more involved than enhancements to Liquid Glass. Per Macworld, some code snippets in the latest version hint that Apple is developing improved third-party smartwatch compatibility for iPhone users. In addition to broadening Apple Intelligence and Live Translate functionalities to additional languages, the iOS 26.1 Beta code includes an unannounced feature known as Notification Forwarding, which allows users to send iPhone notifications to a non-Apple device or accessory, like a smartwatch.
Notably, a line of code indicates that notifications may only be forwarded to a single device, which could prevent notifications from being mirrored to the Apple Watch. As a result, users might need to decide between utilizing an Apple Watch or a third-party alternative. Some mentions of new frameworks concerning accessory pairing could also suggest that Apple is gearing up for third-party smartwatch support.
