Just hours ago, we had seen how Samsung had boosted its benchmark scores for a favourable result in comparison to the competition. After all the brouhaha surrounding this issue, Samsung has spoken up, denying the allegations by saying that most full screen apps have the access to full GPU clock speed. That said, the vague response on the company’s Korean website doesn’t seem to explain what “Benchmark booster” actually means.
Initially, according to AnandTech, Samsung seemingly added hooks in the code that made the GPU run at a higher clock speed and boosted the base clock of the CPU to a default maximum when in certain apps like the popular benchmark tools like Antutu, Quadrant Advanced etc. There was also evidence found in the code mentioning all the benchmark apps and calling a specific “Benchmark booster” app. This raised eyebrows around the community for Samsung’s shady practices and this is what they happen to say in response-
Under ordinary conditions, the GALAXY S4 has been designed to allow a maximum GPU frequency of 533MHz. However, the maximum GPU frequency is lowered to 480MHz for certain gaming apps that may cause an overload, when they are used for a prolonged period of time in full-screen mode. Meanwhile, a maximum GPU frequency of 533MHz is applicable for running apps that are usually used in full-screen mode, such as the S Browser, Gallery, Camera, Video Player, and certain benchmarking apps, which also demand substantial performance.
The maximum GPU frequencies for the GALAXY S4 have been varied to provide optimal user experience for our customers, and were not intended to improve certain benchmark results.
Samsung Electronics remains committed to providing our customers with the best possible user experience.
In a way, they have agreed to the specific boosting of apps, but say it is not intentional. They also say that the optimized experiences for the benefit of the customer, which is quite confusing when you consider benchmark tests “unintentionally” fall into this category. And still, there is now word on what “Benchmark booster” means, so they jury is still out on that one, or is it? Anyway, for the end user who already has the phone, this shouldn’t matter much, but people who are still on the fence, and who take benchmark scores seriously for comparison with other devices, may need to be more careful.
Source Samsung Tomorrow