Samsung Denies Charges Of Tampering Benchmark Tests With The S4

Samsung has been accused of having rigged benchmark scores to make its Galaxy S4 device seem more powerful than it actually is. That has been revealed by the site Anandtech.com and concerns the unlocked version of the S4 running on the Exynos 5 Octa chip. This should come as a shock and more so for Samsung loyalists as well as those who base their buying decisions on benchmark tests. The site carried the report which states that Samsung has been using a slightly higher GPU clock speed when running the benchmark app than it does when running any other app.

For those who prefer numbers, the tests have revealed that the GPU clock speed went up to 532Mhz when running running a benchmark app though the clock speed will drop down to a slightly lower 480Mhz when running any other normal app. This, as per Anandtech has led to a perceived performance improvement of 11 percent for the Galaxy S4 device. The anomaly has been detected using AnTuTu, Quadrant and GLBenchmark 2.5.1. What makes the allegation against Samsung even more serious is the discovery of specific codes targeted at the benchmark app, which means the device will know it is running benchmark apps and hence the higher GPU clock speed will come into effect, leading to a better score.

Samsung though has issued a statement denying all the allegations. It explained that the S4 has been so designed that the maximum GPU frequency under normal conditions will be 532Mhz though it would come down to 480Mhz when certain gaming apps are run. Samsung clarified that the specific design feature has been included to prevent overload particularly when the apps are run in full screen mode and for a longer period. Samsung also mentioned that the clock speed will attain a max clock speed of 532Ghz when running apps such as Browser, Gallery, Camera, Video Player, and such that are generally run in full screen mode as well as for many of the benchmarking apps as well.