Honor 400 Review: the smartphone in which artificial intelligence finally makes the difference – the right choice

THE’Honor 400 It fits with ambition in that market band where smartphones must seem « premium » without costing as such. After trying it for about ten days, I can say that this phone has more than an ace on the sleeve. Among these certainly stand out the functions based onartificial intelligence and linked to the photographic sector. A concrete implementation, which confirms that the IA has now reached a point that can change the user experience in the company of phones. All this net of some smudging.

Design and display: elegant yes, perfect no

Thin (7.3 mm), light (184 g) and with a desert gold color that attracts looks without expanding in the kitsch, theHonor 400 It is an object that makes its figure. The rear photographic module has a very « social media Ready » geometric symmetry, and the rear finish, albeit smooth, does not retain the footprints too much. Is the glass Gorilla Glass? No, but the 5 -star SGS certification on falls still shelters from daily accidents.

The 6.55 « OLED display is technically excellent: 5000 peak nits (yes, five thousand), 120 Hertz of refresher frequency. The daily experience is convincing and fluid. Yet, visibility in full sun is not as impeccable as you would expect from such an ambitious technical data sheet. It is not a dramatic problem – the screen can be seen – but if you arrive from a recent flagship, you will notice the difference. A classic case of improved software optimization.
The Snapdragon 7 Jan 3 makes its duty: in daily use there are no slowdowns and also in gaming pushed, the chip remains cold as enough. Of course we are not faced with an e-Sport smartphone, but a title like Genshin Impact runs fluid with medium details and stable frames.
The 5300 mAh silicon-carbon battery is one of the best surprises: up to two days full of light-modern use and a 100% recharge in 46 minutes thanks to 66 wired watts.

Photographic sector

The photographic sector is ambitious: 200 megapixels on the main sensor, 12 megapixels for the ultra-glandular and 50 megapixels for selfies. The resolution counts up to a certain point, we know, but in this case there is a reason for these numbers: the Honor Image Engine works best with material with a very high definition, allowing clippings, zooms and reconstructions without loss of detail.

The shots are surprisingly solid, especially of the day. The colors are well balanced, without that exaggeratedly saturated look that afflicts other brands. In the evening, the software manages the noise well, even if the dynamic range shows some limitations in the extreme lights. The night mode is quick and usable, but not revolutionary.

Artificial intelligence at the service of photography

With the Honor 400 a new zoom paradigm arrives: up to 30x using the main sensor and the AI. At these levels, no miracles: the images are good for sharing, not for the press. But from 5x to 10x, the photos maintain a remarkable sharpness. In particular, the reconstruction of the edges and the management of the depth are more precise than many similar -fascia smartphones.
The real twist, however, is the Ai Portrait Snap, which uses a model trained on over a million movements to predict the action and freeze the right instant. In tests with moving subjects – children, animals, bicycle people – Honor 400 has proven to know where to aim and when to shoot. A more useful function than it looks like, especially for those who do not like taking ten photos to find a good one.

There Harcourt modeborrowed from the French photographic studio of the same name, brings a touch of rétro elegance in the portraits. You can choose between three variants (vibrant, color and classic), all characterized by a refined game of lights and shadows. The effects are not a simple filter: artificial intelligence analyzes faces, applies masks of light and outlines the background to recreate that portrait affection in the studio. Works? Yes, and surprises, even on non -perfect subjects. A function to be used sparingly, but which leaves its mark.

The Film Simulation mode is instead more « instagrammable », but less surprising: the Ai recognizes the scenes and applies cinematographic grading color. Good to create contents with precise moods, but nothing that cannot be done with third -party apps – even if all is all native, quick and integrated here.
The function on which it is worth dwelling really is to the image to video, developed with Google Cloud. It is one of the most interesting innovations on the recent mobile panorama, because it does a simple but powerful thing: it takes a static photo and transforms it into a 5 second video, realistic and engaging. It is not a Ken Burns effect. Artificial intelligence animates the faces, adds chamber movements, simulates depth and dynamic light. All this, in about a minute of processing.
In the tests, I had the opportunity to create a series of shots in some iconic points of Rome: paintings and monuments have « awakened » in a credible way, with a slight movement of the head and a change of natural light. Then I tried with a landscape: the sky moved, the waves seemed to be crashed. Not always perfect – the hands can appear unnatural – but overall, it is more than a gimmick. It is a taste of what the narrative photography on mobile can become.

Software and interface experience: Magicos 9.0

Magicos 9.0, based on Android 15, made a nice leap forward. It is clean, reactive and full of well -integrated functionality: Magic Portal, Writing Tools, real -time translation, Deepfake Detection. Google Gemini is also integrated, and the support is good (although still limited for some languages ​​and apps). It is not the most consistent operating system in the world, but it is among the most flexible.
Multitasking is fluid, widgets are useful and Magic Capsule makes it easier to manage quick notifications and interactions. The Magic Lock screen block is customizable and useful – finally a background that changes with the mood without looking like a gadget.

Conclusions: who should buy it

Honor 400 is a well -designed and balanced smartphone, with a clear identity: bringing advanced to the world of the middle band. The design is curated, the battery is excellent, the photographic sector is rich and above all fun to use. The integration with Google Ai is real, not only cosmetic, and the image to video is a small technological masterpiece.
Not everything is perfect: the outdoor screen could be managed better, and some functions Ai are still in the maturation phase. But overall, he manages to offer a premium experience, without selling smoke. A phone designed not only to look, but to tell stories.

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