The HONOR 400 5G just came out a few weeks ago, and has broken new sales records, along with receiving high praises for its overall value.
For someone who owns its predecessor in the Philippines, the HONOR 200 5G, the big question is, for all the hype and popularity that it has, should I upgrade? To find out, let’s drill down on every aspect, and in the end, hopefully, we can have a clear answer.
Design and Build Quality
While this ultimately boils down to personal preference, both the HONOR 200 5G and HONOR 400 5G are I would say, beautiful-looking devices. The former is all about curves, and the latter goes for a flat look.
The HONOR 400 5G is the smaller device which makes it just slightly easier to hold and use with one hand. It is also a bit lighter, though in actual use, that’s barely noticeable.
Button placement is the same with the volume rocker and power button on the right side. Both don’t have a headphone jack but are equipped with dual speakers.
The camera module on the HONOR 200 5G is oblong-shaped, the HONOR 400 5G, goes for a more triangular approach, which reminds me of a certain other smartphone. Not that it looks bad or anything.
While the HONOR 200 5G does not have any specified IP rating, the HONOR 400 5G boasts an IP66 rating for water and dust resistance, meaning it’s completely dust tight and can survive powerful water jets from any direction. It’s a good thing to have, considering the rainy season is here.
Both the HONOR 200 5G and HONOR 400 5G are equipped with AMOLED displays, 6.7-inches on the 200, and 6.55-inches on the 400. Both boast a 120Hz refresh rate, but the latter can go brighter at 5,000 nits (vs 4,000 nits on the 200). Both feature 3,840Hz PWM Dimming, Dynamic Dimming, and AI Circadian Night Display for eye care.
While the numbers say that the 400’s display packs more pixels per inch (460 vs 436), it’s hardly noticeable when you compare them side by side. Color reproduction is excellent on both devices, the inky blacks and the rich colors that pop out, both will work well for daily use and media consumption.
Performance
Both devices are powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. Both also have 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. This means that Honor of Kings will run maxed out with no issues, and Honkai: Star Rail will run at Very High preset on both devices with no issues.
| AnTuTu | Geekbench 6 (SC) | Geekbench 6 (MC) | |
| HONOR 200 5G | 696724 | 1145 | 3314 |
| HONOR 400 5G | 857819 | 1162 | 3157 |
At this point, apart from benchmarks, any difference isn’t noticeable, as both devices run buttery smooth.
Camera
Camera is where things get really interesting. You see, the HONOR 200 5G had a triple rear camera system, composed of a 50MP main, 50MP Telephoto, and a 12MP ultra-wide. For the HONOR 400 5G though, the brand took out the Telephoto lens in lieu of AI-assisted processing, but upgraded the main camera to a 200MP sensor.
In day shots, both devices are able to capture good quality images with lots of details, good levels of sharpness and color accuracy.
Both can also capture stunning Harcourt style portraits.
Ultrawide performance is pretty much at par as well. Both are also able to capture good-looking night shots with decent amounts of detail.
As for zoom range, the HONOR 200 5G can go up to 50x digital zoom, while the HONOR 400 5G can only go 30x. At 2.5x zoom, which is the limit of the 200’s telephoto lens, it’s hard to believe, but the 400’s shot looks more detailed.
At 30x and 50x, which is the limit of the 400 and 200’s digital zoom, both managed to capture a shot with acceptable clarity. At this range, the 400 employs its AI SuperZoom feature. Both phones feature OIS on their main cameras and can record up to 4K 30fps.
Software
At the time of writing, both the HONOR 200 5G and HONOR 400 5G run MagicOS 9.0 on top of Android 15. While the UI is of course, mostly the same across both devices, it’s in the sheer number of AI features where the HONOR 400 5G takes the lead.
The HONOR 200 5G does have its fair share of AI features, including AI Eraser, AI Translate, and Magic Portal. However, the HONOR 400 5G offers so much more than that. Want to make a sticker of yourself that you can place anywhere on an image, that’s AI Cutout. Want to erase every photobomber in the background all at the same time? Remove Passers-by is there.And of course, there’s AI Image to Video, which brings photos to life.
Battery
The HONOR 400 5G houses a 6,000mAh Silicon-Carbon battery, a substantial upgrade from the HONOR 200 5G’s 5,200mAh unit. Both also support 80W HONOR SuperCharge, which means you won’t be waiting near the socket for very long before a full charge.
Verdict
If you prefer a more compact form factor, want a better display, better cameras in terms of overall quality, better battery, and fancy its new AI features, I say that upgrading to the HONOR 400 5G from the HONOR 200 5G is worth it, especially when this device is even more affordable compared to the 200 5G’s price when it came out.
Despite that, however, the HONOR 200 5G will remain competitive and is still a good keep, especially if your main priority is performance, you need the better zoom range, or you don’t care about those AI features.
Get the HONOR 400 5G now via HONOR Experience Stores, Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop for PHP 22,999.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
