The iOS 26 Slider Gets a Big Upgrade — Here’s What’s New

SwiftUI’s Slider control is a core component for letting users select numeric values along a linear range — whether it’s adjusting font size, volume, or screen brightness. With the release of iOS 26, Slider gains new capabilities that make it more versatile, expressive, and visually engaging.
In this article, we’ll explore how to build, customize, and enhance sliders in SwiftUI, while highlighting the latest improvements introduced in iOS 26.

The foundation of Slider remains simple. Here’s a basic example:

struct SliderExample: View {
    @State private var size: CGFloat = 0.5
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("DevTechie.com")
                .font(.system(size: size * 50))
            Slider(value: $size)
        }
        .padding()
    }
}

By default, Slider operates on a range from 0.0 to 1.0. To set a specific range — say, a font size from 12 to 50 — define the range in the initializer:

struct SliderExample: View {
    @State private var size: CGFloat = 12
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("DevTechie.com")
                .font(.system(size: size))
            Slider(value: $size, in: 12.0...50.0)
        }
        .padding()
    }
}

For stepped increments, add a step to make the slider jump by 2 units at a time.

struct SliderExample: View {
    @State private var size: CGFloat = 12
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("DevTechie.com")
                .font(.system(size: size))
            Slider(value: $size, in: 12...50, step: 2)
        }
        .padding()
    }
}

Sliders in SwiftUI allow for both minimum and maximum labels. Here’s how you can add custom system icons as labels, which is handy for signaling slider meaning:

struct SliderExample: View {
    @State private var size: CGFloat = 10
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("DevTechie.com")
                .font(.system(size: size))
            
            Slider(
                value: $size,
                in: 10...50,
                step: 10,
                minimumValueLabel: Image(systemName: "heart"),
                maximumValueLabel: Image(systemName: "heart.fill"),
                label: { Text("Font Size") }
            )
        }
        .padding()
    }
}

This approach keeps the UI informative, and users get immediate context for the value spectrum.

With iOS 26, SwiftUI’s Slider gains advanced customization options — most notably, customizable ticks and a refreshed, glassy visual treatment that matches system-wide updates. 

You can now present tick marks directly on the slider, setting custom increments (like days or volume levels). This makes the slider easier to scan, boosting accessibility and precision. 

struct SliderExample: View {
    @State private var size: CGFloat = 10
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("DevTechie.com")
                .font(.system(size: size))
            
            Slider(value: $size, in: 10...50) {
                Text("Font Size")
            } minimumValueLabel: {
                Image(systemName: "heart")
            } maximumValueLabel: {
                Image(systemName: "heart.fill")
            } ticks: {
                SliderTick(10)
                SliderTick(30)
                SliderTick(50)
            }
        }
    }
}

SwiftUI’s Slider is more powerful than ever in iOS 26. With new tick customization, and modern visual effects, it can easily fit into any modern iOS design. Whether you’re scaling font sizes or fine-tuning color saturation, the refreshed Slider API has you covered.

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