Huawei caught tampering with benchmark results, argues that it has no choice

The sole reason for benchmark apps to exist is to be able to set up a level playing field to compare smartphones and other hardware. But that doesn’t stop smartphone brands from trying to cheat users and the latest to get caught doing so is Huawei. After a detailed talk with Huawei officials at IFA 2018, Anandtech in a detailed report confirms that the Chinese brand is using a benchmark detection software to force the best performance out of the phone while running benchmarks. Huawei claims that they are doing it to remains competitive in a cut-throat market, but that still does justify the cheating. [caption id=“attachment_4903551” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Honor Play. Image: tech2/ Amrita Rajput[/caption] Talking to the publication, Huawei’s President of Software, Wang Chenglu talks about the need to have standardised benchmarks that reveal scores based on real-life usage rather than having benchmarks which synthetically push the chip to draw out a score. While that does make sense, it still just not justify cheating consumers. Wang says, “others do the same testing, get high scores, and Huawei cannot stay silent”. A deeper dive into benchmarking (using custom editions of benchmarks) the recently launched **Honor Play** revealed that Huawei’s benchmarking detection app not only ensures that the processor is working at full throttle, but enables a much higher power limit for the SoC with far more generous thermal headroom. While this does reduce battery efficiency, it will surely be able to push out unbelievable numbers when it comes to benchmarks. [caption id=“attachment_5126361” align=“alignnone” width=“844”] Image: Anandtech[/caption] Huawei has promised reporters that moving benchmark data will be verified by third parties to ensure clean results. The company is expected to launch the Mate 20 at an event on 16 October and that too will raise questions on benchmarking as Huawei plans to launch its latest Kirin 980 chip with the device. In the past, we’ve found the likes of **Oppo** and **OnePlus** cheating benchmarks in a similar way and Huawei seems to be following a similar trend, knowing the fact that it could jeopardise their credibility as a brand.