As smartphone makers appear to continue limiting the performance of a number of apps installed on their phones to optimize battery life, leading brand Samsung is apparently following suit.
On Twitter, users posted a long list of 10,000 apps that have been subjected to performance limits by Samsung's Game Optimizing Service (GOS), which drew a deluge of complaints from users.
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
Samsung Game Optimizing Service List Includes Popular Non-Gaming Apps, Excludes Benchmark Apps
While the GOS seems directed at games, there are prominent non-gaming apps in the list, such as Microsoft Office, Netflix, Google Keep and TikTok. The list also includes Samsung services and apps, including the Samsung Cloud, Samsung Pass, Samsung Pay, Secure Folder and the dialer. Benchmark apps, on the other hand, such as PC Mark, GeekBench 5, GFX Bench, Antutu, and 3D Mark are not on the list, since Samsung decided not to subject such apps to throttling.
But a Korean YouTuber tinkered with this feature by changing the 3D Mark package name to Genshin Impact, a game that is on the GOS list and ran the benchmark app. This renamed app showed a dramatically lower benchmark score and average frame rate than other apps.
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The GOS comes pre-installed as a system app on some Galaxy phones. And as such, the GOS can't be disabled, 9to5Google noted in a post. While the purpose of the GOS has not been explicitly laid out, its name would mean that the app was developed to enhance game performance.
It appears on the Galaxy Store but Android Authority said hitting "install" would show it is not compatible with a Galaxy S22+ review device. It also said the GOS is not on the Galaxy S20 FE and Galaxy S10e. But it said the GOS has been seen on their Galaxy S21+ review device, and noted that it can't be disabled.
Twitter user @GaryeonHan emphasized that Samsung apparently is using GOS to "optimize" the performance of thousands of non-gaming apps. If the app is part of the GOS list, its performance will end up limited.
Samsung GOS Guarantees Better System Endurance, Battery Life But Shortchanges Users?
Such drastic action seems to boil down to optimizing battery life. This means their operation won't need the full CPU and GPU power of the system on the chip, such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, guaranteeing better system endurance. OnePlus was caught to have done the same move last year, throttling the performance of popular apps but excluded benchmark apps. OnePlus vowed to make it optional in future updates.
While it is fathomable that these smartphone manufacturers want to balance performance and battery life of installed apps, it appears to be a disservice to users expecting the best from their devices and the apps, notably the gaming packages. And since the benchmark apps are not part of the list, this means the benchmark results won't show the actual experience of performance degradation. This makes it appear that the device would show enhanced battery life and performance, but may not reflect an ideal experience for users.
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