Samsung Galaxy Phones Seem to Be Throttling Performance on Select Android Apps, Games

Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service app is apparently the root cause of slowdown of apps on Galaxy phones.

Samsung Galaxy Phones Seem to Be Throttling Performance on Select Android Apps, Games

Photo Credit: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy phones are found to be limiting hardware resources for some apps and games

Highlights
  • Samsung Galaxy phones come preloaded with Game Optimizing Service
  • The app is found to be helping to throttle performance
  • Samsung is limiting performance even on known games and Google apps
Advertisement

Samsung Galaxy phones are found to be throttling their performance on thousands of apps that are not meant for benchmarking purposes. The issue is not limited to a particular device but apparently exists on many models including the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S22 series. The dip in the performance also comes into force for games including Genshin Impact as well as apps such as Instagram, Netflix, and some Google apps. However, benchmarking apps including 3DMark and Geekbench are excluded from the list of apps that result in the performance throttling.

A Twitter user alleged that Samsung Galaxy devices are using a preloaded app called Game Optimizing Service to limit the use of hardware resources for more than 10,000 apps. The default app runs in the background when using both non-gaming and gaming apps and includes even Google apps such as Chrome and Google Docs as well as a few pre-installed Samsung apps including the Calendar, Samsung Pay, and Secure Folder, the user claimed.

 

The performance throttling has also been demonstrated by a YouTube channel in which the narrator renamed the package name of the 3DMark benchmark app to that of open-world action role playing game Genshin Impact.

Changing of the package name resulted in different benchmark results, as seen in the video.

Geekbench developer John Poole separately verified that the limiting of performance is not exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S22 phones but is also available on older models including the Exynos version of the Galaxy S10. He shared a link to show the difference in benchmark results when the phone is tricked to run Geekbench as a non-benchmark app.

 

The difference in the single-core score is 74.2 percent, while it grows to even 91.6 percent in the multi-core score.

Alongside the changes at the benchmark level, the throttling does result in slowdown of the devices when running the selected apps and games. It has been reported on the Samsung Members Community forums by some users at least since December.

It is important to note that Samsung has not provided any detailed information on the Game Optimizing Service that is available preloaded on a list of Galaxy phones. Users are also not provided with an option to disable the preloaded app from their end.

The exact reason why Samsung is throttling the performance of its devices through the Game Optimizing Service is unclear at this moment. However, it is assumed that by limiting CPU and GPU resources, the app might be helping provide better battery life and avoid instances of overheating to some extent.

OnePlus used a similar mechanism in the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro last year, though it excluded a few popular games. The company, though, did face delisting of the flagship phones from Geekbench. OnePlus had also later clarified that the throttling was aimed to “provide a smooth experience while reducing power consumption.”

Gadgets 360 has reached out to Samsung for a comment on the matter and will update readers when the company responds.


Do Samsung's Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 series have any Android competition? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
  • REVIEW
  • KEY SPECS
  • NEWS
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • Small and compact
  • Quality AMOLED display
  • Impressive performance
  • Good battery life
  • IP68 rated
  • Bad
  • Heats up easily with camera use
  • No bundled charger
Display 6.10-inch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Rear Camera Unspecified
RAM 8GB
Storage 128GB, 256GB
Battery Capacity 3,700mAh
OS Android 12
  • REVIEW
  • KEY SPECS
  • NEWS
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • Quality AMOLED display
  • Impressive performance
  • Good battery life
  • IP68 rated
  • Bad
  • Heats up easily with camera use
  • No bundled charger
  • Not the best value offering in the series
Display 6.60-inch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Front Camera 10-megapixel
Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel + 10-megapixel
RAM 8GB
Storage 128GB, 256GB
Battery Capacity 4,500mAh
OS Android 12
  • REVIEW
  • KEY SPECS
  • NEWS
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • In-built S Pen stylus
  • Superb display
  • Impressive performance
  • Versatile cameras
  • Good battery life
  • IP68 rated
  • Bad
  • Gets warm easily under load
  • Big and bulky
  • No bundled charger
  • Expensive
Display 6.80-inch
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Front Camera 40-megapixel
Rear Camera 108-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel
RAM 8GB, 12GB
Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery Capacity 5000mAh
OS Android 12
  • REVIEW
  • KEY SPECS
  • NEWS
  • Variants
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • Sturdy and compact
  • Very good cameras
  • Powerful SoC
  • Bad
  • Gets warm under heavy load
  • Hole-punch design might not appeal to everyone
Display 6.10-inch
Processor Samsung Exynos 9820
Front Camera 10-megapixel
Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 16-megapixel
RAM 8GB
Storage 128GB
Battery Capacity 3400mAh
OS Android 9.0
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Asus Vivobook 13 Slate OLED With Detachable Keyboard, Stylus Support Launched in India
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »