An ex-engineer Apple criticizes the iOS 26 alarm

An former Apple engineer comes out of the wood to openly criticize the new iOS 26 alarm interface. Meanwhile,

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Here is iOS 26 on iPhone: all the news to know

Jack Fields. Nevertheless, who has participated in internal research on the ergonomics of iPhone awakenings, says that the new design goes against all the studies carried out by Apple. Therefore,

In question: two large identical buttons “stop”. Furthermore, “break” placed side by side, which would increase the risk of pressing the bad button by 30 %.

ex-engineer apple criticizes ios 26

Apple has unveiled this new interface in the Beta 2 of iOS 26, with considerably enlarged and repositioned alarm buttons. Moreover, The time display becomes more imposing, the buttons take an identical size and find themselves aligned at the lower screen. Therefore, A radical change compared to previous versions, which favored a clear visual hierarchy between the two actions.

Internal studies swept away

Jack Fields does not mince his words. In addition, This former Apple engineer explains that it has participated in extensive studies on the ergonomics of alarms. using applications specially designed to record thermal cards of user interactions. “” The study recorded the position of our hands when we were half asleep to see with what clarification we put out our ex-engineer apple criticizes ios 26 alarms“. He explains.

The results of this internal research were final. When the “stop”. “break” buttons are the same size and placed side by side, the probability of accidentally pressing “stop” increases by 30 %. A figure that may seem anecdotal, but which represents millions of users potentially late each morning.

These conclusions had directly influenced the recent versions of iOS. The “break” button was entitled to the center of the screen with an imposing size. while the “stop” button was smaller and positioned lower. This visual hierarchy forced the still asleep user to target the large obvious button. reserving the final stop for a more thoughtful gesture.

The logic behind this conception seems unstoppable. “” By reducing the size of the stop button, you are awake enough to stop it“Summarizes Jack Fields. No one is fully aware in the first seconds after the start of an alarm.

Jack Fields ex-engineer apple criticizes ios 26 admits his perplexity in the face of this turnaround. “” This new design is very interesting and completely contradicts our previous search results. I am therefore curious to know which data they have to support this change. It’s really impressive“, He says.