GoKawiilWith bypass charging, when you plug your phone in to charge and continue using it, the phone shifts its resources from recharging to running your apps and sort of pauses recharging. This ensures you get a good experience but also protects the phone's battery from heat that can damage it. Using your phone for intensive activities like mobile gaming can potentially lead to the phone getting excessively hot. So, this feature helps prevent that.
The drawback is that once you unplug the phone after using it for intense activities like video editing or gaming, the battery percentage probably hasn't changed by much, if at all. That's because the power has been going right to the device to fuel your use, not to its battery.
One of the first times bypass charging was cited was with the Sony Xperia 1 II in 2020 as a feature called Heat Suppression Power Control. Today, it's available in many of the best smartphones from all the top brands, including Samsung, Google, Xiaomi and ZTE. Note, however, that Apple iPhones do not yet support bypass charging. Even without it, however, your phone will just charge more slowly if you use it while it's plugged in. If you notice the phone getting overly warm, stop using it to prevent battery damage. But most modern phones have advanced battery management and heat dissipation systems to help manage increases in temperature overall.
So, even though it's not inherently bad to use your phone while it's charging, it's a good idea to refrain from doing so when possible. If you need to check a message, make a call, snap a photo or post something quickly, go ahead. When necessary to use it for more intensive tasks, like continuing to record your daughter's school concert while using a battery pack, watch for heat, but don't worry that it will damage the phone's battery. Your phone just won't charge at its normal speed.