This photo shows Samsung Electronics Co.’s new lineup of budget smartphones, the Galaxy A series, which go on sale Jan. 14, 2016. (Image : Samsung)
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday said it will start sales of the new Galaxy A series in South Korea later this week that comes with Samsung Pay, a mobile payment tool that previously only supported high-end models.
The Galaxy A5 and the Galaxy A7 will hit store shelves Thursday and come with a 5.2-inch and a 5.5-inch full-HD display, respectively, Samsung said. The price of the two smartphones stands at 528,000 won (US$435) and 599,500 won.
Both will come with a 13 megapixel camera on the back and a 5 megapixel one on the front. While the data capacity stands at 16 gigabytes (GB), users can expand the amount to 128 GB through micro secure digital memory cards.
Key features of the devices include a “wide selfie” that allows users to include more people in pictures, along with a “palm selfie” which makes it easier to activate the camera.
The devices are available in three colors: gold, black and white.
Samsung Electronics has been making efforts to expand the number of Samsung Pay users, with strategies that include installing the platform on mid-end smartphones as well.
Samsung Pay uses magnetic secure transmission technology that works on traditional credit card machines, an advantage over other rivals. Like Apple Pay and Android Pay, it also supports near field communication technology that requires a separate transaction device.
Demand for budget smartphones in the country is booming following the government’s regulations on offering massive discounts on high-end smartphones.
Out of total smartphone sales, the portion of budget handsets, priced 500,000 won and below, came to 34 percent in the January-October period of 2015, up from the around 20 percent posted a year earlier, data compiled by South Korea’s ICT ministry showed earlier.
The local price of the new Galaxy A series is expected to be slightly lower when considering the discounts rolled out by mobile carriers.’
(Yonhap)
