Microsoft may have dropped the ball on Windows 11’s animation effects. Not only are they aesthetically unappealing when used in certain places, but the inconsistency and long attack times of the animations can create an illusion of input lag or low FPS on some machines. This results in a user experience that just feels less responsive.

The issues are especially apparent when working with now-sluggish context menus in Windows Explorer and other apps. Compare the snappiness of visual feedback when mousing over right-click options with animations enabled (left) vs. animations disabled (right).

Turn them off by heading to Start > search ‘animation’ > Animation effects.