Goodbye Apple ID, hello Apple Account! To avoid any confusion, the Apple firm will replace its famous user account identifier with a clearer system, taking inspiration from Google and Microsoft.
If you use an iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleTV or access the iCloud online storage service, you are bound to be familiar with Apple ID. This mandatory Apple ID in French uses an email address in the format @mac.com, @me.com or even @iCloud.com associated with a password. It is used to connect you to your device and to link it to the various services of the Apple brand. This is the case, for example, when you want to access your iCloud space, configure the Face Time app or a new device, download content from Apple Music or the App Store, etc. In short, it’s the key to accessing all your Apple devices and all activities related to the brand.
This will soon no longer be the case… or rather it will, but under a different name. Apple has obviously decided to put an end to the Apple ID name after twenty years of good and loyal service. The identification system does not disappear, however. It is simply renamed Apple Account and retains the same functions. A bit like Google uses “Google account” or Microsoft “Microsoft account” to identify itself on the respective connected devices and services of the two giants, Apple is taking the lead in order to no longer sow confusion among its users.
According to Mark Gurman, the Bloomberg journalist who is always very well informed of Apple’s every move, the Cupertino company has even set up a team dedicated to this “big” reshuffle in order to facilitate the transition between the two names and especially to replace all traces of the mention Apple ID with Apple Account within the brand’s various OS, websites and services. The transition has apparently already begun since we already find references to the Apple Account on the firm’s website, particularly in its support pages. Apple should, however, take advantage of the release of iOS 18 next fall to finalize this switch.