October 20, 2026, 7:27 am | Read time: 2 minutes
The Apple Watch currently requires an iPhone for setup. An open-source project aims to overcome this hurdle and connect Apple’s smartwatch with Android smartphones.
Open-Source Tool Connects Apple Watch with Android
Developer and cybersecurity researcher Šojal is working on software that allows the Apple Watch to be set up without an iPhone and paired with an Android device, reports the IT portal “heise”. To make this possible, he used artificial intelligence to analyze the connection process between the iPhone and Apple Watch through reverse engineering and then adapted it for Android.
An initial version of the “Apple Watch Companion” can already connect the two devices and allows for some settings. Certain functions on the watch can also be controlled, such as switching between already installed watch faces. While the Apple Watch is far from fully functional on Android, an important technical hurdle has been overcome.
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The Solution Isn’t Ready for Everyday Use Yet
Considerable development work is still needed before the project can be used seamlessly. So far, Šojal has only tested his software with a OnePlus 13 and an Apple Watch Ultra 2 with watchOS 26.2. Whether other Android smartphones and Apple Watch models will also be supported is currently unknown.
There are also technical requirements: Root access is needed on the Android device, and additional open-source software must be installed. This makes the solution currently unsuitable for less experienced users. Key functions of the Apple Watch are still missing. For example, heart rate monitoring, ECG, and sleep tracking do not yet work. According to the project page, the developer is working on integrating more features.
Apple Watch Could Even Work Without a Smartphone
The project is not limited to Android. The Apple Watch Companion can also be used to pair the smartwatch with a computer running Windows or Linux. However, there are still numerous limitations. In the long term, the approach could enable setting up an Apple Watch without needing a smartphone at all.
There are already foundations for such experiments. Nils Rollshausen from TU Darmstadt previously examined the pairing process of the Apple Watch and recreated the smartwatch in software. Whether the new open-source project will actually become a convenient alternative to Apple’s intended interaction between iPhone and Apple Watch remains to be seen.