Honor unveiled two new additions to its smartphone line-up with the launch of the 400 5G and 400 Pro 5G, placing AI-led photography and editing tools at the forefront.
At a launch event, Nicky Nahar, product manager of Honor Europe (pictured) was joined on stage by Bond Zhang, CEO of the Chinese vendor’s UK and Ireland operations, who explained that the new releases reflect Honor’s commitment to “making intelligent smartphones more accessible”.
Leading the charge was the Honor 400 Pro 5G, equipped with a 200MP AI super zoom camera and what the company claimed is an industry-first “AI image to video” feature developed in partnership with Google Cloud. The function allows users to convert static images into short, high-definition videos to enhance content creation for social platforms.
Matt Waldbusser, Google Cloud’s MD for global solutions and consumer AI, hailed the technical capabilities of the new AI-powered imaging tool, touting that it “brings an improved understanding of real-world physics, the nuances of human movement and expression, which helps improve its detail and realism overall”.
The flagship also offers a suite of AI-powered photo editing features, including Honor’s proprietary AI eraser, reflection removal tool, and “outpainting” feature to extend a photo beyond its original frame by adding realistic new content. In addition, the 50MP portrait selfie camera and 12MP ultra-wide lens support a range of shooting styles.
Running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the 400 Pro 5G model integrates Google services including the Gemini AI chatbot and Circle to Search function within its MagicOS 9.0 interface.
The more affordable Honor 400 5G model also includes a 200MP main camera, MagicOS 9.0, and similar AI capabilities. In addition, the vendor touted the 400 Lite model, a slimmer and more travel-friendly version of the mainline version featuring an AI-powered camera button and gesture controls.
Now available in the UK, the Honor 400 Pro 5G starts at £699.99, with the 400 5G model priced from £399.99.
Alongside the new smartphone series, the company also showed off its Pad 10 tablet and the MagicBook Pro 14 laptop.
Market gains
Also on stage, new CEO James Li highlighted Honor’s commercial momentum, pointing to 70 per cent year-on-year growth in the UK which he claimed positions the company as the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the region based on Q1 performance.
The launch comes after the vendor announced a six-year commitment to Android OS and security updates for the 400 Series, extending support through to 2030.
The company also confirmed the devices will receive the Android 16 update later this year and continue to integrate new Google Cloud AI capabilities, including its image-to-video generation feature.