South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has imposed a provisional fine of about KRW 20 billion (about $15 million) on Samsung. It also ordered the company to correct its advertising. The regulator found that ads for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 promoted gaming performance without disclosing a key limit. Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service (GOS) capped CPU and GPU speeds the moment a listed heavy game launched, whatever the device’s temperature.
The decision has been made, though the fine amount is still provisional. Samsung plans to challenge the ruling in court, SamMobile and SammyFans report.
How GOS Throttled Galaxy S22 Games
According to the KFTC, GOS ran two policies. A general policy adjusted performance based on device temperature. A separate per-game policy kicked in as soon as specific high-end games started. It cut peak CPU clocks, GPU clocks and refresh rate to preset values, regardless of the device’s condition.
The cuts were steep. On the Galaxy S22 series, peak CPU speed fell from 2.99GHz to 0.94GHz and GPU speed from 818MHz to 220MHz. That left 31.4% and 26.9% of maximum performance respectively.
The number of games with CPU and GPU caps varied by device:
- Galaxy S21 series: 82 games
- Galaxy S22 series: 47 games
- Galaxy Tab S8 series: 8 games
Buyers noticed the effect. The KFTC says consumers complained of stuttering and lowered resolution in games on the GOS list.
What the KFTC Ruled
The regulator found the ads deceptive under Article 3(1)(2) of Korea’s Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising. Samsung marketed the devices as top-tier gaming hardware. Those claims ran on its website and in promo videos, Unpacked launch events and press releases.
- Galaxy S21 ads: January 15, 2021 to March 21, 2022
- Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 ads: February 10, 2022 to March 10, 2022
The service’s name presents it as optimization. The regulator’s finding is that it worked as an undisclosed performance limit on exactly the games the devices were sold on. Capping a flagship’s GPU at about 27% of its peak is not a detail buyers should have had to discover for themselves.
Samsung’s Response and the Legal History
Samsung intends to fight the decision through an administrative lawsuit, according to SammyFans citing SBS News. SamMobile also reports that the company plans to appeal.
The GOS limits themselves are already gone. Samsung removed them with a software update in March 2022, according to SammyGuru. SamMobile describes that update as letting users bypass the limits.
SammyGuru also reports that eight GOS lawsuits in South Korea, the US and Israel have concluded. Litigants also withdrew their complaints to the KFTC. In Korea, a court found the ads misleading but granted no damages, and the case closed through compulsory mediation.
What This Means for Galaxy Owners
If you own a Galaxy S21, S22 or Tab S8, there is nothing you need to do. The order includes no refund or compensation for owners, and the throttling limits were lifted in 2022.
The ruling still matters as a precedent. A regulator has now said that advertising peak performance while an undisclosed per-game cap applies is deceptive. Samsung also faces other regulatory pressure, including a US ITC patent probe that could affect phone imports.
Source: Korea Fair Trade Commission, SamMobile, SammyFans, SammyGuru
