What you need to know

  • Huawei is preparing to launch a new sub-brand on November 20
  • It will be called OSTA in English or “Xingmang” in Chinese, which roughly translates to "Starlight"
  • Its first phone, expected to be called the OSTA O1 Pro, could be an interesting wide-screen model according to the latest leaks

Huawei is preparing to launch a new smartphone brand, and we might already know what its first model will look like.

The announcement was made by Huawei executive director Richard Yu on the Chinese social media site Weibo, where he confirmed that the new sub-brand will be officially unveiled on November 20.

According to South China Morning Post, it will be known as OSTA in English or “Xingmang” in Chinese, which roughly translates to "Starlight." Interestingly, Weibo states that Yu's post was made using an OSTA O1 Pro – a device that hasn't yet been officially announced.

The latest leaks from reliable tipsters suggest that the OSTA O1 Pro will be a wide-screen phone available in three colors: basic black, plain white, and more adventurous purple. There will also apparently be four RAM and storage configurations on offer, ranging all the way from 12+256GB and 12+512GB to 16+512GB and 16GB+1TB.

The overall design looks very similar to that of the existing Huawei Pura X View (a wide-screen foldable that has yet to be released outside of China), albeit without the folding hinge.

A more premium direction?

The announcement of Huawei's latest sub-brand comes just six years after it spun off Honor in the face of US trade sanctions.

Honor, which launched back in 2013, originally focused on more budget and mid-range phones. It has since shifted its offering to a more premium lineup that competes directly with its former owner and other major Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Oppo.

It's currently unclear how OSTA will be positioned in the smartphone market, though this leaked device seems pretty high-end judging by its RAM and storage specs. Given its unusual wide-screen design, I wouldn't be surprised if OSTA becomes the marquee name for some more experimental releases from Huawei.

I'll be keeping an eye out for more news in the build-up to its launch.