OnePlus has clarified why it resorted to throttling the performance on the OnePlus 9 series. Last week the brand had admitted to limiting the processor performance on both the standard and Pro variants. Now, a detailed reason for the same has been shared by the brand on its official forum.
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The latest development comes after AnandTech reported that OnePlus has been limiting the performance of 300 popular apps from Google Play Store on the OnePlus 9 series. This also led to Geekbench removing both phones from its database.
According to OnePlus, day to day tasks don’t require full processing power
OnePlus reveals the reason for throttling performance on OnePlus 9
Both the OnePlus 9 (review) and OnePlus 9 Pro (review) are equipped with the flagship Snapdragon 888 processor. In the forum post, OnePlus says that modern processors are overkill for most apps that don’t need heavy power for normal day-to-day tasks like social media, browsing, or light gaming.
OnePlus said that during gaming and heavy usage, the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro utilise the Snapdragon 888 processor along with the powerful X1 CPU core at a full speed to provide the best performance. Thus the CPU doesn’t need to run at 3GHz speed during usage like scrolling social media apps, reading web pages etc. The reduction in CPU performance also aids in reducing the power consumption and heat dissipation for a smoother experience.
OnePlus added that its R&D team maintains a list of popular apps on Google Play Store including Chrome, Twitter, Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and more. It throttles the app’s performance based on the various needs and tests these changes to make sure that user experience is not negatively affected.
There’s no doubt that OnePlus offers flagship smartphones with top-of-the-line specifications. While the brand’s explanation makes sense, we think it could have been handled better if OnePlus had been upfront about it.