UL, however, rejected the justifications. It was clear that Oppo was looking for the benchmark by name and not the extra processing load involved, according to the outfit. Moreover, tapping wouldn't be an effective solution if Oppo treated apps equally -- you couldn't get consistent results.

Oppo did indicate that it might change. It was planning on "upgrading the system" and trying to "distinguish" between the demands of everyday apps and what users wanted. The company didn't strictly promise that it would stop cheating, however.

We've seen HTC, Huawei, Samsung and other familiar names cheat before, and there's often a herd mentality behind the decision -- we have to do it because others are doing it too. UL's move might not convince the companies to mend their ways and submit honest results, but it might negate some of the incentive to play fast and loose with the truth.