Microsoft Authenticator for iOS will drop support for the Apple Watch companion app from January 2023, the company has revealed.
Used principally for signing into Microsoft accounts with two-step verification enabled, the Microsoft Authenticator for iOS gained an Apple Watch companion app in 2018.
The watch app supports Microsoft personal, work, and school accounts that are set up with push notifications and lets users bypass the need to pick up their iPhone at all to complete the authentication process.
However, this functionality is being removed at the beginning of next year. Microsoft documented the change to the iOS app in an updated FAQ webpage. In answer to the question "Is Apple Watch supported for Authenticator on iOS?" Microsoft gives the following reply:
In the upcoming Authenticator release in January 2023 for iOS, there will be no companion app for watchOS due to it being incompatible with Authenticator security features. This means you won't be able to install or use Authenticator on Apple Watch. We therefore recommend that you delete Authenticator from your Apple Watch. This change only impacts Apple Watch, so you will still be able to use Authenticator on your other devices.
Microsoft did not specify which security features the watchOS app is incompatible with going forward, and instead simply directs users to the iPhone or iPad app to authenticate login attempts.
The Microsoft Authenticator app for Apple Watch joins a long list of abandoned third-party watchOS apps that have been discontinued over the last few years, either because of perceived redundancy or lack of user uptake. Other notable Apple Watch apps that have got the chop include Twitter, Instagram, Target, Trello, Slack, Hulu, and Uber.
