HONOR 400 Smart

The HONOR 400 Smart is a deliberately simple phone. It has no 5G, no OLED screen and no optical stabilisation, and HONOR puts its effort into things that matter to a first-time or budget buyer: a 6500 mAh battery, a 6.77-inch 120Hz display, a 108MP main camera, IP54 splash protection, a drop-resistance certification and MagicOS 9.0 on Android 15. This page is based on the specifications and product pages HONOR publishes on its UK site. HONOR's own claims are labelled as claims, and no independent testing is behind them.

Reading the spec sheet honestly

Budget phones come with big numbers, and the best way to read them is to ask what each one buys you.

6500 mAh. HONOR lists a typical capacity of 6500 mAh and a rated capacity of 6350 mAh. The battery is a dual-cell design, which HONOR says is more efficient and safer than a single-cell pack. HONOR's own laboratory simulation claims the battery keeps more than 80 percent of its capacity after five years of typical use. That is a manufacturer's projection, not a guarantee, but it points to the intended buyer: someone who keeps a phone for years.

108MP. The main camera is listed as a 108MP sensor with an f/1.75 aperture, paired with a 2MP depth camera at f/2.4. The 108MP figure is a pixel count rather than a quality guarantee, and HONOR itself notes that actual photo resolution varies with the shooting mode. Video tops out at 1080p, so do not expect 4K.

120Hz. The display is a 6.77-inch TFT LCD with 720 x 1610 pixels, and the refresh rate is listed as 120Hz, although HONOR adds that the actual rate varies with the application. At 720p on a screen of this size, text will be less sharp than on a full HD panel, and that is a reasonable trade for the price class.

35W. Charging goes up to 35W with HONOR's own SuperCharge charger and cable. The charger and cable are required to reach that speed, and HONOR says actual speed varies with conditions.

Where it sits in the HONOR lineup

The 400 Smart is a 4G-only phone with an LCD screen, so it is a plain entry-level model next to other HONOR phones such as the HONOR 600 or the HONOR X9d, and foldables such as the HONOR Magic V5 operate in an entirely different league. HONOR's pages list four colours for the 400 Smart, Desert Gold, Ocean Cyan, Meteor Silver and Velvet Black, noting that the colour range differs by region. The pages we consulted do not give a release date or a price, and we do not guess either one.

Design and durability

The phone is 166.89 mm tall, 76.8 mm wide and 8.24 mm thick, and weighs about 208 g including the battery. That weight is expected given the battery. HONOR highlights a micro-nano texture on the back for a smooth feel and a four-element camera island with a gold-coloured trim in the images we saw.

The durability story is a main selling point. The phone carries a Swiss SGS Premium Performance Certification for drop and crush resistance, and HONOR cites a five-star SGS rating. It claims a 2 metre drop resistance, a 25 percent increase in impact resistance and a 15 percent lower risk of frame deformation (the baseline is not stated), and lists mechanical tests such as 800,000 screen taps, 210,000 power button presses and 15,000 USB insertions. These are lab figures from HONOR.

Water protection is IP54, which means splash resistance and partial dust protection and not immersion protection. HONOR states clearly that the phone is not professionally water resistant and that protection may decrease with wear. The company also describes a 24-hour simulated rain test and a wet-hand touch enhancement for calls and the screen with wet or soapy fingers. Treat IP54 as protection against rain and spills, and keep the phone away from the pool.

Performance and software

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 is an octa-core chip with four Cortex-A73 cores at 2.8GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.9GHz, with an Adreno 610 GPU. It is a basic processor for messaging, social media, streaming and simple games, and it will not suit heavy gaming. The phone has 6GB of physical RAM and 128GB of storage. HONOR RAM Turbo can allocate part of the storage to act as additional memory, which HONOR describes as 6GB plus 6GB for a 12GB equivalent. That is a software trick: it helps keep more apps in memory, but it does not turn 6GB of RAM into 12GB of real, fast memory.

The software is MagicOS 9.0 based on Android 15. HONOR highlights Magic Portal, where a knuckle knock on the screen followed by circling an item brings up related services, and Magic Capsule, a compact area for key information. The side button, which HONOR calls the Instant AI Button, launches commands or favourite apps with one press, with Smart Recommendations on a long press. AI photo tools include an eraser for removing passers-by, outpainting, Eyes Open for group photos and a style tool. HONOR notes that some features will be delivered by later updates, and that features vary by region and language.

Camera in context

A 108MP main camera with f/1.75 aperture, a single LED flash and 8x digital zoom is a straightforward set. The still resolution can reach 12000 x 9000 pixels. HONOR offers photo, video, portrait, night, pro and watermark modes, with HDR photo. The 2MP depth camera exists mostly to help portrait blur, and there is no ultra-wide or telephoto camera. The front camera is 8MP at f/2.0, with 1080p video, which is adequate for video calls. The best advice for this class of phone is to judge photos in good light and to expect modest results in dim rooms.

Display and sound

Peak brightness is given as 850 nits in high-brightness mode and 700 nits typical, which is reasonable for outdoor use, and HONOR advertises a sunlight enhancement mode. The panel supports 16.7 million colours, DC dimming and low-blue-light modes. Dual speakers are another selling point: HONOR claims up to 400 percent volume in a high-volume mode compared with the same phone at volume level 15, for ringtones, calls, media and navigation, but not for headphones or Bluetooth. That mode may suit noisy workplaces or outdoor use.

Connectivity

This is a 4G LTE phone with 3G and 2G fall-backs, with a Nano SIM and dual-SIM support. Wi-Fi is 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac on 2.4GHz and 5GHz, Bluetooth is version 5.0 with LDAC and aptX codecs listed, positioning supports GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo, and NFC is included for contactless payments. If you live in a region where 5G coverage matters, remember that this model does not have it.

Who it is for

The 400 Smart suits people who want a phone that lasts a long time between charges and survives daily knocks, such as students, older users, secondary-phone owners or anyone replacing an ageing device. It is not for gamers, for people who film in 4K or for those who need 5G. For a more capable alternative from another brand, see the HONOR 400 Smart vs Galaxy A56 comparison, and the rankings show where it ranks on battery life.