Samsung was under the scanner recently because it was caught throttling app performance while benchmark applications were allowed to run unbridled. Its actions resulted in many Samsung phones getting delisted from Geekbench. Now, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi could face the same fate and get delisted because reports suggest the company could be throttling apps on its phones too.
Android Police reports that it measured a noticeable difference in benchmark scores on Xiaomi phones when it renamed the benchmark app’s package name with that for an ordinary app that would be throttled. Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service (GOS) was found throttling apps after identifying the package name. However, the report claims it isn’t clear yet how Xiaomi identified the apps where performance is throttled.
The testing performed on the Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 12 X suggests the company gives games and benchmark apps “a better performance profile” than other apps where the performance is throttled to save battery juice.
The report claims Xiaomi uses various performance profiles across apps, as is evident from the testing performed on multiple apps and device models. When the Xiaomi 12 Pro recognized Geekbench as itself or the game Genshin Impact, single-core CPU performance was a whopping 50 percent better than when Geekbench was spoofed to be Chrome or Netflix. The Xiaomi 12 X demonstrated similar behavior.
Note that the tests haven’t been able to conclude how Xiaomi phones identify the apps, why app performance is throttled, and how the performance profiles behave under sustained use of intensive apps and everyday “throttled” apps. Xiaomi did not respond to Android Police’s request for a comment on the matter. Geekbench president John Poole says:
“It’s disappointing to see another device manufacturer mislead consumers by reducing application performance but not benchmark performance. We are investigating which Xiaomi handsets are affected and expect to start delisting Xiaomi handsets from the Android Benchmark chart later this week.”
Do you think Xiaomi devices could be delisted from Geekbench for throttling apps? Tell us in the comments section below.
