If you apply online and get a PPR and your GC account says a decision has been made, they are asking for the passport for visa stamping. If you apply on paper and you submit your passport with your application and your account says your passport is being returned, then there is no surety of whether or not it was approved.
My visa was refused from an online application in August and they did not ask for my passport. They have no need for your physical passport unless they are stamping it. That's why you submit a copy online.