Samsung Galaxy S22 Sales Reducing Due to GOS Scandal, Carriers Increase Subsidies to Tackle Falling Price: Report

Samsung Galaxy S22 sales have reportedly taken a hit amid the controversy surrounding its Game Optimizing Service (GOS). The South Korean tech giant faced criticism after it didn't provide users with the ability to manually turn this service off on phones. A recent report suggests that Samsung's carrier partners, like KT and LG U+, have increased their subsidies for people who purchase the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra by up to KRW 500,000 (roughly Rs. 31,150).

As per a report published by The Korea Times, the new Galaxy S22 series has already dropped by less than half of the launch price in South Korea. KT has reportedly decided to offer KRW 450,000 (roughly Rs. 28,000) in subsidies for the Galaxy S22 and a monthly subscription plan of KRW 90,000 (roughly Rs. 5,600). It will also offer KRW 500,000 (roughly Rs. 31,150) in subsidies for the Galaxy S22+. The carrier had already increased the subsidies on the Galaxy S22 Ultra to KRW 500,000. Similarly, LG U+ is also offering the same subsidies on each of the Samsung Galaxy S22 models with a monthly subscription of over KRW 85,000 (roughly Rs. 5,200).

As mentioned earlier, mobile carriers are reportedly taking these measures to tackle the drop in sales of the Galaxy S22 lineup after the GOS scandal. Samsung had introduced the GOS service for Galaxy devices, which is programmed to optimise gaming performance on smartphones. However, the company initially did not allow users to manually turn off this service, which supposedly lead to reduced quality while gaming. Since then, Samsung has updated GOS to not limit system performance until the device starts getting heated.

In a statement to The Korea Times, industry analyst Lee Seung-woo stated that Samsung's mobile devices and network business is expected to report a profit of up to KRW 4 trillion (roughly Rs. 24,837 crore) in Q1 of 2022 due to the strong global smartphone market. However, the Galaxy and Samsung brands' credibility has taken a hit due to the GOS controversy.