Samsung faces lawsuit and possible Korean consumer watchdog investigation over S22 throttling
Samsung launched itsGalaxy S22series to great fanfare last month, but lately the phones have been in the spotlight for some decidedly negative reasons. The problem concerns One UI 4’s game optimization service (GOS), and while Samsung claims it’s there to improve performance while minimizing overheating, there’s been widespread fallout accusing the software of cheating at benchmarks — even leading to aGeekbench ban. Now it looks like some users are mad enough aboutthe throttlingto sue the company, and they’re organizing — just as the company is also drawing scrutiny from South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for the same reason.
Galaxy S22 owners have created an online community,reports Yonhap News, to organize a possible class action suit seeking 300,000 won — about $243 — per claimant. At the same time,The Korea Heraldsays the nation’s FTC may soon begin investigating whether Samsung concealed important information from consumers. As the Herald notes, ads for the S22 claimed it would have the “best performance ever” including a gamer-friendly 120Hz screen refresh rate, but GOS kicks in whenever a game is launched and prevents the display from hitting those buttery-smooth speeds — supposedly for safety-related reasons.
Between a possible lawsuit and a government-sponsored investigation, the company may have some explaining to do. The Herald says Samsung is readying a GOS update with a “performance mode” to limit its impact, and the manufacturergave a statement to Android Policein which it claims GOS doesn’t “manage the performance of non-gaming apps.” Even if we see a satisfying resolution soon, frustrated device owners may still want their day in court.
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