Katarzyna Petru
The first beta of the iOS 26.3 system reveals details of a new mechanism that is meant to prepare the iPhone for the upcoming regulations of the European Union. This concerns the obligation to allow notifications to be sent to third-party devices – one of the more controversial provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Apple has long criticized this requirement, pointing to potential threats to user privacy and security. The company argues that notifications could contain extremely sensitive data – the content of messages, emails, medical alerts, or other information that even Apple’s own apps currently do not have access to. Nevertheless, the corporation has been preparing the system for several months to comply with the new rules.
New Notification Forwarding Interface
In iOS 26.3, Apple added a new section Notification Forwarding in the system settings (Settings > Notifications). It is there that the user will be able to specify a third-party device to which notifications from the iPhone should be forwarded.
The feature is based on a new public framework AccessoryNotifications, which has not yet been documented – Apple has not yet provided an official SDK for iOS 26.3. However, it can be assumed that accessory manufacturers will soon receive tools to integrate with this mechanism. Once notification forwarding is activated, the user will be able to – just like with the Apple Watch – decide which applications can send their alerts to the external device.
Only one accessory at a time
The most important limitation of the current implementation concerns the number of supported devices. Notification Forwarding only works with one accessory at a time. Apple explicitly informs that once this feature is enabled, notifications will no longer appear on the Apple Watch. This is a significant compromise – on the one hand, it allows the company to meet EU requirements, while on the other, it limits access to sensitive data and minimizes the risk of further dissemination.
Data Scope Notice and Compliance with DMA
During setup, the system informs the user that the notifications being transmitted include the application's name and the entire content of the alert. However, Apple avoids presenting this feature as a privacy or security threat, despite previously raising this argument multiple times in discussions with regulators.
The new interface in iOS 26.3 shows that Apple intends to implement the EU requirements in the most controlled way possible – with clear limitations, strong user control, and without automatically sharing data across multiple devices simultaneously. This is yet another example of a "minimal compliance" strategy, where the company formally adheres to the provisions of the DMA while maintaining as much influence as possible over how new features operate within the iOS ecosystem.
How this implementation will perform in practice – and how much accessory manufacturers will benefit from it – will only become clear after the final release of iOS 26.3 and the publication of official developer tools.
