Why animation performance matters

Smooth animations = professional feel
A sluggish animation doesn’t just look bad — it signals poor optimization and can ruin your app’s UX.

Performance issues affect retention
Users subconsciously associate UI stutter with app quality. High-framerate transitions = better perceived performance.

Battery & CPU matters
Badly optimized animations drain resources, reduce battery life, and can trigger thermal throttling, especially on older devices.

Best practices for smooth animations

Stick to GPU-friendly properties

Only animate properties that can be offloaded to the GPU:

• transform

• opacity

Avoid animating:

• top, left, width, height

• Layout-based changes that trigger reflow

These cause layout recalculations and slow down your app.

Reduce overdraw and complexity

The more layers the GPU has to composite, the slower it gets.

• Avoid unnecessary shadows and blurs

• Limit stacking of translucent layers

• Test with tools like Android GPU Renderer or Xcode Instruments

Use native animation APIs

For best performance:

• iOS: Use UIViewPropertyAnimator, Core Animation

• Android: Use MotionLayout, Property Animations

• React Native: Use Reanimated or LayoutAnimation

• Flutter: Rely on the AnimationController and built-in Tween animations

These APIs are hardware-accelerated and optimized for smooth transitions.

Avoid animating too much at once

Too many simultaneous animations = lag.
Keep transitions focused and intentional — animate one or two elements at a time.

Also, reduce animation duration for snappy UI. Users don’t like waiting.

Test on low-end devices

That fancy animation might work on your iPhone 15 or Pixel 8 Pro, but how does it perform on a 5-year-old device?

Use tools like:

• Android Profiler

• Xcode Instruments

• Firebase Performance Monitoring

• Flutter DevTools

Reuse animations smartly

If you're repeating the same animation logic across screens, create reusable animation components. This makes code easier to maintain and perform consistently.

Summary:

Animations should enhance, not hinder. Optimize by sticking to GPU-friendly properties, limiting complexity, using native APIs, and always testing on lower-end devices. A lag-free UI makes your app feel faster, smarter, and far more enjoyable.