Samsung Galaxy S5 Sales Reportedly Off to Staggering Start

**Editor’s Note: Click here for our ranking of March’s hottest selling smartphones to see how the Samsung Galaxy S4 fared against the competition.**

It looks this year’s “iPhone killer” will be a newer version of what came closest to owning that moniker last year.

While Samsung is yet to release official sales numbers for its new Galaxy S5 smartphone, which just became available last week, reports indicate that first-weekend sales of what the Korean-based manufacturer dubs “the next big thing” doubled those of the S4 in its debut weekend a year ago – at least in some parts of the world.

Sources tell ZDNet Korea that in locations where sales aren’t double, they’re up at least 30 percent. Many retailers saw their inventories disappear on April 11, the same day the phone launched. Overall, weekend sales were in the millions, the Korean site reported, with the Galaxy S5 making its debut in 125 countries this month.

The 2013 version of Samsung’s Galaxy handset, the S4, was the first device ever to dethrone Apple’s iPhone from the top of the sales heap at any of America’s top four wireless carriers. If these numbers prove to hold up in the U.S., there’s little doubt that the iPhone will be playing catch-up. Apple is expected to release the latest version of its flagship smartphone, the iPhone 6, this coming fall. 

Follow senior online managing editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.