Samsung's Game Optimization Service controversy is rearing its ugly head again with the Galaxy S24 lineup, at least for one popular game. For those unaware, the Game Optimization Service, or GOS for short, is responsible for keeping the phone's temperature in check by throttling the CPU and GPU when necessary, which can result in a drop in performance.
GOS became a controversy back in 2022 when it was discovered that Samsung was throttling performance in games but not benchmark apps, and the company addressed the issue by adding an experimental option called Alternate game performance management.
Enabling that option stops the device from throttling the CPU and GPU too aggressively when the temperatures rise. That can result in higher frame rates in graphically intensive games, though throttling still occurs after a point as the temperature on a mobile device cannot be left unchecked.
To truly disable GOS, one has to run through a few more hoops that involve the use of developer commands using a PC, a process that isn't very inviting for the average consumer. The method is still available for those who want it, though, but it seems it isn't having the intended effect on the Galaxy S24 series.
Tests done with GOS on and off in the popular game Genshin Impact reveal that the Galaxy S24 series sees increased power consumption when GOS is turned off but the frame rates don't increase, essentially giving the phone the leeway to turn into a furnace without giving the user any of the benefits that come with it.
Or at least that is what we have surmised based on Google's translation of a long discussion thread about the topic on the Samsung Korea community forums. In addition to wanting a fix for the lack of performance gains with the optimization service disabled, the user that performed the tests is also asking Samsung to provide an easier way to fully turn off GOS.
While the latter is a request Samsung doesn't seem to acknowledge, the company did acknowledge the former and revealed that a bug is preventing things from working as they should. While it's not outright mentioned, we can assume that the bug will be fixed with a software update in the coming months.
For now, it's recommended not to disable the Game Optimization Service, either through the developer commands or through the Alternate game performance management option in the Labs section of Game Booster (check this guide to find out how you can access that option).
