The Samsung Galaxy S4 has now passed 20 million shipments, according to reports in Korea

Samsung new Galaxy S4 became its fastest selling shipping device ever when it topped 10 million ‘channel sales’ (aka shipments to retailers) within a month of its launch, and already reports from Korean media claim the device has tipped the 20 million shipment mark.

That’s according to a report from iNews24 — spotted by Android Beat — which says the company is preparing the usual media fanfare (a press release and press conference) to generate noise and awareness of the new milestone.

The Galaxy S4 was released at the end of April. It reached 10 million shipments 20-times faster than its predecessor — the Galaxy S3 — which took two months, now it will ring up 20 million just two months — assuming the reports are correct (the 10 million milestone was leaked to media in advance of being announced.)

While it has been Samsung’s most successful launch to date, it’s important to remember that shipments don’t equate to end user sales. Likewise it’s worth recalling that Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5s during the first weekend of sales in September 2012 and it sold 37 million iPhones in Q2 2013. Samsung’s achievement is impressive, but it isn’t industry-leading just yet.

The Korean firm’s future calculations may get a little fragmented, however, since it has launched a number of Galaxy S4 variants to extend the reach and appeal of the device to new customer segments.

Indeed, in recent weeks the Galaxy S4 has gone from being a smartphone to a smartphone range, as Samsung introduced the Galaxy S4 zoom, featuring a 16-megapixel camera and a 10x optical zoom, the Galaxy S4 active, a version built for the outdoors, and the Galaxy S4 mini, a scaled down and more affordable version.

Those three are also joined by the Galaxy S4 LTE-A — a version for advanced LTE networks — which debuted in South Korea last week. The speedier variant will need to wait on LTE-A networks actually being deployed elsewhere in the world before arriving in other markets, however.

We reached out to Samsung, but the company declined to comment.

Headline image via Greg Wood / Getty Images / AFP