We never thought we’d be writing about the Samsung Galaxy S4 again — but Samsung has just settled a lawsuit over false benchmarks on the now six-year-old device. The lawsuit was settled for $13.4 million.
According to The Register, the lawsuit was first filed in November 2014 by Daniel Norcia, after it was found that Samsung was artificially inflating benchmark scores by introducing code that detected when benchmarks were running and then overclocking the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor speed to 532MHz, instead of the 480MHz that the processor normally ran at.
Samsung never denied that it inflated benchmark scores, instead taking a different approach. The company argued that under California law, it was not “legally obliged” to disclose that the phone was set up to inflate scores. Instead, the company argued that only security issues and data breaches need to be disclosed to the public. The case made its way all the way up to the Supreme Court, and was set to go to trial before Samsung finally settled for $13.4 million.
As part of the settlement, Samsung has agreed not to inflate software that artificially increases benchmark tests — but interestingly, it only agreed to do so until 2024. Not only that, but the company is not required to admit any wrongdoing.
$7,500 of that $13.4 million will go to Daniel Norcia, while $10.6 million will be in the form of injunctive relief. The other $2.8 million goes directly to the settlement fund — which means if you had a Galaxy S4, you’re entitled to some cash. Around 10 million people bought the Samsung Galaxy S4 in the U.S.
There is some disagreement as to whether or not Samsung did anything wrong. Some argue that benchmark tests should test the theoretical maximum performance, rather than real-world performance. Still, for most, benchmarks are considered an indicator of real-world performance, rather than a performance that the average person will never achieve.
Instructions on how to claim $10 for yourself, if you’re a Galaxy S4 owner, aren’t available yet — but an email should make it to your inbox with those instructions soon. If you no longer use the email address you had at the time of owning the Galaxy S4, it’s apparently recommended to purchase USA Today on Mondays, as instructions will eventually show up in the Legal Notices or Money section of the paper, according to The Register.
