Samsung has now shipped over 20 million units of its flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S4, in just 68 days, outpacing its previous flagship to the milestone by over a month. Multiple Korean news organizations claim that Samsung's Mobile head J.K. Shin confirmed the figure, but the company refused to confirm the reports when we asked. The milestone comes just a month and a half after the Korean company celebrated passing the 10 million mark, meaning the pace of sales hasn't dropped significantly over the period. Assuming J.K. Shin's comments are accurate — and that Samsung is selling most of the phones it's shipping — the Galaxy S4 is the fastest-selling Android device ever.
It's clear the Galaxy S4 is definitely more successful than its predecessors, but analysts had hoped to see Samsung sell its flagship at a world-beating rate. When you compare the S4's performance to Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, it's clear why Wall Street is a little disappointed. Based on Apple's opening weekend figures and Strategy Analytics' estimates, we can estimate that the iPhone 4S took 79 days to surpass 32 million shipments, while the iPhone 5 reached almost 34 million shipments in 100 days. We'll have to see how long it takes Samsung to announce its 30 million milestone, but it looks like the company will fall short of the pace set by Apple's iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S.