I can confirm for my version of IOS 14 the issue is having more than one device connected at once. I have to turn off my watch (or unpair, didn't know if you could do that without turning off) and then connect airpods. That fixes the issue, and then I can connect my watch. Annoying, but solves the problem for now.
Topic:
App & System Services
SubTopic:
Core OS
Tags: