iPhone User Calls Out Apple’s ‘Cheap’ Choice—But Not Everyone Agrees

A man has taken to Reddit to slam Apple for what he sees as an inexplicably low cap on the number of clocks you can add to the iPhone’s Clock app.

In a post titled “Too many clocks?” Reddit user MrBitingFlea asked fellow users why Apple has set the maximum number of clocks—which show times in different cities around the world—at what appears to be 24, a limitation he described simply as “cheap.”

He attached a screenshot of his iPhone, which showed a notification saying that he had “too many world clocks,” advising him he would need to delete one to add a new one.

Reddit users flocked to the comments to weigh in, with one writing, “I don’t understand why iOS has so many artificial restrictions like this.”

But not everyone was willing to condemn Apple.

“Literally do not need more clocks than time zones,” one user declared, while another asked, “Surely that limit is so high that googling or asking Siri for ‘Time in [city]’ would be quicker than scrolling through a ridiculously long list of clocks?”

‘A design choice’

Others suggested that the limit might be a technical decision rather than a cost-saving measure. Since the Clock app’s World Clock feature is meant to be simple and lightweight, it isn’t designed for enterprise-level global monitoring.

Several commenters speculated that a huge list of clocks could pose performance issues or clutter the interface — especially on smaller screens like the iPhone SE or standard models.

One user parried the OP’s claim outright: “This isn’t a cheap choice, it’s a design choice. Nobody needs 50 clocks,” they argued.

Looking Back at Past iOS Limits

One Reddit user pointed to an earlier restriction in iOS as a comparison, recalling a time before the App Library was introduced.

“Before the App Drawer (or whatever that’s called) was a thing, the limit of Home Screen pages was also 24,” they wrote. “This meant that if you had enough apps not in folders, they wouldn’t show up in your Home Screen.”

“While installing their icon would be bugged on top of the screen, as if you were moving it, but once it was installed, it’d just vanish, and you’d have to open it through Spotlight.

“If you deleted an app in the last page or something like that, a previously hidden icon would show up in its place. This was never fixed until the App Drawer was released, not sure if there’s still a limit, but it isn’t that important anymore anyway, since not all apps have to be in your Home Screen now.”

Other iOS Criticism

Apple’s popularity doesn’t make it immune to criticism, with its Liquid Glass feature having divided opinions among social media users.

Despite the negative feedback, Newsweek previously reported on how Apple was unlikely to change its Liquid Glass feature included in its iOS 27 update, with its former vice president of Human Interface Design, Alan Dye, calling it “intuitive” and “beautiful.”

Apple’s user interface also recently came under fire after an iPhone user highlighted inconsistencies in the delete button styles.

As per Newsweek, Reddit user rod8711 shared a screenshot of the differing styles on r/ios, pointing out that Apple—which is generally known for its thoughtful, consistent designs—failed to make the delete buttons consistent across apps.

Newsweek has reached out to Apple for comment via email. We could not verify the details of the case.

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