The Apple Watch may finally work with many more iPhones and iPads

When Apple introduced the Apple Watch in 2014, it made it clear that the device was a companion accessory to the iPhone and that they were meant to work together. And while you can pair multiple Apple Watches with the same iPhone, you can’t use the same watch with multiple iPhones. That might change soon according to a recent rumor, which is why it matters.

Apple Watch + iPhone

If you have more than one Apple Watch, you can easily pair them with the same iPhone and switch between watches regularly. I know plenty of people who keep their old Apple Watch to switch between different case materials or simply to use an older model to track their sleep while the other is on the charger at night.

But when it comes to the opposite, the situation is much more complicated (I would say impossible). Let’s say you have two iPhones that you use regularly, one is personal and one is from work. If your Apple Watch is paired with your personal iPhone, it won’t work with your other phone.

So if you don’t carry both iPhones with you, your Apple Watch won’t receive any new data or notifications unless you connect it to Wi-Fi. Of course, there’s also the option to use a cellular Apple Watch, but both solutions will end up draining your watch’s battery pretty quickly.

watchOS 10 may enable pairing with multiple devices

According to the Anonymous leaker @analyst941Apple, which shared precise details about last year’s Dynamic Island iPhone 14 Pro, is working on allowing users to sync their Apple Watch to more than one device at the same time. The leaker claims that the smartwatch will work with other iPhones and even iPads and Macs.

However, it’s unclear if this means users will be able to set up a new Apple Watch with any Apple device, or if the setup process will continue to require an iPhone.

Personally, I find this to be good news because I have two iPhones and switch between them regularly. And while I don’t see the appeal of syncing an Apple Watch to an iPad or Mac, rumor has it coinciding with a newer one bloomberg Report that Apple will add the Health app to iPad for the first time with iPadOS 17.

And if Apple eventually allows users to set up at least cellular versions of the Apple Watch with an iPad or Mac, more people will be able to buy an Apple Watch — since there is a small group of people who own an iPad or Mac, but don’t have an iPhone.

What about you? Missing the ability to pair your Apple Watch with multiple devices? Let us know in the comments section below.