Kerry Wan

Part of my job is to test and review smartphones, 95% of which are Android devices. 

By habit, I've picked up several shortcuts, tips, and tricks for setting up handsets, tweaking them so that they perform as best as possible when the verdicts are due.

Also: How to clear the cache on your Android phone or tablet (and why you should)

One tip I always give to family members, friends, and passersby when asked, "How can I make my phone faster?" is straightforward yet typically hidden: Adjusting the animation speed.

The method of doing so is quick, simple, and absolutely free. As a bonus, you'll feel like the "guy behind the computer" in action movies. Here are the steps.

How to change your animation speed

What you'll need: An Android device and your lock screen password/pin/pattern to enable Developer Options.

1. Enable Developer options

To access the animation speed settings, you'll first need to enable Developer options. Developer options contain a list of performance and UI-specific settings that are typically hidden by default as they're intended for,drum roll, developers!

Also: 5 hidden Android features that can simplify your life

To enable it, open up your Settings > scroll down to About phone > tap on Software information > and then tap your Build number seven times. If this is your first time doing so, your phone should display a ticker telling you how many more times you need to tap the text.

If done successfully, Developer options will now be enabled, which you can access by going back to your default settings page and navigating to the bottom of the list.

Kerry Wan

2. Adjust animation speeds

Now that you've cracked the code to get into the Developer options, you'll be presented with a long list of settings, toggles, and switches. Don't be intimidated; we're only here for one thing, and that's the "Drawing" section. Scroll down the list until you find it.

From there, you'll see three animation scale settings:

1. Window animation scale: The speed of apps and window pop-ups.
2. Transition animation scale: The speed of moving between home screen panels and within apps.
3. Animator duration scale: The speed of general UI animations, such as opening and closing apps, unlocking the phone, etc.

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Tap on each one and change the scale rating from 1x (default) down to .5x. The lower the number, the faster the time it takes for the animation to perform. 

If you don't want any animations on your phone at all, you can also set the value to "off".

At this point, swipe around your phone, do your usual activities, and see if you notice a change in speed. If you follow the steps above, your phone should feel snappier and more responsive; none of that is a placebo.

See also

How to turn on Private DNS Mode on Android (and why you should)How to schedule a text on Android - quickly and easilyHow to create Android Routines (and a few of my favorites to get you started)How to screen calls on your Android phone and stop the spam delugeHow to mirror your Android phone to a TV -- 3 easy waysAndroid's eSIM transfer comes to more smartphones. Here's how it works

• How to turn on Private DNS Mode on Android (and why you should)
• How to schedule a text on Android - quickly and easily
• How to create Android Routines (and a few of my favorites to get you started)
• How to screen calls on your Android phone and stop the spam deluge
• How to mirror your Android phone to a TV -- 3 easy ways
• Android's eSIM transfer comes to more smartphones. Here's how it works