Apple’s new iOS 26.1 update makes you work harder to snooze your alarm: here’s how

After a slight delay, Apple finally rolled out its iOS 26.1 update to eligible iPhones on Tuesday. While a lot of features in the new update caught the limelight, including the ability to tone down Liquid Glass and expanded availability of Apple Intelligence features, there is a feature that has gone relatively under the spotlight.

​Apple has made a small but useful addition to the iOS Clock app that makes it harder for users to accidentally dismiss the alarm (instead of snoozing it) while half-asleep.

​Traditionally, the Clock app gave the option of tapping to snooze or stop the alarm. However, when an alarm goes off in iOS 26.1, users now see a “Slide to stop” gesture in order to stop the alarm, making it a deliberate gesture and reducing the chances of accidental touches.

​While the new change is nowhere as close to some of the methods required by certain third-party alarm apps like solving a maths puzzle or shaking the phone, it is still a step up from the current method employed by Apple.

​iOS 26.1 Eligible Devices:

​iOS 26.1 is available to download for iPhone 11 and later devices. However, Apple’s artificial intelligence features, dubbed Apple Intelligence, are only available for iPhone 15 Pro and later devices.

​How to Download the iOS 26.1 Update:

​To download the new iOS 26.1 update, head over to Settings on your iPhone.

​Now tap on General and then on Software Update.

​You should now see an option for updating to iOS 26.1.

​Make sure your phone has enough storage and is charged above 30% before you install the update.

​Apple also warns that the iOS 26.1 update could initially influence performance and battery life, depending on the device and usage. Apart from the device limitations, certain iOS 26.1 features may not be available in all regions yet.

​You Can Finally Tone Down Liquid Glass with iOS 26.1:

​When Liquid Glass first came out with the iOS 26 update, users were suddenly divided among two camps: one who loved the new user interface and others who couldn’t handle it at all. What made things worse was that Apple did not give many options for tweaking the look of the controversial UI.

​This, however, has changed with iOS 26.1, where users get a new toggle for Liquid Glass opacity, allowing them to get rid of the legibility issues they were facing with the earlier update.