Samsung Found To Be Deliberately Slowing Older Phones

Samsung Found To Be Deliberately Slowing Older Phones

You may recall earlier this year, Apple was found to be releasing updates which deliberately slowed down older phone models. It was a move that didn’t do Apple any favours as they initially semi-denied it, then admitted it with the caveat that it was to extend the lifespan of ageing batteries. It was a move that prompted the company to offer some pretty huge discounts on phone battery replacements. I know this for a fact because I did it myself.

At the time though, Samsung was rather keen to poke a bit of fun at the Apple. Suggesting, very strongly, that they would never do something like that. Specifically in regards to attempting to make older phones ‘obsolete’. It seems though that their words might have come back to haunt them!

In a report via WCCFTech though, an Italian led investigation has found that updates to Samsung phones have indeed been slowing older models down!

Fine Issued!

The report found that updates to Samsung phones: “caused serious dysfunctions and reduced performance significantly. Thereby accelerating the process of replacing them.” The commission has, subsequently, fined the company around $5.7m.

Samsung has yet to comment on the findings. It will, however, be a matter of some curiosity what their response will be. The company has always maintained that it has never throttled a phones CPU speed, but many users have reported degraded performance after updates which this investigation would seem to have confirmed.

So, in brief, if you’re thinking of upgrading your current Samsung phone, you might want to exercise a little patience. The company may be required, like Apple, to offer some contrition to it’s customers.

What do you think? Have you noticed any slow down on your phone? – Let us know in the comments!