China's Huawei Technologies overtook Apple Inc to become the world's second-biggest smartphone seller in the June quarter, data from market research firms showed, as it gained ground in Europe and expanded its lead back home. The estimated rise in market share comes as a slowdown in the world's biggest smartphone market, China, eased. Huawei has also managed to get ahead of rivals by selling more feature-packed phones, analysts said. "Huawei is shifting to more value-added models, by launching new flagship smartphones with the latest features. Huawei's P20 Pro is the first flagship smartphone model to be equipped with triple cameras, beating competitors to market," IHS Markit analyst Gerrit Schneemann said in a note. Huawei on Tuesday said overall it had raked in 15 percent higher revenue in the first six months of 2018, steady at levels seen a year ago. The estimated rise in market share comes as a slowdown in the world's biggest smartphone market, China, eased. Huawei has also managed to get ahead of rivals by selling more feature-packed phones, analysts said. "Huawei is shifting to more value-added models, by launching new flagship smartphones with the latest features. Huawei's P20 Pro is the first flagship smartphone model to be equipped with triple cameras, beating competitors to market," IHS Markit analyst Gerrit Schneemann said in a note. Huawei on Tuesday said overall it had raked in 15 percent higher revenue in the first six months of 2018, steady at levels seen a year ago. China and the United States are embroiled in a trade dispute with both nations imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods and fighting over technology and patents. These duties have not yet targeted Apple iPhones, but Chief Executive Tim Cook said on a conference call on Tuesday that he was looking into whether the company will be hit by tariffs on purchases it must make, possibly related to data centers. HUAWEI IN H1 Apple regained some growth in China in the June quarter, where sales rose 19 percent. Sales there had fallen dramatically in 2016 after Chinese consumers shunned the iPhone 7, whose overall appearance differed little from its predecessor. Samsung Electronics, the biggest smartphone maker globally but almost a bit player in China, on Tuesday posted its slowest quarterly profit growth in more than a year as its Galaxy S9 lost ground to rivals. Increasing brand recognition is enabling Huawei to challenge Samsung in many price segments, IHS' Schneemann said. Huawei said all its businesses, including smartphones, telecom equipment and IT infrastructure services, did well in the first six months of the year. Revenue rose to 325.7 billion yuan ($47.97 billion), while operating margin rose to 14 percent, from 11 percent a year ago. The Shenzhen-based firm did not provide a detailed performance breakdown for the period. The company does not release a profit number for the half year. Huawei's consumer division, which houses its smartphones business, accounted for roughly a third of its total revenue last year. It got half its revenue from its carrier business
