World’s Largest Smartphone Maker Throttling Apps

Samsung doesn’t appear to have learned from Apple, as the company has been caught throttling thousands of apps’ performance.

According to XDA, Samsung is using an app called Game Optimization Service (GOS) to throttle the performance of more than 10,000 apps. The list includes some of the most popular apps in existence, including Netflix, Microsoft Office, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube Music, and more.

Samsung has even confirmed the existence of GOS, and that it is throttling apps.

“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…”

— @GaryeonHan, March 2, 2022

Videos demonstrate the impact of GOS, especially on games, significantly degrading performance.

Apple found itself in hot water when it was discovered the company was throttling performance on older devices. The company was slapped with multiple lawsuits when the news broke, lawsuits Apple ultimately lost.

At least in Apple’s case, the argument could be made the company was only throttling older phones in an effort to increase longevity. In Samsung’s case, however, GOS is running on some of the company’s newest phones, including the S22, phones people buy expecting high-end performance.

Needless to say, Samsung’s customers are not happy, and understandably so.