For the last several months, Apple has been working on interoperability changes that are set to be implemented in the European Union to comply with the Digital Markets Act. Apple is developing AirPods-like pairing and notification forwarding for third-party wearables.
Testing on these features started back in iOS 26.3 and continued in iOS 26.4, but the options have not yet launched. Apple is still testing them in iOS 26.5, and both notification forwarding and proximity pairing for wearables are included in the iOS 26.5 beta. Today's update also appears to include a new feature forwarding Live Activities to a third-party wearable device, so Live Activities will be included under the notification forwarding umbrella.
Third-party wearables like earbuds will be able to use proximity pairing, similar to AirPods. Bringing a set of earbuds close to an iPhone or iPad will initiate an AirPods-like one-tap pairing process, so pairing third-party earbuds and other wearables will no longer require multiple steps.
Apple is also planning to allow third-party accessories like smartwatches to receive notifications from the iPhone. Users will be able to view and react to incoming notifications, which is a capability currently limited to the Apple Watch. Notifications are only able to be forwarded to one connected device at a time, and turning on notifications for a third-party device disables notifications on an Apple Watch.
Apple has not provided details on when these features will launch in the European Union, but the European Commission said that Apple will roll them out in Europe in 2026. Developers can test third-party TVs, smartwatches, and headphones with the new options.
The notification forwarding and proximity pairing features are only going to be available to device makers and users in the EU.
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