Garmin, Huawei Watch and similar devices expected to receive two upgrades soon when paired with Apple iPhones

Currently, only an Apple Watch works seamlessly with the iPhone. This is not because of smartwatch manufacturers such as Garmin or Huawei, but rather due to limitations of the iPhone operating system. For example, users can only interact directly with incoming notifications on an Apple Watch, such as replying to a WhatsApp message without having to pick up the iPhone.

As Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky writes in his blog, the situation has worsened over the past few years; circumventing this restriction by having the smartwatch transmit the message directly via the network operator instead of via the iPhone now even requires disabling iMessage. As the European Commission told The Wall Street Journal, the situation for third-party smartwatches will improve somewhat with the update to iOS 26.3, as Apple is introducing a feature called notification forwarding under pressure from the EU. This feature allows notifications to be forwarded to an accessory product, which can then interact with messages.

The catch is that users have to choose between an Apple Watch and another smartwatch, as it is not possible to send a message to multiple smartwatches. As Gadgets & Wearables has learned, the beta version of iOS 26.3 introduces another equally significant improvement. Following the update, users should be able to synchronize a smartwatch with the iPhone even if the corresponding app isn't running in the background. This prevents heart rate or workout data from being lost if, for example, the Garmin Connect app crashes and remains closed for too long. iOS 26.3 is expected to be released as a free update for all compatible iPhones in February.