Sony may be doing something unheard of in the world of mobile. It seems as though the Japanese OEM has decided to block benchmarking apps from being loaded onto their device. On a new Xperia prototype, AnTuTu was blocked form installation. It’s a curious — but ultimately interesting — move by Sony.
The crew at Xperia Blog got their hands on a screenshot, in which the famed benchmarking app AnTuTu was attempting to be loaded. The “warning” suggests the app be removed, but is no paper Tiger. It actually blocks the app from being loaded at all, taking the device out of the benchmarking arms race altogether.
The curiosity here is that, even in the faux warning, Sony is blocking device info from being known. This seems like a strong-arm tactic to allow them to keep product announcements surprising, but cold be more reasonable than that. In the past, we’ve heard everything about their handsets ahead of launch, down to fit and finish. They may want to keep us in suspense as best they can.
Sony may also understand that the benchmarking tool once leaned on as a way to gauge device performance is now compromised. With revelations of widespread “device doping”, benchmarks don’t hold the same place in our mindshare as they used to. Though both could be correct, it may also be that Sony just doesn’t want benchmarks of prototypes being leaked, since they’re not finished hardware. In any case, it’s a bold move, and it will be interesting to see where it takes Sony.
VIA: Phone Arena
cold -> could
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Good for them! Proto type devices are subject to change before release so the test results are likely to be even better on the final release to the public than on the proto type unit.