It’s looking more and more like the the Apple Watch will be gaining independence from the iPhone later this year, when watchOS 6 is released to the public.
Current watchOS 6 betas appear to offer support for direct operating systems updates, but there is currently just one catch.
While the update process can be started from the Apple Watch, users must still accept terms and conditions on their iPhone. (Via VentureBeat‘s Jeremy Horwitz.) Previously users needed to launch the iPhone’s Watch app to check to see if an update was available.
watchOS 6 will bring a native App Store and standalone apps to the Watch this fall when it launches. With a few more updates it is conceivable that the Apple Watch could become completely independent of the iPhone.
watchOS 6 is due to launch this fall, possibly alongside the release of an Apple Watch Series 5.