Android Phones Playing Dirty with Benchmarks - Netlinked Daily

Samsung has gotten in trouble for cheating on its phone benchmarks (boosting clock speed when the device detects the app), but Anandtech reports it turns out a lot of other Android phones are guilty as well!

[superdrummer]

You guys Keys and Jack are getting better very fast! Keep up the good work!

[tanjerry]

These videos are really getting better, no where near Linus quality yet, but surely getting there :P Keep it up!!

[AFlyingCapybara]

Good video Keys, it's starting to get better and better. Congrats

[JohannesEckhoff]

It's not overclocking for regular games or applications (not to the same extent anyway), just the benchmarks. Furthermore, while the device is idle, and a benchmark is open but not running, the SoC will not limit itself to its normal powertarget, rather it keeps the CPU at a higher than normal frequency.

[DraKulisCinematicGaming]

now they are starting to overclock phones wtf

[Dewisz]

So my videocard uses gpu boost 2.0 so it clocks itself higher and higher until it hits the temperature limit. Is that cheating too?

[gpdrissel]

This was a pretty awesome vid! Well done! Way to make it interesting and comical =]

[IBreiKeL]

When you are using a CPU/GPU intensive app it will also overclock. So, whats your point?

[Raphisgreat]

He showed the benchmark charts and said that only 2 other ANDROID phones haven't been cheating.

[PS]

the 5s actually still beats every android phone ive seen in the benchmarks

[JohannesEckhoff]

Futuremark public ruler: "With the exception of setting mandatory parameters specific to systems with multiple GPUs, such as AMD CrossFire or NVIDIA SLI, drivers may not detect the launch of the benchmark executable and alter, replace or override any parameters or parts of the test based on the detection. Period."

[JohannesEckhoff]

Turbo boost is advertised as a feature of intel cpus along with the maximum frequency it brings to some (not all) the cores. Vastly different from what's going on with Samsung, htc and the other phone makers.

[JohannesEckhoff]

We still need a way to quantify performance, or "This feels fast" and "This does not feel fast" will be all we have to go by when buying a phone.

[quam]

Sounds like I have a working phone, that probably already doesn't need as much power as it has.

[IZY]

Thing is only the benchmark apps get the boost not any of the apps you actually want to use.

[SAT]

They're not overclocking anything. They just prevent the cpu cores from idling and running at their max of 2.3GHz potential disregarding any "power save" features.

[ThomasVanhelden]

So who was cheating? All android phones or only Samsung? And what did the "*and apple" mean?

[ViciouzMindCA]

Here's the thing, It'll "overclock" only when using bench marking apps. Just to deceive you into thinking that's the overall stats when in fact, it only ramp'd up the performance during the use of benchmarking apps..

[JohannesEckhoff]

I did not expect that ending. weird mix of confusion and laughter.

[YTNrd]

I agree, but I think they mean it only does it for benchmark software, not an auto overclock.