iPhone users in Europe just got a big upgrade for non-Apple headphones and smartwatches

If you’re rocking an iPhone in Europe and fancy taking a trip outside of the AirPods or Apple Watch camp, there’s good news,

With iOS 26.5, Apple is opening up several previously exclusive iPhone features to third-party wearables to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The changes, reported by MacRumors mainly affect earbuds, headphones, smartwatches, and other connected accessories.

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The biggest addition is proximity pairing. Compatible third-party earbuds can now trigger an AirPods-style pairing process on iPhone, making setup far quicker than the usual Bluetooth menu faff. Bring supported earbuds near your iPhone, tap connect, and you’re ready to go.

Android users have had something similar for years through Google’s Fast Pair system, which lets supported earbuds instantly connect with a pop-up pairing card. Until now, though, Apple’s equivalent experience has largely been reserved for AirPods and Beats products.

Third-party smartwatches are also getting expanded notification support. Until now, most non-Apple wearables could only display basic read-only alerts from an iPhone. Under iOS 26.5, compatible accessories can now receive and interact with forwarded iPhone notifications more fully.

There is one limitation, though. Notifications can only be forwarded to a single wearable at a time. So if you enable the feature on a third-party smartwatch, those same notifications won’t also appear on an Apple Watch simultaneously.

Live Activities support is coming too. That means compatible third-party wearables can display information from iPhone Live Activities – such as sports scores, timers, ride tracking, or food deliveries – in a similar way to the Apple Watch.

Accessory makers still need to add support themselves, so these features may take a while to appear on existing products. Apple has been testing the interoperability changes since iOS 26.3 beta releases, but they’re now publicly available with iOS 26.5.

The features are limited to iPhone users in Europe with an Apple Account set to an EU country or region. Apple has repeatedly criticised the DMA, arguing that the regulations force it to make changes that could affect security, privacy, and the tight integration between its products. I, for what it’s worth, think it’s a step in the right direction, and a win for consumers. 

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Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.