iOS 26.5, will third-party smartwatches and earbuds work like Apple’s?

The closed ecosystem of Apple is facing significant transformations within the European Union, driven mainly by the directives imposed by the Digital Markets Act.

For several months, Cupertino engineers have been working to introduce new interoperability options aimed at wearable devices produced by competing companies.

The testing phases on iPhone, which began with iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4, continue actively within the iOS 26.5 beta.

Smartwatches and third-party headphones will work better with your iPhone

The company’s intention is to ensure users a smooth and integrated experience even when they choose not to rely exclusively on the official accessories of the California-based brand.

One of the most anticipated novelties concerns the connection procedure for headphones and earbuds from other brands. Until now, AirPods users have enjoyed a convenience advantage: simply bringing the case near their iPhone or iPad would bring up on screen a prompt for instant connection.

With the changes under development, this same proximity function will be extended to external audio devices. Bringing a compatible set of earbuds near the iPhone will trigger a pairing process that will require a single tap.

Consumers will no longer be forced to navigate through the smartphone’s Bluetooth settings and complete lengthy multi-step steps to start listening to their music.

Notifiche e attività in tempo reale sugli smartwatch

In addition to audio peripherals, the changes deeply involve the smartwatch sector. Apple is planning to allow watches from other brands to receive and manage notifications in an advanced way that come from the smartphone.

Until now, the ability to view an incoming message and interact with it directly from the wrist was a function strongly limited outside of the Apple Watch.

The new update takes another step forward, including in the umbrella of forwarded notifications also the Live Activities, i.e., real-time activities, integrated directly with the iOS 26.5 beta version.

There is, however, a precise limit for this feature: forwarding supports only one connected wearable at a time. Consequently, enabling message reception on a smartwatch from another manufacturer will automatically deactivate notifications on the user’s Apple Watch.

The European Directives

Although the company has not yet announced an official date for the public launch of these features, the European Commission has confirmed that market rollout will take place during 2026.

Currently, developers have the ability to test the new connection options on a wide range of devices, including televisions, smartwatches and headphones.

It is essential to note that these forwarding and proximity pairing functions will be exclusive to Europe, having been designed to comply with local regulations protecting competition. Outside the European Union, the device integration process will maintain the traditional dynamics.