Every Frame Perfect(tonsky.me)
824 points by ravenical 1 day ago | 272 comments
tl;dr: Borrowing Wayland's "every frame is perfect" goal, the author argues UI quality should be judged by whether a screenshot at any moment makes sense—no white flashes, partial loads, relayouts, or inconsistent state. Animations are a common failure point: examples from Safari, Photos, YouTube, and Preview show janky in-between frames, desynchronized components, and nonsensical transitions that erode user trust. The takeaway: designers and developers should scrutinize not just start and end states, but every frame between them.
HN Discussion:
  • Animation exploits human vision; isolated 'wrong' frames can be correct in motion context like smear frames
  • ~Article lacks positive examples or solutions, leaving readers without a clear north star
  • macOS UI quality has genuinely regressed and the article's critique is valid
  • Latency matters more than frame perfection; animations should be minimized or skipped
  • Article's premise is weakly argued and the 'every frame perfect' maxim is untenable