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Samsung may face investigation in Korea over Galaxy S22 performance claims


Cherlynn Low/Engadget

Jon Fingas
·Reporter
Tue, March 8, 2022

Samsung may be in legal trouble following worries that it's throttling app performance. Sources for The Korea Herald claim South Korea's Fair Trade Commission is "expected" to investigate Samsung over allegations it violated advertising law when marketing the Galaxy S22 phone series. While the company claims the S22 has the "best performance ever," its Game Optimizing Service limits speed to both preserve battery life and prevent overheating — and you can't currently override it.

The regulatory crackdown might not be Samsung's only problem. Yonhap News Agency claims Galaxy S22 owners in South Korea are preparing a class action lawsuit against the company for distorting the phone's capabilities. They feel "cheated" and are asking for 300,000 won (about $243) in compensation per person, according to the news outlet.

Recently, Samsung promised a GOS update that will give users control over throttling. However, the tech firm has denied reports it's slowing down general apps like Netflix and TikTok, not just games. Some also say it's removing speed caps for benchmarks like 3DMark and GeekBench, providing an unrealistic view of the Galaxy S22 in synthetic tests.

We've asked Samsung for comment. Performance throttling is a common practice for smartphones, as mobile processors can't always run at full speed for sustained periods. The concern, however, is that Samsung is throttling more aggressively while giving users no say in the matter, much like Apple did during its "batterygate" scandal. There's no guarantee Samsung will face penalties or do more than release its planned update, but the story is a familiar one so far.