Every frame counts at 60fps

The Idea

The interface stays the same. The frame rate changes.

When you scroll through a list, your eyes expect movement to update continuously alongside your finger. At 60 frames per second, the display updates every 16.6 milliseconds. That frequency is fast enough to fool your brain into seeing real physical motion instead of a series of still pictures.

This experiment strips away all other distractions to focus purely on visual refresh rates. At 60 FPS, the list glides effortlessly. Slide the rate down to 10 FPS, and the same interface becomes jerky and stuttery. The underlying data hasn't slowed down, but because the screen updates less often, the illusion of fluid movement breaks.

Good performance fades into the background, but low performance is instantly visible.

Behind the Experience

Most people do not think about frame rates until an interface starts lagging. We wanted to make performance tangible without needing a long technical explanation. By giving you control of the frame rate, the experiment lets you see performance rather than just read about it.

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