Galaxy S22 Consumers Lose First Trial in Class Action Over 'GOS Performance Degradation'

Galaxy S22 users have lost the first trial in a class action lawsuit filed against Samsung Electronics over the controversy regarding the 'performance degradation' caused by the Game Optimizing Service (GOS).

Samsung Electronics Seocho Building. Photo by Yonhap News

On June 12, the Civil Agreement Division 21 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ji-hye) ruled against the plaintiffs in a damages claim lawsuit filed by more than 1,800 Galaxy smartphone consumers against Samsung Electronics, stating, "All claims by the plaintiffs are dismissed, and the plaintiffs shall bear the litigation costs."

The court acknowledged that Samsung Electronics had engaged in misleading labeling and advertising. The court stated, "Samsung Electronics ran advertisements that could mislead consumers into believing they could enjoy the fastest speeds without any speed restrictions, even though, at least in relation to the individual GOS policies for the Galaxy S21 and S22 series smartphones, the speed was artificially slowed down when using certain high-performance game apps."

However, the court also stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the plaintiffs, it is insufficient to conclude that the plaintiffs suffered damages or that such damages were caused by the misleading labeling or advertising. There is no other evidence to support this claim."

Additionally, the court ruled, "It is insufficient to recognize that Samsung Electronics had a duty of notification to all general consumers intending to purchase mobile devices, either under the principle of good faith or under the Framework Act on Consumers, in relation to the individual GOS policies. There is no other evidence to support such a duty."

The court further explained, "The individual GOS policy applies only when certain high-performance game apps are run, and if such apps are not used, there are no performance restrictions on the mobile device. Therefore, it is difficult to regard this as 'a matter significantly affecting the purchasing decision of a mobile device' for the average consumer."

GOS refers to a feature that prevents smartphone overheating by artificially lowering performance and reducing computational load, such as by adjusting GPU (graphics processing unit) performance and lowering screen resolution when running games or other tasks requiring high performance. When Samsung Electronics launched the Galaxy S22 series in 2022, it made GOS mandatory, unlike previous models, and prevented its removal. In response, consumers filed a damages lawsuit in March of the same year, claiming they suffered harm because Samsung did not notify them that GOS would degrade device performance. The amount claimed was 300,000 won per person.