OnePlus has responded to its app throttling problem. Modern processors are apparently “overkill” for many apps.

So OnePlus got itself under fire again, maybe even literally this time, as users has reported that its UI, OxygenOS, has a tendency to throttle apps on the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, causing the two phones to be delisted on Geekbench for benchmark manipulation. Since then, the company has responded to the complaints.

According to OnePlus, since processors get more powerful every year, especially flagship ones (probably just a BS excuse from them not optimising), their power is often “overkill” to certain apps, from simple social media apps, to games and browsers.

This is OnePlus’ response to the situation:

“Smartphone processors have continued to become stronger every year, enabling software developers to develop more powerful and sophisticated apps, in turn, helping users to do more things with smartphones than ever before. In recent years, the performance of smartphone SoCs has reached a point where their power is often overkill in certain scenarios for many apps including social media, browsers and even some light gaming.“

“With this in mind, our team has shifted its attention from simply providing sheer performance to providing the performance you expect from our devices while reducing power consumption and heat dissipation. To be more precise, we want to match each app with the most appropriate performance it needs.“

To simplify, OnePlus is opting to optimise their apps in order to save battery power and bring each apps’ “most appropriate” performance, reducing its CPU usage and throttling.

In case of the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, games using the Snapdragon 888+ chipset will run at its maximum, and for apps that don’t use a lot of CPU power, like social media apps and utility apps, the chipset will run normally or reduce the CPU frequency to save battery and lessen heat while also maintaining a smooth experience. For short, it will run using its “power saver” settings.

OnePlus did admit it optimises apps that aren’t games, but consume a considerable amount of CPU power. These apps include YouTube, Zoom, Chrome, Discord, Microsoft Office, Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram, as well as their own in-house apps. OnePlus is still working on these optimisations so that they don’t get overpowered by the system’s own optimal performance and to retain a good user experience.

You can read OnePlus’ statement through this link