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
orLayoutAnimation
Flutter: Rely on the
AnimationController
and built-inTween
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.