It was inevitable, really. Once Apple unveiled Camera Control for the iPhone 16, the Android world was guaranteed to put their own spin on it sooner or later. Flagships got there first, but Honor is the first to give an affordable phone a customisable camera button. The £250 Honor 400 Lite also – unsurprisingly – makes it all about AI.
Press and hold the very Apple-esque side button anywhere within Android and Google Lens will kick in, to identify objects and translate text. A single squeeze will take you straight into the camera app, where a press will snap a photo, a press-and-hold records a video, and swipes zoom in and out. Honor says it’ll work underwater (though the 400 Lite only has IP64 resistance) and with gloves on.
The actual camera hardware isn’t bad for a budget phone, either. You’re getting a 108MP main snapper with f/1.75 aperture and 3x “lossless” zoom. The 5MP depth-sensing ultrawide feels like an also-ran, but the 16MP front cam should take a solid selfie thanks to a built-in light. Expect all the AI editing usual suspects from the Gallery app, including object erasing and generative expanding.
Flat is very much where it’s at for Honor right now. I’m betting the central frame will be polycarbonate rather than metal, given the price, and that rear panel may or may not be glass, but the Mars Green, Velvet Grey and Velvet Black colours all have the look of a much more expensive phone. The 400 Lite has a very iPhone-like appearance, compete with Dynamic Island-mimicking camera pill up front and off-centre camera square at the rear.
It’s a skinny thing, too, measuring just 7.29mm and weighing in at 171g. Yet Honor has somehow found room inside for a 5230mAh battery, which puts many pricier phones to shame. That should comfortably enough for a day or two between 35W USB-C refuels.
There’s a 6.7in AMOLED screen up front, with 120Hz refresh rate and 3500 nit peak brightness. Honor’s familiar eye-friendly features all make the cut, including rapid 3840Hz PWM dimming, e-book mode, and a Circadian Night setting that should stop blue light from ruining your sleep schedule. Other niceties like an under-display fingerprint sensor also make the cut.
Power comes from a MediaTek Dimensity 7025-Ultra chipset, paired with 8GB of RAM and a healthy 256GB of on-board storage. It runs Android 15, with Honor’s MagicOS 9 skin on top. That means you’re getting Magic Portal for AI-assisted multitasking and content sharing between apps and Magic Capsule quick notifications.
The Honor 400 Lite goes on sale from the 22nd of April in the UK. You’ll be able to snap one up directly from Honor for £250.
