It is not surprising that, due to the EU regulations, let's see changes in iOS and Apple In general, it forces the way we use an iPhone, for example, to be different from the rest of the world. Sometimes they are good things, but other times not so much.
Today, we will see a change that will occur in the final version of iOS 26.3, which has already begun its betas, and that will modify a rule that affects notifications, making them more accessible by third parties, which can open the door to many things.
Notifications in iOS 26.3 for EU
A new option has appeared in the iOS 26.3 beta that, although it cannot be fully used yet, says a lot about where Apple wants to go (or where they force it to). It's called something like “forward notifications” and basically, would allow iPhone notifications to be sent to external devicesnot just Apple products.
Until now, if you wanted to receive notifications from the iPhone outside of the phone itself, you were quite limited: Apple Watch and little else. With this new option, Apple seems to be preparing the ground so that other devices, such as smart watches from other brands, can receive notifications directly from the iPhone (they already did, but in a very limited way).
In the system settings, a new section appears within Notifications where you could choose an external device to forward the notifications to. It is not automatic or mandatory: you decide if you use it and which applications can send notifications to that device. It's a very similar approach to how Apple Watch notifications are set up now.
Of course, there is an important limitation: You can only choose one device at a time. If you turn on notification forwarding to an external device, your Apple Watch stops receiving notifications. Apple makes it clear that you have to choose: either the Apple Watch or the other device, but not both (or that is what could be seen in the beta).
All this is not something coincidental. Apple is responding to new regulations, especially in Europe, which they force you to open up your system a little more and allow third-party products to access basic functions such as notifications, something that was previously very closed, which the EU did not like, since it forced you, in a way, to purchase an Apple Watch if you wanted to enjoy all the functions.
For now, this feature is green and only appears as a test in the beta. It is not active for the general public and will surely change before reaching the final version. Even so, it is something that we will end up seeing, and not because of Apple's pleasure, but to comply with the rules of the European Union, so it will soon be within iOS and we will be able to see how it really works.
And you, do you think Apple should have done this of its own volition before, or do you disagree that they are forced to do this, and are they within their rights to do what they want with their products and systems? Leave us a comment with your opinion.
