"Floating labels" vs "Fixed small labels" on the the web?

On devices with small screens floating labels can improve readability, since the size of the placeholder's text tends to be considerably bigger than the one in the small labels and the latter just serve as a reference for the field after it's filled and the placeholders are not visible. Fair enough.

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But I don't see how they improve the usability of forms on desktop. I think:

  • People are not familiarized with them.
  • They add unnecessary cognitive load with the animations and different states of the inputs (even more if there are optional fields).
  • placeholders are not friendly with people low contrast sensitivity.

N.N. reference about label vs placeholders states the disadvantages of placeholders as labels and with this patters there are still some problems left:

  1. Fields with stuff in them are less noticeable.

  2. Users may mistake a placeholder for data that was automatically filled in.

So if your web is primarily used from desktop, is there any good reason to use floating labels instead of the fixed small ones?

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