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Samsung found to be throttling performance for thousands of apps
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It’s been discovered that Samsung is throttling the performance of its smartphones for thousands of apps.
Twitter users GaryeonHan and Korean netizens (viaAndroid Authority) have posted details of 10,000 apps that are subject to “performance limits” on Samsung phones.
It seems Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service (GOS), which is designed to balance a device’s performance and battery needs for high-intensity games, is exceeding its remit. Popular everyday apps such as Instagram, Netflix, Google Keep, TikTok, and Microsoft’s Office suite are also being throttled.
Amazingly, even some of Samsung’s own apps have made the list, with Secure Folder, Samsung Cloud, Samsung Pay, Samsung Pass, and the dialer app all subject to performance hits.
Unsurprisingly, the usual benchmarking apps have been exempted from Samsung’s heavy-handed throttling. However, the full effect of Samsung’s GOS has been illustrated by aKorean YouTuber, who changed the package name of popular benchmarking app 3DMark to that of Genshin Impact, the famously resource-intensive game.
The resulting benchmark score was less than half the usual figure, showing just how hard Samsung’s GOS is hitting the apps on the hitlist.
Interestingly, Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service app doesn’t appear to be present on or even compatible with at least certain versions of recent Samsung devices, including theSamsung Galaxy S22 Plusand theSamsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Since the initial story was published, Samsung has apparently indicated that it is conducting an internal investigation into the matter. Hopefully we’ll be hearing an official statement soon.
It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t an unprecedented turn of events. All smartphone manufacturers balance out the performance of their smartphones to various degress, and some occasionally step over the mark.
Samsung isn’t the only manufacturer to be caught throttling performance. Last year, OnePlus was found to bethrottling top Android apps, with real world performance failing to match benchmark results.
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Jon is a seasoned freelance writer who started covering games and apps in 2007 before expanding into smartphones and consumer tech, dabbling in lifestyle and media coverage along the way. Besides bein…
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
