Samsung Galaxy S3 To Break 30 Million Sales As Android Jelly Bean Release Date Approaches

Samsung believes that its Galaxy S3 will achieve more than 30 million in global sales by the end of 2012, an executive told the South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

Shin Jong-kyun, Samsung's IT and mobile unit chief, revealed this number to the press on Wednesday at the company's offices in Seoul. It was also recently reported that 20 million Galaxy S3 devices have been sold since its release in May. 

The Samsung executive then mentioned the company's newest device, the Galaxy Note 2, saying that the 5.5-inch "phablet" should sell 10 million units by the end of the year. This is twice as much as its predecessor, the Galaxy Note, which only reached about 5 million in sales. The release date for the Galaxy Note 2 is said to come next month.

In general, global shipments of smartphones are expected to reach 567 million in 2012 and will be nearly double that by 2016, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Hiroshi Hayase told CNET. Apple's newly revealed iPhone 5 will be responsible for some of this growth, Hayase said.

"Apple's iPhone 5 will be a key product for the smartphone market in [the second half of 2012]," he said in the statement. "Apple shipped more than 140 million phones in 2010 and 2011, so we can expect smartphone shipments to continue flourishing as users upgrade to the new iPhone."

Just a day before the iPhone 5 event, Amazon had offered a sweet deal for Android lovers. Samsung's Galaxy S3 would be on sale for $99, with the original non-contract retail price listed as $699. The Galaxy S3 recently overthrew the iPhone in the mobile market for the first time since Apple's iPhone 4S was released nearly a year ago. Apple's slump is likely to be attributed to anticipation for the iPhone 5.

But Samsung may have a good shot at reaching its projected 30 million mark before the year's end. Retail data gathered by Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley indicated that the Galaxy S3 was ranked as the best-selling smartphone, Apple Insider reports. These figures stretch across carriers T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, with AT&T being the only company that sold more iPhones in August.

The Galaxy S3 will also be seeing a significant software update in the near future, with the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release date expected for October. Samsung reportedly told CNET UK that "the Android 4.1 operating system will be available on the Galaxy S3 from October."

However, this may not be true for the U.S. variant.

"Samsung Mobile has not determined which devices will be eligible for the Jelly Bean software update," a spokesperson told CNET. "We will share that information publicly as soon as the product roadmap is confirmed."