You may soon be able to pair a single Apple Watch with multiple Apple devices instead of a single iPhone.
- Apple is rumored to be working on software updates that would permit Apple Watch owners to pair their wearable with multiple Apple devices.
- The Apple Watch can currently be only paired with a single iPhone, and you can also pair multiple watches to the same phone.
- The rumor doesn’t clarify whether an iPhone will no longer be required to set up an Apple Watch.
Multi-device pairing may be coming to the Apple Watch
An unknown tipster behind the Twitter account @analyst941 has learned from their sources that future software updates from Apple will enable multi-device pairing. Instead of pairing your watch with a single iPhone, you’ll be able to pair it with multiple iPhones, iPads and Macs just like you can now with AirPods.
This should be distinct from pairing multiple watches to the same phone, which has been possible for several years. Whether or not that means future versions of the Watch app for iPadOS and macOS is unclear.
This could be like the AirPods pairing, which, when paired on any device, instantly becomes available on all your other devices without additional pairing. The AirPods shared their pairing information securely with your other devices via iCloud, making them automatically available on all devices using the same Apple ID.
Apple Watch can sync across more than one Apple device too, finally. I don’t know how this will be implemented. All I know, again, **ALL** I know, is that Apple Watch will sync across multiple iOS/iPadOS/Mac devices, and will no longer be tied to one single iPhone.
— 941 (@analyst941) April 27, 2023
You can currently pair one or more Apple Watch to a single iPhone. The Apple Watch has limited integration with the Apple ecosystem. You can, for example, follow Fitness+ workouts on your iPad and use the watch to authenticate apps, view passwords, authorize Apple Pay transactions and unlock your Mac.
This rumor actually makes sense
@analyst941 previously shared correct information about the Dynamic Island feature ahead of the iPhone 14 unveiling, but that’s their only hit.
The account lacks an established track record, but that didn’t stop them from publishing many tidbits regarding the iPhone 15 Pro buttons and supposed iOS 17 features. We’ll have to wait and see which of their predictions might prove true to see how well @analyst941 plays the Apple rumor game.
Until then, be suspicious of everything @analyst941 puts out there. As for this rumor, it would be logical to expand the Apple Watch to other devices—especially with the Health app rumored to come to the iPad (and, presumably, macOS).
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Apple Watch user interface will undergo significant changes in watchOS 10, filing as the biggest change since 2015. @analyst941 also reported that the changes in watchOS 10 include app folders, along with a new Home Screen layout.