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Android feels sluggish? A hidden menu makes it snappier

How to speed up animations on Android

Turn on Developer options by tapping Build number seven times in Settings > About phone. Then open Settings > System > Developer options and set Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale to 0.5x. Every animation plays twice as fast.

How to do it

  1. Open Settings > About phone and tap Build number seven times. Enter your PIN if asked, and you'll see You are now a developer. On Samsung, Build number is under About phone > Software information.

  2. Go back and open Settings > System > Developer options. On Samsung, Developer options sits at the bottom of the main Settings list.

  3. Scroll down to the Drawing section, or tap the search icon and type animation.

  4. Set Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale to 0.5x.

Every time you open an app, Android plays a short zoom. Go back and you get a slide. Most of the time the phone is ready before that animation finishes, so you're waiting on the motion, not the phone.

At 0.5x the same animations take half as long. You notice it within ten seconds, and a phone still on 1x feels slow after that.

Developer options has a long list of other switches. You don't need any of them for this. The three animation scales are the only ones to change.

Other ways to do it

  • Remove animations Built in

    Pick it if motion makes you feel queasy, or you want no animation at all without opening Developer options. On a Pixel it's in Settings > Accessibility > Color and motion.

    Stick with this tip if you want the phone to still move, just quicker. 0.5x keeps the motion and halves the wait.

  • Free up storage By hand

    Pick it if everything is slow, not just the moves between screens, and storage is nearly full. Delete big videos and apps you don't use first.

    Stick with this tip if the phone is fine. It only feels slow between screens.

Questions people ask

Is it safe to turn on Developer options?

Yes, as long as you only touch the animation settings. Turning the menu on changes nothing by itself. Leave the other switches alone unless you know what they do.

Does this make my phone actually faster?

No. Apps take the same time to load. The animations around them are shorter, so you see the app sooner and the phone feels quicker.

Should I pick 0.5x or turn animations off?

Try 0.5x first. Off is quicker still, but screens snap in with no motion at all, which looks jumpy. On an older phone you may also see a blank screen for a moment while the app catches up.

Where is Build number on a Samsung phone?

Settings > About phone > Software information > Build number. Tap it seven times. Developer options then shows up at the very bottom of the main Settings list.

How do I put it back?

Open Developer options again and set all three animation scales to 1x.

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