Samsung‘s newly-launched Galaxy S23 series has a nifty new feature that gamers and power users would love. The phones let you bypass charging and supply the power directly to the processor when you plug in a charger. This helps keep the phone cool and conserves battery health in the long run.
Discovered by YouTuber NL Tech, Samsung has added a Pause USB Power Delivery feature to the Galaxy S23‘s Game Booster settings. When enabled, the phone will stop charging (only if you have more than 20 percent charge) and supply the input power directly to the processor. Everything else will work normally. Just that your phone’s battery isn’t involved in any of the processes as long as you keep the charger plugged in.
This feature has two major advantages. Firstly, it reduces the heat that your phone generates during heavy usage, such as gaming. Usually, when you plug in a charger, your phone starts charging the battery while it is simultaneously discharging to power the processor. With two simultaneous processes happening within the battery system, it produces more heat. Bypassing charging means neither process is happening. As such, the processor can better manage the device’s thermals and offer you more efficient performance.
The other advantage is a long-term one. Every charge-discharge cycle degrades your phone’s battery health. Bypassing charging reduces these cycles, thus keeping the battery healthy in the long run. Overall, this feature is useful for everyone, but gamers will find it more useful than anyone else. They usually keep the phone plugged in during gaming sessions. Pause USB Power Delivery will allow them to bypass charging and keep the phone cool.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 phones can bypass charging
This type of feature is usually only found in dedicated gaming phones, like those from the ASUS ROG series. It’s nice to see Samsung adding it to its mainstream flagships. Moreover, Pause USB Power Delivery reportedly works with any charger on the Galaxy S23. You don’t need a proprietary solution from the Korean brand. The only requirement is that the power brick should support USB PD (Power Delivery).
It’s a bit surprising that Samsung didn’t talk about “Pause USB Power Delivery” during the Galaxy S23 launch last week or in its One UI 5.1 changelog. So it’s unclear whether the feature will be available to older Galaxy flagships. If it’s part of the company’s Game Booster app, it may be available on the likes of Galaxy S22. We will let you know when we have more information.