The fact of the matter is that transparency effects are quite subdued in Windows 11, so much so that you probably hardly notice them in your daily Windows routine. That was the case with my Windows experience, but it wasn’t on my Mac mini after upgrading to macOS Tahoe. Apple’s “new” Liquid Glass UI, which debuted with macOS Tahoe, made me realize the blur was too strong and a readability nightmare, so I reduced it as much as possible mere months after installing the update. While not perfect, it’s much better compared to the default look, which is way too “glassy” for my taste.

Then I upgraded to an OLED monitor this spring, and one of the first things I noticed was just how better the dark theme looks now, both on Windows and macOS. Thanks to OLED’s practically infinite contrast and fantastic colors, I love dark mode on my Windows PC more than ever. But something was amiss, and I found out what a few weeks ago.

What I also did to bring back that hint of color that transparency effects provided by letting my Chroma Drencher live wallpaper (you can find it in Wallpaper Engine) subtly seep through open windows was change the accent color from the drab dark gray I’d used for years to a playful golden yellow. This combo gives me a hint of colorfulness in Windows menus that keeps things clean without making them dull.

If reading this has you deciding to try using Windows 11 without transparency effects as well, you can disable them either by going to Settings > Personalization > Colors and turning off the Transparency effects toggle, or by visiting Settings > Accessibility > Visual effects, where you can disable the same toggle.

If you own an older or underperforming Windows PC, disabling transparency effects doesn’t only make the Windows 11 UI look cleaner; it can also improve performance. Not by much, mind you, and the difference is unlikely to be noticeable on a modern machine, but if Windows 11 crawls on your PC, it may chug along a little faster without transparency effects.

If you struggle with Windows 11’s performance on your machine, you should disable animations on top of turning off transparency effects. Disabling animations has a twofold effect: it can free up some resources, potentially improving performance, and it can make Windows 11 feel genuinely snappier because there are no animations that delay every action you perform on your PC ever so slightly. Those tiny delays can add up when you’re performing hundreds of actions on your Windows PC every day.