Huawei is getting back into the sub-brand game. Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, confirmed on November 11, 2026 that the company will officially debut a new smartphone sub-brand called OSTA — known as “Xingmang” in Chinese — at a launch event on November 20, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. Beijing time.
It is Huawei’s first major sub-brand venture since it sold Honor in late 2020, when US trade sanctions forced the company to spin off its budget brand to a consortium of more than 30 agents and dealers. Six years later, Huawei has fought its way back to the top of China’s smartphone market — Counterpoint Research puts it at a 21.3 per cent share in the third quarter of 2026, ahead of Apple at 19.5 per cent — and OSTA is the next step in that comeback.
Key Takeaways
- What was confirmed: Huawei will debut the OSTA sub-brand on November 20, 2026, at a launch event in Beijing at 2:30 p.m. local time.
- First phones: The OSTA O1 and the wide-screen OSTA O1 Pro are expected to lead the lineup, based on reports and Yu’s own social media posts.
- What is not confirmed yet: Huawei has not published specifications or prices for either phone — the details circulating online are leaks, not official specs.
- Why it matters: OSTA is Huawei’s first new phone brand since Honor was sold in 2020, and it arrives as Huawei holds the top spot in China’s smartphone market.
- Beyond phones: Early reports suggest OSTA could grow into wearables, tablets, PCs and more, following the Honor playbook.
What Huawei Actually Confirmed
The confirmation itself is the news. Yu announced the November 20 date in a social media post, and Huawei has since opened a dedicated OSTA Weibo account and unveiled the sub-brand’s logo — geometric OSTA lettering in dark and light blue — for the first time.
The strongest hint about the first phone came from Yu’s own posts: they carried a device label reading “OSTA O1 Pro”, matching earlier reports from tech bloggers that the debut lineup would include the O1 Pro. The November 20 event will also launch the Stelato V8 sedan and show the Shangjie Z7T SUV, both cars from Huawei’s HIMA alliance with Chinese automakers.
Huawei has not confirmed specifications, prices or release plans for either phone. That matters, because a lot of the detail already circulating — a 6.39-inch 1.5K wide-aspect screen with 1.05mm bezels, a horizontal camera strip, up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage — comes from leaks and retail-box photos, not from Huawei. Treat those numbers as rumours until November 20.
Why OSTA, and Why Now
The Honor comparison is unavoidable. Honor was Huawei’s budget arm until sanctions cut off access to advanced chips, forcing the sale in November 2020. Since then Huawei rebuilt its phone business around its own HarmonyOS ecosystem and its in-house chips, and it has now regained the number one position in China.
OSTA looks like the next phase of that rebuild: a sub-brand aimed at the mid-to-high-end segment with feature-packed phones at competitive prices, according to early reports. The name itself was trademarked by Huawei as early as 2023 — public records show a renewed “Xingmang” filing in July 2026 covering smartphones and chips — so this launch has been years in the making.
The wide-screen O1 Pro is the most interesting detail so far. If the leaks are right, Huawei is betting that a wider bar phone stands out in a market where nearly every flagship looks the same. That is a gamble, but it is also the kind of differentiation a new brand needs to be noticed.
What to Expect on November 20
Expect the brand story first and the phones second. Huawei is likely to position OSTA as a fresh, younger-facing brand — the same role Honor played — while keeping its main Huawei line at the premium end. The O1 and O1 Pro should be the headliners, with pricing and availability for China announced on stage.
Whether OSTA goes global is an open question. Honor eventually sold worldwide, but Huawei’s phones still face restrictions outside China, so an international launch is far from guaranteed. For now, the November 20 event is a China-first story — and one worth watching, because a successful OSTA would give Huawei a second brand to fight with in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
Related reading: Xiaomi 18 Pro Global Launch Set for November 17 in Paris, vivo V80 Launches in Pakistan — Pre-Orders Open November 11, and Nothing OS 4.0 Rolls Out to Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Huawei OSTA?
OSTA is Huawei’s new smartphone sub-brand, known as “Xingmang” in Chinese. It was confirmed by Huawei executive Richard Yu on November 11, 2026 and debuts on November 20, 2026. It is Huawei’s first new phone brand since Honor was sold in 2020.
When does Huawei OSTA launch?
The OSTA sub-brand debuts at a Huawei launch event on November 20, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. Beijing time. The event will also launch the Stelato V8 sedan and show the Shangjie Z7T SUV.
What are the first OSTA phones?
The first phones are expected to be the OSTA O1 and the wide-screen OSTA O1 Pro, based on reports and Richard Yu’s social media posts, which carried an “OSTA O1 Pro” device label. Huawei has not officially confirmed the models yet.
What are the OSTA O1 Pro specifications?
Huawei has not confirmed any specifications. Leaks suggest a 6.39-inch 1.5K wide-aspect screen, up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, but these are unconfirmed rumours until the November 20 launch.
Will OSTA phones be sold outside China?
That is not known yet. Huawei has only confirmed the November 20 debut in China, and no international pricing or availability has been announced.
Sources: South China Morning Post, TechNode, Huawei Central, MLQ.ai (all Nov 11, 2026).
