Apple’s iOS 26.3 will introduce proximity pairing to third-party gadgets within the EU

Apple is making it somewhat simpler to make use of third-party gadgets with iPhones with the intention to adjust to Europe’s Digital Market Act (DMA), MacRumors reported. For iOS 26.3, Apple’s gadgets will help third-party proximity pairing and notifications in Europe solely, in accordance with the most recent beta notes. That may make it a bit simpler to attach gadgets like Sony headphones or obtain notifications from an iPhone on Put on OS smartwatches — supplied producers help the brand new characteristic.

“The DMA creates new alternatives for builders to convey to market modern services in Europe,” an EU spokesperson informed The Wall Street Journal. “That is one other step in the direction of a extra inter-connected digital ecosystem to the good thing about all EU residents.” The EU Fee added that the performance can be “absolutely accessible” within the bloc in 2026.

The brand new capabilities are as follows:

• Proximity pairing – Units like earbuds will have the ability to pair with an iOS machine in an AirPods-like method by bringing the accent near an iPhone or iPad to provoke a easy, one-tap pairing course of. Pairing third-party gadgets will now not require a number of steps.

• Notifications – Third-party equipment like good watches will have the ability to obtain notifications from the ‌iPhone‌. Customers will have the ability to view and react to incoming notifications, which is performance usually restricted to the Apple Watch. Notifications can solely be forwarded to 1 linked machine at a time, and turning on notifications for a third-party machine disables notifications to an Apple Watch.

Proximity pairing is a comparatively minor quality-of-life improve, permitting you to attach with a faucet through NFC relatively than diving into the Bluetooth settings. Nonetheless, there is not any indication that it’ll permit seamless switching between gadgets as you are able to do with Apple’s iPods, as an illustration. Notifications, nonetheless, will lastly make third-party watches possible with iOS gadgets.

Apple’s DMA compliance efforts are attention-grabbing to observe, because it seems to be doing the naked minimal required, typically for what it calls privateness causes. In some circumstances, the corporate is eradicating options in Europe which might be accessible elsewhere, like iPhone mirroring on Mac — that means it does not need to implement the identical characteristic on Android gadgets or PCs.