyday interactions feel silky smooth. Whether you're doom-scrolling on social media or swiping through image galleries, it adds a layer of polish you rarely find in phones at this price. For security, there's an optical under-display fingerprint reader that works well enough, but it's not as fast or reliable as the latest ultrasonic sensors found on flagship devices. Cameras Honor has fitted the 400 Lite with a 108MP main shooter, a 5MP ultrawide/depth combo, and a 16MP selfie cam. While the secondary lens is more about padding the spec sheet than transforming your photography, the main sensor performs admirably in most situations. The rear camera module may look like it houses three cameras, but the third circle is the flash. The main camera is excellent, especially in good lighting, and the Action mode helps reduce motion blur in your shots, even in low-light conditions. The ultrawide camera delivers good results in contrast, colour, and HDR performance, but with only a 5MP sensor, clarity and fine detail are noticeably lacking. The selfie is excellent, especially for a phone in this price category. It's also great for video calls and quick Instagram stories, but don't expect flagship levels of detail or finesse. Things get more interesting in Honor's AI features. Motion capture does a great job of freezing fast-moving subjects, and the object removal feature is impressively clean—no weird shadows or smudgy artefacts. It's practical AI, not just marketing fluff. There's also a dedicated AI camera button, which can be helpful in daily life. It works well as a zoom controller and shutter button, and its intuitive placement means you're likely to use it more than you'd expect. Performance Under the hood, the 400 Lite is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra, paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It's not a gaming powerhouse, but for everyday use — browsing, media consumption, messaging, and multitasking — it's snappy and responsive. This isn't the phone for you if you're into demanding games, but for casual gaming and everyday tasks, the Honor 400 Lite performs reliably and holds its own. MagicOS 9.0 (based on Android 15) deserves a shoutout here, too. It's clean, fast, and surprisingly feature-rich. The AI-assisted features, like text/image recognition and Magic Portal (for quickly dragging content between apps), are more than gimmicks — they actually make the phone feel smarter and more helpful. Battery life is a strong suit here. With a 5,230mAh cell, the 400 Lite comfortably powers through a full day of heavy use and even stretches into day two if you're being conservative. Charging is capped at 35W, so it's not the fastest out there, but it's still decent — it can go from 0 to 100% in around 75 minutes when using the (not included) Honor SuperCharge adapter. The box has no charger, but that's hardly unusual in 2025. Stereo speakers are decent, though not exceptional, and there's no headphone jack — again, standard for the times. Verdict The Honor 400 Lite is powerful enough to do everything most people need. It has a gorgeous AMOLED display, capable cameras with some genuinely useful AI features, and excellent battery life. If you want a dependable phone that feels more premium than its price tag suggests, the Honor 400 Lite deserves a look. €299 – Three and Harvey Norman.
