
Brief Summary:
This short video shines a spotlight on a quirky detail in the iPhone's alarm app—an unexpectedly long and non-repeating list for setting alarms—prompting fun speculations and a bit of confusion. MKBHD explores just how bizarre this list gets, and in the process, lightheartedly wonders if there's some mysterious meaning (like a secret Mayan calendar) behind it. The video is playful but also highlights an odd design choice in one of the iPhone's most-used features.
The video kicks off with an intriguing question: "Have you seen this iPhone alarm app thing?" The host, referencing Marquez (MKBHD), quickly invites viewers (and a friend) to check out the oddity for themselves.
He prompts:
"No one's — or can you unlock your iPhone? I want to show it to you. Bang."
Right away, he demonstrates the process:
"I want you to scroll and just keep scrolling on the hour side."
Viewers are asked to keep scrolling down the list of hours in the alarm app. This isn't just the usual 1 through 12 cycle you'd expect to loop or wrap around. Instead, he keeps pushing:
"Just keep going. Keep going. Keep going."
As Marquez keeps scrolling, everyone joins in the fun suspense:
"Keep going. Just 1 through 12 over. Keep going. Just keep going as fast as you can. This is riveting."
Eventually, the scrolling comes to an end:
"There it is. And it stops. It is not a circle. It is just a really, really long list of numbers 1 through 12 in the alarm app."
This means, instead of looping or being able to seamlessly scroll back to the start, the iPhone's alarm app is just an endless block of repeating numbers, making it feel super long and a bit pointless.
The host expresses surprise and a bit of confusion:
"Why is this so concerning? This is really concerning."
He's genuinely puzzled about why Apple would design such a "really, really long list" for setting alarm hours like this.
Curiosity grows, and the attention shifts: Does the minutes section behave the same way as the hours section? They wonder aloud:
"Is it a minute the same way, you think, or no?"
A bit unsure, Marquez responds:
"I don't know."
"Is it what the minutes? I just saw that."
"Oh, I'm not sure. I'm not willing to try."
But then it's revealed:
"The minutes end, too. The minutes end. 4:39. The list ends at 39."
Surprisingly, the minute list also reaches an arbitrary endpoint, specifically at 39, and then stops right there.
The quirks get everyone's imagination running wild. The group jokes:
"Imagine A.M. and PM."
Then leans into playful conspiracy territory:
"Is that when — is that when the world ends? Is that like the — It's the secret Mayan calendar."
They joke that maybe it's some hidden feature or mysterious clock, making light of an otherwise random-feeling app behavior:
"4:39. It's the secret Mayan clock hidden in the..."
While the video is light and humorous, the main takeaways are:
The curiosity is summed up nicely by:
"Why is this so concerning? This is really concerning."
In just a few minutes, this video turns a simple iPhone quirk into a fun discovery: the alarm app's bizarrely long, non-looping lists for setting hours and minutes. While it probably isn't hiding any secrets, it's a good reminder that sometimes, even the most-used features on our phones can surprise (and slightly confuse) us—and a bit of humor makes the journey even better
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