OnePlus 5, one of the most awaited devices of the year, was unveiled globally on Tuesday night. No sooner was the smartphone launched, an investigative report claimed that OnePlus used unethical methods to manipulate benchmark scores for its latest smartphone.
XDA Developers, a website frequented by Android geeks, claims that the OnePlus 5 review unit contains a code that allows the phone to manipulate benchmark test results. The code allows them to achieve a performance that the normal consumer will not be able to witness while running regular applications.
According to XDA, as soon as the OnePlus 5 detects a benchmark app, the minimum frequency of the little cluster rockets to the maximum frequency (1.9 GHz).
It further said that without the cheating mechanism, only 24.4 per cent of results gave the 1.9 GHz maximum frequency in the small cores. However, when the manipulation code was enabled, the number jumped to a whopping 95 per cent of results.
Responding to the allegations, OnePlus said that the code in its phones is tuned to display the performance potential of the OnePlus 5 and not cheat.
"We have made it so that when running benchmark apps, the phone performs the same as when running resource intensive apps such as 3D games. We also fully activate our chipset in other parts of OxygenOS, for instance when launching apps to make the launch experience faster and smoother," OnePlus co-founder Carl Pie.
"We are not making it easier for the chipset to perform, for instance by changing to a lower resolution when detecting a benchmark app. We are not changing the performance of our chipset, for instance by overclocking it," he added.
In February this year, OnePlus and Meizu were reported to be cheating on their benchmark scores by tweaking the CPU to an artificial clock speed, and once OnePlus was intimated, it promised to issue a fix in the next OxygenOS update.
With the OnePlus 3T, the company specifically targeted benchmark apps, boosting the CPU frequency when it detected that a particular benchmark was running.
OnePlus 5 will be launched in India on June 22, i.e. tomorrow.
OnePlus 5 will come in two variants -- 6GB RAM/64GB memory and 8GB RAM/128GB memory -- and will be available in India for Rs 32,999 and Rs 37,999, respectively.
As for the OnePlus 5 specifications, the company has confirmed that the device will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.
The device will house 20MP rear dual-camera and 16MP front shooter built in partnership with DxO.
The smartphone is said to have a 5.5-inch full-HD display.
The reports regarding the battery size are not clear yet. While some claim that OnePlus 5 has been tipped to house a 3,300mAh battery, others said it will come with a 4,000mAh battery.
Famous for its "Dash Charge" technology, the smartphone might have more capabilities this time around.
OnePlus 5 comes with several upgrades over its predecessor, the OnePlus 3T. These include, of course, the dual camera setup on the back, 8GB RAM option, and updated design.
