Samsung has avoided paying damages in a major lawsuit over performance throttling in its Galaxy S22 smartphones, despite a South Korean court acknowledging the company misled consumers.

The Seoul court dismissed a class-action claim from 1,882 Galaxy S22 users who accused Samsung of deceptive advertising related to its Game Optimizing Service (GOS).

Plaintiffs sought ₩300,000 (A$410) each, claiming the company failed to disclose that GOS throttled CPU and GPU performance in high-end games, despite marketing the S22 as a top-tier performer.

GOS, designed to manage heat and battery life, was made mandatory in the S22 lineup and couldn’t be disabled at launch, prompting widespread backlash, particularly from power users. Critics argued the feature undermined the phone’s advertised gaming capabilities.

While the court agreed Samsung’s marketing could have given consumers the false impression of “unlimited” performance, it found the evidence lacking to prove users suffered financial harm or that GOS significantly impacted everyday use. Importantly, the throttling only affected a small number of demanding apps, the court said.

The ruling also noted that most buyers likely would not have changed their purchase decision based on GOS alone. As a result, the plaintiffs not only lost the case but were also ordered to cover legal costs.

Samsung updated its software in 2022 to give users control over GOS, but the fallout from the controversy lingers.