Huawei Confirms AI Phone Brand OSTA, Priced to Fight ByteDance

Huawei will launch a new AI smartphone brand called OSTA on the 20th, with the first model priced from 3,199 to 5,999 yuan (about 640,000 to 1.2 million won). The move puts the Chinese market leader in direct competition with ByteDance, which recently unveiled its own AI smartphone built with ZTE. Local media reported the launch date confirmation on the 12th.

Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer business group, announced the brand on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The brand is known in Chinese as Xingmang. Rumors about it have circulated for years. This is the first time Huawei has confirmed its existence.

What does the O1 phone offer?

The first model, the O1, runs on Huawei's own high-end Kirin 9 series application processor. It uses the in-house HarmonyOS 7 operating system, with AI features placed at the forefront. Huawei is expected to pair its own AI assistant, Celia, with HarmonyOS.

Planned services include:

• shopping on a user's behalf
• personalized task handling

The expected price range sits below Huawei's flagship lines, which is the point. The Mate 90 series costs 5,999 to 18,999 yuan. The Pura 90 series costs 4,699 to 8,499 yuan. OSTA undercuts both, signaling a push beyond the premium segment where Huawei built its business.

Why target younger buyers now?

The move is read as an effort by Huawei, long focused on premium devices, to broaden its market base by strengthening its lineup for younger buyers. It is also seen as a strategy to seize the initiative in the AI smartphone market, which has emerged as a new battleground between Huawei and ByteDance.

The numbers explain the urgency. Research firm IDC projects shipments of next-generation AI smartphones in China will reach 147 million units this year, up 31.6% from a year earlier. Their share of the overall smartphone market is expected to top half for the first time, reaching 53%. With the broader smartphone market contracting, AI smartphones are the only segment still growing.

What does this change for China's slumping market?

Huawei's launch poses a significant threat to China's struggling smartphone industry. According to IDC, smartphone shipments in China totaled about 57.9 million units in the third quarter, down 15.4% from a year earlier. Weak domestic demand and surging memory chip prices hurt every major mid-range vendor.

Third-quarter shipment declines by manufacturer:

• Oppo: down 17.6%
• Vivo: down 24.9%
• Xiaomi: down 20.4%
• Honor: down 24.2%

All four focus on low- and mid-priced models, exactly the ground OSTA now enters with AI features at a lower price point. Huawei, by contrast, held firmly onto the No. 1 share of the Chinese market in the third quarter on strong premium sales. Its shipments rose 17.3% from a year earlier, the only double-digit growth among major manufacturers.

Chinese outlet Guancha said Huawei's new brand launch will shake up the competitive landscape of China's smartphone market once again.

The setup is stark. One vendor grows while every rival shrinks, and the one growing segment is the one Huawei is now entering from above, with its own silicon, its own operating system and its own assistant, at prices that overlap the wounded mid-tier. The 20th launch will show the first device in that plan.