Samsung Electronics started selling its latest high-end smartphones -- Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge -- in South Korea on Friday.

The two models, first showcased at a trade fair in Spain last month, come with improved batteries and are water and dust resistant. The company also brought back the micro SD card slot that had disappeared in the Galaxy S6 series. 

The world’s top smartphone-maker said the local price of the 32 gigabyte (GB) Galaxy S7 is 836,000 won ($690), slightly lower than the initial price of 858,000 won for the 32GB Galaxy S6.

The price tag on the 32GB Galaxy S7 Edge stands at 924,000 won, also down 5.6 percent from its predecessor.

Local consumers can pay between 500,000 won and 700,000 won for the phones depending on pay plans offered by different telecom operators.

Samsung Electronics is hoping for the smartphones to lend support in promoting its mobile payment platform, Samsung Pay.

The mobile platform supports magnetic secure transmission technology that works on traditional credit card machines. Like rivals Apple Pay and Android Pay, it also supports near field communication technology that requires a separate transaction device.

Samsung Pay, also operating in South Korea, is expected to reach China this month, eventually expanding to seven countries in 2016, including Australia, Brazil, Singapore and Britain.

The launch of the new Galaxy phones come amid slowing global smartphone market coupled with the soaring demand for budget handsets locally and globally.

Samsung’s IT and mobile unit, which is in charge of smartphones, posted an operating profit of 2.23 trillion won in the fourth quarter, up from 1.96 trillion won a year earlier. But the sector’s operating profit continued to remain well below the 6.43 trillion won posted in the first quarter of 2014.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)