Most animations nowdays don't mask any actual delay, but actually introduce new ones. Often, they cannot be skipped. Even more often, they're not properly chained, in a way that breaks the interaction if you're doing something else while the animation is still completing its cycle. If the animation is is actually masking a delay, you can bet the animation is not interrupted and/or sped-up when the data is ready.
There are very few cases were animations provide visual cues which are actually an improvement. Very, very few. Touch interaction benefits for more visual feedback (such as sliding), but note that sliding in my eyes is not an animation as should be directly linked with the position of the finger.
In the last years I've been aggressively disabling all kind of animations in software which serve no actual purpose. Sadly, this kind of stuff often cannot be disabled.
There are very few cases were animations provide visual cues which are actually an improvement. Very, very few. Touch interaction benefits for more visual feedback (such as sliding), but note that sliding in my eyes is not an animation as should be directly linked with the position of the finger.
In the last years I've been aggressively disabling all kind of animations in software which serve no actual purpose. Sadly, this kind of stuff often cannot be disabled.