iPhones May Work With More Smartwatches Soon

Apple might be preparing for smartwatches built by other companies to work with iPhones, based on a feature unearthed in the latest iOS beta.

If it ships, the change would be a rare loosening of its tightly integrated Watch ecosystem for Apple — and a welcome quality-of-life upgrade for iPhone-owning runners who prefer Garmin, Fitbit, Google, Samsung, Suunto and other devices.

What the Code Suggests About iOS Notification Forwarding

Macworld reported that developers poking around the most recent iOS 26.1 beta discovered references to a feature called Notification Forwarding and simplified pairing for third-party accessories. The strings indicate that iPhone users will be given the option to decide which connected devices can display iPhone notifications — potentially even including smartwatches and fitness trackers that do not run watchOS.

On paper, that sounds subtle. And in practice, it could be a significant improvement over today’s very patchwork experience. There are already many non-Apple watches that piggyback on iPhone notifications using Bluetooth LE and Apple’s Notification Center service, but the support has been spotty. Speedy responses, notification actions in the notification shade or on a lock screen, and even inline replies that can be answered without opening an app are often broken. A user-controllable, system-wide forwarding toggle — combined with simpler device setup — could help scrape away at that friction.

Why Expanded Smartwatch Support Matters for Users and Brands

Choice has been the question mark. Apple Watch is still the iPhone’s default sidekick, with tight integrations in messages, phone calls, payments and health. But there’s a large subset of iPhone-owning consumers who are drawn to focused wearables — think battery-first multisport options from Garmin or Coros, or Wear OS models like Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch that play up Google services.

Market data supports the demand for variety. You have to look at industry tracking firms like Counterpoint Research, which consistently show Apple’s dominance in the realm of smartwatch shipments worldwide, and also meaningful share for brands attuned to endurance sports and the Android way of life. Meanwhile, Apple has revealed that it has more than two billion active devices in its installed base, so even a minor interoperability tweak could impact tens of millions of possible pairings.

For those who run with a Forerunner, or dive with a Suunto, better iPhone alert handling and simplified pairing could eliminate the one niggling issue in an otherwise perfect configuration. From a brand standpoint, cleaner integration with iOS means less customer churn and reduced support costs — making the product more appealing than it was to iPhone users who felt nudged toward Apple Watch in the past.

Regulatory Scrutiny and Competitive Pressure on Apple

The timing is notable. “The challenge is never about competition, but rather ensuring continued choice for consumers as Apple cuts off access from competitors,” Spotify said, prompting the ADI to publish its complaint. “We’ve spoken to regulators around the world about this issue.” The U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit accuses Apple of undercutting third-party smartwatch features on iPhone to constrict consumer choice. In Europe, the Digital Markets Act has put a focus on platform interoperability across verticals. Apple hasn’t commented on this particular code, but any movement toward more reliable cross-brand pairing and notifications at least would address the spirit of those complaints.

What More Robust iOS Support for Wearables Could Enable

Notification Forwarding, in the strictest technical sense, is a way to codify what a lot of Bluetooth LE accessories do today — even if only with user-facing controls and (maybe) richer commands.

Look for clearer per-app toggles, reinvigorated badge and preview functionality across the board, stable vibration patterns, and improved call alerts with accept/decline. Media controls over AVRCP or stronger coexistence with the Focus modes are logical extensions.

There are two big, open questions: health and messaging. Apple’s deep integration of Watch features — ECG, fall detection, emergency SOS and Fitness rings — won’t magically appear on third-party hardware. HealthKit already allows apps to sync data into Apple Health, but live metrics, on-wrist dictation and end-to-end message replies would require new entitlements or APIs, and could hardly be considered a sure thing.

Temper Expectations Around Beta Code and Release Timing

Code in a beta isn’t a product roadmap. Apple often experiments with features that never ship or are limited to a specific release. Even if Notification Forwarding does show up, it could be strictly for stable alerts and pairing enhancements, with premium integrations kept as an Apple Watch exclusive. That’d still count: It’s eons ahead of today’s patchwork kingdom of brand-specific workarounds and brittle permissions.

The Bottom Line for iPhone Owners and Smartwatch Choice

Once Apple presses the button, iPhone owners might finally be free to wear a variety of wearables without losing reliable alerts or struggling with pairing. It won’t depose Apple Watch’s at-the-chip level integration, but it could make Garmin, Fitbit, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch, Suunto and others more amenable friends for an iPhone. Watch the release notes for an upcoming version of iOS — a little-noticed feature could have disproportionate effects.