Samsung throttles performance: More than 10,000 apps affected
Samsung is said to throttle the performance of apps to save battery power. This should not be anything new; other manufacturers like OnePlus employ similar tricks. However, we are talking about more than 10,000 apps whose performance is significantly reduced. Among them are well-known apps like Netflix, Instagram, and Microsoft Office. The reason for this is the preloaded "Game Optimizing Service" (GOS).
TL;DR
- More than 10,000 apps do not perform as expected on Samsung smartphones.
- The Game Optimizing Service is said to be responsible for the performance reduction.
- Benchmark apps not affected.
Normally, the GOS is used to optimize games. Actually, it is a good service that Samsung has preinstalled. However, this program now causes quite a few problems. According to the manufacturer's South Korean community, about 10,000 apps are throttled - to improve battery performance. Twitter user GaryeonHanalso talks about the problem.
Samsung created an app called GOS and used the app to limit game performance, making the gaming experience worse. However, according to what the Korean community found out today, Samsung confirmed that it has put performance limits on more than 10,000 apps... pic.twitter.com/U58AreZZoo
— 한가련 (@GaryeonHan) March 2, 2022
Of course, that should not be the purpose of a game-boosting program. A list shows all apps that are affected. This includes not only numerous games, but also well-known apps like Netflix or Instagram. Even Samsung apps are impacted by the issue. These include the Samsung Cloud or Samsung Pay. Even though the battery performance can definitely be a sticking point for many buyers, this is definitely a very questionable method to push it.
The South Korean Youtuber Nemonankkum has published a video on this topic. There you can see that benchmark apps are not influenced by throttling. The content creator disguised the 3DMark test as the game "Genshin Impact" and lo and behold, suddenly the GOS hit. The performance of the app was reduced by more than 50 percent.
For all buyers of the Samsung Galaxy S22: Don't worry, the latest devices of the South Korean manufacturer do not seem to be affected. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and Galaxy S10e are also said to work flawlessly. However, the bug has appeared on the Galaxy S21 Plus because the service cannot be deactivated there. It is unclear how many devices are affected in the end.
Samsung is not alone
Samsung is not the only manufacturer that uses such measures. OnePlus has already throttled various apps with the OnePlus 9 Pro and thus noticeably reduced the performance on the smartphone. Benchmark apps were also left out to show better performance.
According to the blog Naver, Samsung has initiated investigations into the incident. While some compare this problem with Volkswagen's Dieselgate, Samsung's vice president Lee Jae-Yong is also said to be interested in a quick clarification. The entire incident is a bit reminiscent of the Note 7 debacle from 2017 after all.
What do you think of the news? Do you think Samsung will actively do something about it? Is a comparison with Dieselgate justified? Let us know!
Source: Android Authority, Twitter / GaryeonHan, Naver
More of the crapola from skins and unintended consequences.
Skins are evil.