Overview
- Apple released iOS 26.3 developer beta 1 on December 15, with a public beta expected shortly and a wider rollout projected for late January or early February 2026.
- Transfer to Android is now built into Settings, enabling wireless pairing via QR or code to move photos, messages, notes, apps, passwords, and a phone number, while excluding health data, paired Bluetooth devices, and protected items such as locked notes.
- Reporting indicates Apple developed the cross‑platform transfer flow in collaboration with Google, complementing Google's Android‑to‑iPhone migration tools for a two‑way switching process.
- The new Notification Forwarding setting lets iPhones send alerts to a single third‑party wearable, is reported to be limited to the EU initially under DMA compliance, and pauses Apple Watch notifications while active with per‑app controls.
- iOS 26.3 also refines the Lock Screen by moving Weather into its own wallpaper category with curated presets, splitting it from Astronomy.