iOS 26 replaced the previous iPhone software buttons with much larger versions, making it much easier to dismiss or snooze alarms and stop or reset timers much faster. But Apple appears to have rethought this approach, as turning off alarms and timers now uses a slider as of iOS 26.1.
Sliders require more intention to use, so you’re less likely to turn off the alarm accidentally or too quickly. Plus, it’s a little dose of nostalgia for users who previously owned a Swipe to Unlock iPhone.
But, as is often the case with changes to basic phone functionality, not everyone wants it — Not even the tech-loving TG employees. Fortunately, Apple seems to have thought about this and provided an option to turn the slider back into a button.
How to toggle Alarm and Timer sliders for buttons in iOS 26.1
1. Settings, open Accessibility
(Photo: © Tom’s Guide)
Scroll down from the top of the Settings app to find this section.
2. Here, select Touch Options
(Photo: © Tom’s Guide)
There are all kinds of settings you can check in this section, but the ones we want are under the top option in the “Physical & Kinetic” section.
3. Toggle the “Prefer one-touch actions” option to on
(Photo: © Tom’s Guide)
As the tooltip explains, this swaps the sliders with clicks – exactly what we want! This could change other elements of the iPhone interface, but we haven’t seen anything else change yet. We’ll update you if that changes.
Thus, the transition from slider to button is complete. Here’s how the timer looks before and after you enable One Touch Actions Preference.
If you want to know more about the latest iPhone software, you can read our website Our iOS 26 review is here, along with our guide to other changes in the latest version, iOS 26.1.
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