When it comes to UI design, Apple’s work is usually held in pretty high regard. But it seems not everything is as seamless as it seems, or it’s just a lot simpler than what your eyes perceive. The best example? The time picker for the alarm on iPhones, which is apparently not an endlessly-scrolling loop of numbers, even though it looks like it.
What’s the hot sauce?
A couple of weeks ago, someone on Reddit shared a screenshot showing that the alarm numbers on the iPhone stop at 4:39 if you scroll down. You will have to scroll for about 10-15 seconds each on the hour and minute lists before they stop at the aforementioned combination.
And here’s the fun bit. Scrolling down eventually stops the clock at 4:39, and if you scroll up, you will eventually find a blank space once the timer hits 1:00. If you have set the clock to follow the 24-hour format, the time picker will eventually stop at 16:39 on the iPhone, as first reported by Wccftech.
The post sent many users into a tizzy about the numerical mystery. When you go to the alarm clock, you can scroll the hour and minute numbers in either direction, and they appear as if they are rotating on a numerical wheel. Except, it’s not an endless loop of numbers. And in case you’re wondering, the oddity is present in the beta build of iOS 26, as well.
What is even happening?
This won’t be the first time someone has spotted this odd behavior. All the way back in 2018, a flummoxed iPhone user shared the 4:39 alarm clock mystery on the Apple Community forum. Unfortunately, the query went unanswered.
So, what happens when you scroll to the upper or lower limit on the supposed time wheels? From this point onwards, you will have to move in the opposite direction on the minute and hour lists, irrespective of whether you have a 12-hour or 24-hour clock format set on your phone.
The most obvious explanation is that Apple simply implemented a list of numbers (0 to 12 or 0 to 24 for hours and 0 to 60 for minutes) that repeat a few times before they run into the upper or lower limit after a long scrolling session. Think of it as a straight line, instead of an endless circular loop.
