I've been using the HONOR 400 5G for more than two weeks now. It's one of those phones that grows on you the more you explore what it can do. It's not just about ticking off specs on a sheet, though. While it does that quite well, it's more about how all those features come together in a way that feels thoughtful and well-integrated. Practical. Almost personal.

HONOR is clearly making a statement with this one. The 400 5G feels like an innovative blend of function and flair, AI smarts, polished design, and some genuinely surprising touches that make daily use feel smoother. Not perfect, no. But intentionally valuable in a rare way. It doesn't scream for attention, but it subtly adapts to your rhythm.

Now, let's talk about the camera. Because wow. The 200MP Ultra Clear AI primary sensor, paired with that large f/1.9 aperture, delivers sharp, vibrant shots that hold up even under zoom. And I don't mean the usual overprocessed "look, we added zoom" trick some phones try to pull. This one actually keeps the details. HONOR's AI RAW model, trained on over 12 billion parameters, quietly enhances each shot without making it look artificial. Even distant subjects retain a natural look.

The ultra-wide and macro combo lens (12MP) and a surprisingly powerful 50MP selfie camera round out the setup. Portraits, especially moving ones, look crisp and alive thanks to features like Portrait Snap and HD Moving Photo, tools that feel less like gimmicks and more like little creative boosts. You won't use them all the time, but when you do, they deliver.

Stephen Cheng, HONOR Philippines Vice President, put it nicely: "It's not just about the hardware. The phone is trying to meet you halfway, using AI to simplify the complex stuff. That's where the HONOR IMAGE ENGINE comes in. It powers things like AI Super Zoom and Film Simulation Mode, which brings cinema-like effects to everyday scenes. Sometimes, they're a bit much, but when the light hits, it's just right."

Editing on this phone is another surprise. HONOR didn't just slap on a few filters and call it a day. You get AI Eraser, Remove Reflection, Cutout, and Outpainting, tools that feel like they came from a desktop suite, but here they are, in your hand. Oh, and the image-to-video feature? Google's Veo 2 AI powers it on the cloud. You pick a photo, and the phone generates a realistic five-second video clip. It's not always perfect, with a few odd frames here and there, but it's a wild glimpse of where mobile creativity is headed.

Beyond the camera, the display stands out. A 6.55-inch OLED with over a billion colors, hitting a peak of 5,000 nits brightness. That's absurdly bright, in a good way. Yet it doesn't roast your eyes, thanks to TÜV Rheinland certification, ultra-low PWM dimming, and a bunch of thoughtful modes like Circadian Night and even Motion Sickness Relief (which, surprisingly, does help on bumpy rides, at least in my case).

Durability? Solid. IP66 rated. SGS drop resistance certified. Super Rainproof Touch works even with wet fingers, something I didn't know I needed until I tried using it with a sweating water bottle in the same hand. The phone is also light, weighing only 184g, and slim at 7.3mm. It feels premium without being slippery or delicate.

Battery life is excellent. The 6000mAh silicon-carbon battery lasts for a day and a half, easily. Charging is speedy too, up to 80W with HONOR SuperCharge. You can reach nearly 50% in 15 minutes and be full in under an hour. And HONOR promises it'll keep 80% health even after four years. If true, that's impressive.

On the software side, it runs MagicOS 9.0 on Android 15. Gemini AI is built-in, and although I'm not yet fully reliant on it, it's capable. Circle to Search works as expected. Magic Portal 2.0 is nice. Dragging content across apps feels fluid. I did notice the deepfake detection pop-up during a video call once, subtle but reassuring.

Now, HONOR isn't pretending this is their most luxurious phone; that's still the Magic series, but the intelligence packed into the 400 makes it feel just as refined. It's available in Midnight Black, Tidal Blue, Meteor Silver, and Desert Gold. I went with Tidal Blue. It looks great, and it doesn't smudge easily.

So, is the HONOR 400 5G perfect? No. But that's not the point. It's responsive, intelligent, powerful, and, most importantly, it feels like a phone built around real use cases, not just feature hype. Whether you're a seasoned mobile photographer or simply looking for a phone that makes life easier, this one deserves a closer look.