Apple appears to be softening one of its long-standing restrictions, as the iOS 26.3 beta introduces a new feature called Notification Forwarding that allows iPhone notifications to be sent to non-Apple smartwatches and other wearables. This marks a notable shift for a company known for tightly controlling how its ecosystem interacts with third-party devices.
The new setting enables users to forward notifications to a smartwatch that isn’t an Apple Watch, potentially allowing for deeper interaction than what’s currently possible. At the moment, most third-party watches paired with an iPhone can only display alerts with very limited functionality, often restricted to simply clearing notifications. With Notification Forwarding, Apple may be laying the groundwork for richer notification handling, including full message content and more meaningful actions.
This change is largely driven by EU regulations, specifically the Digital Markets Act, and for now it appears the feature will be limited to Europe. Users can forward notifications to only one device at a time and choose which apps are allowed to send alerts, preventing unnecessary notification overload. While this doesn’t turn third-party smartwatches into full Apple Watch replacements, it represents a meaningful step toward better cross-platform compatibility and gives iPhone users more freedom to choose the wearable they actually want to use.
