diff --git a/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.spec.ts b/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.spec.ts
index 4245c8968d72..7f623a11a12a 100644
--- a/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.spec.ts
+++ b/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.spec.ts
@@ -295,23 +295,18 @@ describe('MdSlideToggle', () => {
       expect(slideToggleControl.pristine).toBe(true);
       expect(slideToggleControl.touched).toBe(false);
 
-      // After changing the value from the view, the control should
-      // become dirty (not pristine), but remain untouched if focus is still there.
+      // After changing the value programmatically, the control should
+      // become dirty (not pristine), but remain untouched.
       slideToggle.checked = true;
-
-      // Dispatch a change event on the input element to fake a user interaction that triggered
-      // the state change.
-      dispatchFakeEvent(inputElement, 'change');
-
       fixture.detectChanges();
 
       expect(slideToggleControl.valid).toBe(true);
       expect(slideToggleControl.pristine).toBe(false);
       expect(slideToggleControl.touched).toBe(false);
 
-      // Once the input element looses focus, the control should remain dirty but should
-      // also turn touched.
-      dispatchFakeEvent(inputElement, 'blur');
+      // After a user interaction occurs (such as a click), the control should remain dirty and
+      // now also be touched.
+      labelElement.click();
       fixture.detectChanges();
 
       expect(slideToggleControl.valid).toBe(true);
@@ -329,13 +324,13 @@ describe('MdSlideToggle', () => {
       expect(slideToggleControl.touched).toBe(false);
       expect(slideToggleElement.classList).toContain('mat-checked');
 
-      // Once the input element looses focus, the control should remain dirty but should
-      // also turn touched.
-      dispatchFakeEvent(inputElement, 'blur');
+      // After a user interaction occurs (such as a click), the control should remain dirty and
+      // now also be touched.
+      inputElement.click();
       fixture.detectChanges();
 
       expect(slideToggleControl.touched).toBe(true);
-      expect(slideToggleElement.classList).toContain('mat-checked');
+      expect(slideToggleElement.classList).not.toContain('mat-checked');
     });
 
     // TODO(kara): update when core/testing adds fix
@@ -439,6 +434,7 @@ describe('MdSlideToggle', () => {
     }));
 
     it('should prevent the form from submit when being required', () => {
+
       if ('reportValidity' in inputElement === false) {
         // If the browser does not report the validity then the tests will break.
         // e.g Safari 8 on Mobile.
@@ -446,6 +442,7 @@ describe('MdSlideToggle', () => {
       }
 
       testComponent.isRequired = true;
+
       fixture.detectChanges();
 
       buttonElement.click();
diff --git a/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.ts b/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.ts
index 19baf0e39534..7eb8e9387484 100644
--- a/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.ts
+++ b/src/lib/slide-toggle/slide-toggle.ts
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ export class MdSlideToggle implements OnDestroy, AfterContentInit, ControlValueA
 
   // A unique id for the slide-toggle. By default the id is auto-generated.
   private _uniqueId = `md-slide-toggle-${++nextId}`;
+  private _checked: boolean = false;
   private _color: string;
   private _slideRenderer: SlideToggleRenderer = null;
   private _disabled: boolean = false;
@@ -85,9 +86,6 @@ export class MdSlideToggle implements OnDestroy, AfterContentInit, ControlValueA
   /** Whether the label should appear after or before the slide-toggle. Defaults to 'after' */
   @Input() labelPosition: 'before' | 'after' = 'after';
 
-  /** Whether the slide-toggle element is checked or not */
-  @Input() checked: boolean = false;
-
   /** Used to set the aria-label attribute on the underlying input element. */
   @Input('aria-label') ariaLabel: string = null;
 
@@ -138,7 +136,9 @@ export class MdSlideToggle implements OnDestroy, AfterContentInit, ControlValueA
   }
 
   /**
-   * This function will called if the underlying input changed its value through user interaction.
+   * The onChangeEvent method will be also called on click.
+   * This is because everything for the slide-toggle is wrapped inside of a label,
+   * which triggers a onChange event on click.
    */
   _onChangeEvent(event: Event) {
     // We always have to stop propagation on the change event.
@@ -146,22 +146,19 @@ export class MdSlideToggle implements OnDestroy, AfterContentInit, ControlValueA
     // emit its event object to the component's `change` output.
     event.stopPropagation();
 
-    // Sync the value from the underlying input element with the slide-toggle component.
-    this.checked = this._inputElement.nativeElement.checked;
+    // Once a drag is currently in progress, we do not want to toggle the slide-toggle on a click.
+    if (!this.disabled && !this._slideRenderer.dragging) {
+      this.toggle();
 
-    // Emit our custom change event if the native input emitted one.
-    // It is important to only emit it, if the native input triggered one, because we don't want
-    // to trigger a change event, when the `checked` variable changes programmatically.
-    this._emitChangeEvent();
+      // Emit our custom change event if the native input emitted one.
+      // It is important to only emit it, if the native input triggered one, because
+      // we don't want to trigger a change event, when the `checked` variable changes for example.
+      this._emitChangeEvent();
+    }
   }
 
   _onInputClick(event: Event) {
-    // In some situations the user will release the mouse on the label element. The label element
-    // redirects the click to the underlying input element and will result in a value change.
-    // Prevent the default behavior if dragging, because the value will be set after drag.
-    if (this._slideRenderer.dragging) {
-      event.preventDefault();
-    }
+    this.onTouched();
 
     // We have to stop propagation for click events on the visual hidden input element.
     // By default, when a user clicks on a label element, a generated click event will be
@@ -198,6 +195,16 @@ export class MdSlideToggle implements OnDestroy, AfterContentInit, ControlValueA
     this._focusOriginMonitor.focusVia(this._inputElement.nativeElement, this._renderer, 'keyboard');
   }
 
+  /** Whether the slide-toggle is checked. */
+  @Input()
+  get checked() { return !!this._checked; }
+  set checked(value) {
+    if (this.checked !== !!value) {
+      this._checked = value;
+      this.onChange(this._checked);
+    }
+  }
+
   /** The color of the slide-toggle. Can be primary, accent, or warn. */
   @Input()
   get color(): string { return this._color; }
@@ -238,15 +245,12 @@ export class MdSlideToggle implements OnDestroy, AfterContentInit, ControlValueA
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Emits a change event on the `change` output. Also notifies the FormControl about the change.
-   */
+  /** Emits the change event to the `change` output EventEmitter */
   private _emitChangeEvent() {
     let event = new MdSlideToggleChange();
     event.source = this;
     event.checked = this.checked;
     this.change.emit(event);
-    this.onChange(this.checked);
   }