Galaxy S23 has a secret battery charging mode for when you’re playing games

The Galaxy S23 preorder period is almost over, and Samsung will soon start shipping the Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, and Ultra to buyers. The consensus seems to be that the three phones are great upgrades, ready to deliver a solid experience all around. The Galaxy S23 phones offer great performance and camera features, and battery life is also a Galaxy S23 Ultra highlight. Overall, the Galaxy S23 is a much better upgrade than the Galaxy S22. And the phone might have a few hidden features that Samsung hasn’t exactly detailed on stage.

One of these features is a secret battery charging mode for playing games or using any other apps that might be taxing the processor. The phone can bypass battery charging to provide energy directly to the processor. In turn, this boosts peak performance and prevents overheating.

The Galaxy S22 series surprised fans with a throttling feature that would reduce the processor speed to prevent overheating. The phone was also cheating in benchmarks. This was a major issue that impacted the phone’s launch, forcing Samsung to apologize to buyers and shareholders. The Galaxy S22 is the reason why there’s no Exynos-powered Galaxy S23 this year. And why there might not be one for years to come.

Instead, Samsung rocks a custom version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip inside all Galaxy S23 handsets. That chip offers the best possible performance an Android phone can get this year, even if the Galaxy S23 can’t match the iPhone 14’s performance. Or iPhone 12, for that matter.

Benchmarks aside, the Galaxy S23 should have no problem running apps and high-end games. But if you happen to be playing a title that uses plenty of CPU and GPU resources while you’re charging the Galaxy S23 battery, you’ll be able to take advantage of a new Pause USB Power Delivery feature. Found by YouTube channel NL Tech in the Game Booster settings, the feature lets you power the phone without recharging it.

The battery charging bypass might help you reduce overheating during extended gameplay sessions. The phone won’t have to simultaneously provide energy to the Galaxy S23 chips and the battery. Instead, it’ll provide less power that goes directly to the processor, bypassing the battery.

According to the Galaxy S23 Ultra review above, the phone draws just 6W of power when Pause USB Power Delivery is on. If the battery is charging at the same time, the power consumption increases to 17W.

In addition to preventing battery overheating and wear, the feature should also improve peak CPU performance during intensive tasks.

The downside is that the battery won’t charge during gameplay. Also, to pause battery charging during games, the Galaxy S23 has to hold a charge of at least 20%. The other immediate issue is that you have to play games while connected to a charger, which might not be a great experience.

Considering the Galaxy S23 phones rock the latest Snapdragon flagship, you don’t have to worry about gameplay performance. The battery charging bypass might come in handy on mid-range devices. And it looks like Samsung is rolling it out to older hardware.

According to the same YouTube channel, many Samsung phones quietly support the Pause USB Power Delivery feature. Check out the video below to see how to enable it.