High refresh display

Recent Androids likely have a high refresh rate display of either 90Hz or 120Hz; however, this setting might not be on by default. Most Android users can enable it by going to Settings, Display, selecting Other Display Controls, and toggling it on in Smooth Display; for Samsung, go into Display, select Motion Smoothness, and enable Adaptive.

Animation speeds

While Androids’ stock animation speed may feel slow, it can be changed by entering developer mode by tapping on your Android version in phone information settings seven times. From here, go to Settings > Developer options and edit Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale to .5x.

Gesture navigation

Newer Androids include the option to navigate your phone with swipe gestures instead of the three-button layout. To turn on the function, find the gestures section in settings and choose gesture navigation in system navigation. For Samsung, tap on the Navigation bar in display settings and choose Swipe Gestures in Navigation Type.

Battery settings

Active apps in the background can drain your device's energy, but the adaptive battery feature ensures that apps only use your battery when needed. To enable the feature, go into the Settings app, select Battery > Adaptive Preferences, then toggle on the switch for Adaptive Battery. You can also go into Apps > See All Apps to select individual programs.

Aggressiveness

Newer devices come with intelligent battery management, which can help your device last longer; however, an overly aggressive adaptive battery can cause problems like preventing data syncing. Specific apps can be exempted by long-pressing the app icon, selecting Battery, and then choosing Unrestricted from Manage Battery Usage.

For Samsung devices

Samsung has its own battery management layer, which can be found by opening Settings, selecting Battery and Device Care, and opening Background Usage Limits to see the categories: Sleeping Apps, Deep Sleeping Apps, and Never Sleeping Apps. For an app you don't want to be restricted, go to its Info page and follow the steps for other Androids.