Samsung quietly included a new feature on its Galaxy S23 family of smartphones that allows power to be delivered to the phone without charging the battery. At first that may sound nonsensical, but it makes sense when reducing heat and cutting power consumption are desirable.
As 9To5Google reports(Opens in a new window), the feature is called “Pause USB Power Delivery” and it’s found in the “Game Booster” menu on some S23 series phones. Why only some? Keep reading.
When turned on, the feature allows the phone to be receive enough power to function, but it doesn’t use any of the available power to recharge the battery. There are several benefits to using this feature if you don’t mind being tethered to a power outlet.
Heat is the enemy of both performance and battery health. The hotter a phone gets, the worse it will perform as the device throttles so as not to overheat. If you’re running an intensive app such as a game, cooler temperatures therefore mean improved performance and your battery should stay healthy for longer, too.
A video from YouTube channel NL Tech(Opens in a new window) demonstrates this feature also has a positive impact on power consumption while gaming. When turned on, the 17W draw dropped to just 6W for the same game.
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The good news is, the Pause USB Power Delivery feature doesn’t require a special charger to work. It’s compatible with any USB Power Delivery charger.
The bad news is, Samsung hasn’t included the feature on all Galaxy S23 series phones and it’s unclear why that is the case. It will work on the S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra handsets, but at the moment it seems to be pot luck if your S23 has the option available to turn it on in the Game Booster menu. Perhaps a future update will unlock it for more S23 owners.
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