Apple is reportedly finally bringing independent volume controls to the iPhone with iOS 27, a feature Android users have had access to for years. The update lets users adjust the ringtone, alarm, timer, and system sound volumes separately, rather than relying on a shared sound setting. Although Apple focused much of its WWDC 2026 presentation on Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, the new audio controls quietly address a long-standing limitation in iOS and give users greater control over how different alerts and notifications sound.
Apple Adds Long-Requested Independent Volume Settings in iOS 27
The new controls are available in the Sounds and Haptics section of the Settings app, an Android Authority report notes. Users can now reportedly assign separate volume levels to ringtones, alarms and timers, as well as alerts and system sounds. Until now, iPhone users have had to rely on a single setting for several types of notifications and alerts. That often made it difficult to lower the volume of one category without affecting another.
Apple has also reportedly added a Match Ringtone Volume option. When the option is turned on, iOS continues to use a shared volume setting. Turning it off allows users to adjust alarms and timers, and alerts and system sounds independently.
The Cupertino-based tech giant notes that the alarms and timers control does not apply to Wake-Up alarms and certain other alarms that already have distinct volume settings. Apple also says the alerts and system sounds category covers incoming message notifications as well as sounds such as keyboard clicks, camera shutter effects, and similar system audio.
The new controls do not appear to extend to individual alarms. Instead, users can adjust broader sound categories independently, offering more flexibility than in previous versions of iOS. The addition appears to bring the iPhone closer to the approach long adopted by Android, where separate controls for alarms, notifications, ringtones, and media playback have been standard for years.
Independent volume controls are among several smaller quality-of-life improvements included in iOS 27. The update was unveiled alongside new Apple Intelligence features, Siri AI upgrades, Photos enhancements, parental control tools, and other software changes announced during WWDC 2026. Apple has already released the developer beta, while a public beta is expected to arrive next month.
