Honor's midrange 400 series pairs a 200-megapixel camera with the usual AI tools

It’s been a while since a company has thrown out a truly silly number of megapixels for a new phone. After all, the double-digit pixels found on most flagship handsets are just used to pixel bin the size down without harming the quality. Rejoice, then, when I tell you Honor’s new midrange 400 series is shipping with a 200 megapixel sensor working hand-in glove with an AI to make use of all that data. 200 megapixels, in this economy? Apparently so.

The 400 series is the latest in Honor’s not-at-all-confusingly-named “N” series of midrange handsets which bear numbers. Naturally, while there’s also a low end version of the 400 to buy, the company’s focus here (as always) was on the 400 Pro 5G and the regular 400 5G. Both models get that 200 megapixel primary camera tied to a Samsung-made 1/1.4-inch sensor with both optical and electronic image stabilization. Both are also equipped with a 12-megapixel macro/wide camera, plus a 50-megapixel front-facer.The Pro, however, also gets an additional 50-megapixel telephoto that the company claims will produce some impressive digital zoom.

Of course, these handsets are less about the raw numbers and more about what they can do when the images are run through the AI. Honor says the phones will capture and enhance portraits, erase passers-by, create videos from still images and can even remove reflective glare when taking pictures through panes of glass. Plus, on-device generative expand will expand the edge of an image if you feel the original was too closely cropped when you shot it. And Honor says the phone will use AI to create film simulation models to annoy all your Fuji-owning frenemies. Honor hasn’t yet been clear about how much of these AI innovations will be part of the phone and how much will require an extra subscription.

As for the rest of the phone, the 400 Pro’s spec list is no slouch: It’s got a Snapdragon 8, Gen 3 processor, 16GB RAM and a 5,300mAh silicon carbon battery. Up front, you’ll be staring into a 6.7-inch 2,800 x 1,280, 120Hz AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. If you opt for the regular 400, then you’ll get a Snapdragon 7, Gen 3, 8GB RAM and a 6.55-inch, 120Hz AMOLED with a similarly beefy peak brightness. Both handsets will get Honor’s often-ballyhooed AI thread optimization for better sustained performance under load, such as if you’re gaming on the go. And the company has tweaked the graphics engine to better handle people’s massive photo libraries without stuttering.

The Honor 400 series is available to buy in Europe and the UK from today, with the Pro 5G setting you back €800 / £700. The regular 400 5G can be snapped up for €500 / £400 if you want 256GB storage and €550 / £450 if you want 512GB instead. Naturally, if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, the “Lite” version can be picked up for €300, but the company didn’t share any specs for that particular handset. As usual, there's no word on if this handset will come to the US unless you import it yourself.

What Honor has been eager to point out, is the company has committed to providing six years of Android support for these handsets. That means buyers should expect to get at least that many OS and security updates, and Android 16 will be coming to the handsets by the end of the year.

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