Apple devices have long supported peer-to-peer connections over Wi-Fi, but these have traditionally been limited to first-party services like AirDrop and AirPlay. This is changing in a notable way, as the iPhone maker is now opening up this capability, allowing third-party apps to tap into the technology.
This change comes with iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 through the Wi-Fi Aware framework, which Apple is now allowing developers to access when building apps. The framework is equivalent to Apple’s Wireless Direct Link technology that powers AirDrop and AirPlay. With this, it would enable third-party apps in the App Store to use peer-to-peer connections as a core feature.
Why You Should Be Excited for Wi-Fi Aware
Basically, a peer-to-peer connection establishes a direct medium between devices over a Wi-Fi connectivity protocol, serving as a vital alternative to relying on an access point or the internet. At the same time, Wi-Fi Aware offers several advantages over other standards like Bluetooth, as it has a higher throughput, making it useful for transferring larger files or streaming high-resolution videos. Google devices have allowed this on third-party apps on Android since the early days.
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Apple also highlights the use cases for screen sharing, as well as configuring connected devices like drones and head-mounted wearables.
While it’s not explicitly stated if the change is part of adhering to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, one of the requirements in the regulation was to open up AirDrop and AirPlay by bringing an alternative to them. And this is something where Wi-Fi Aware fits in perfectly.
More importantly, there’s a possibility that this may also support cross-platform communication in the future due to the open-standard nature of the framework.
Which iPhones and iPads Get Wi-Fi Aware
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However, it’s noted that the Wi-Fi Aware framework won’t work on all iPhone and iPad models that are eligible for the iOS 26 update. For iPhones, only the iPhone 12 and later models, all the way to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e, support this.
As for iPads, it is available for iPad (10th generation) and later, iPad mini (6th generation) and later, and iPad Air (4th generation) and later. Meanwhile, all the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models with M-series chipsets are compatible with the technology.
iOS 26 Could Make Signing Up to Public Wi-Fi a Breeze
Besides the peer-to-peer connection capabilities, iOS 26 could also enable a feature called Captive Assist, as suggested by strings of code in the software (via MacRumors). This feature has been reported before and aims to sync Wi-Fi credentials for public Wi-Fi networks across Apple devices, eliminating the need to manually enter details individually on each device.
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Do you think these new iPhone features are significant additions you’ve wished for a long time? Share your answers in the comments.
