Apple ID has been officially renamed to Apple Account across iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia and watchOS 11, Apple has confirmed.
The Cupertino company officially confirmed the change as a sidenote in the Apple Newsroom press release covering new features coming to its services in the fall.
“With the releases of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and watchOS 11, Apple ID is renamed to Apple Account,” it reads. The change will bring “a consistent sign-in experience across Apple services and devices,” the company explained.
iOS 18 rebrands “Apple ID” as “Apple Account”
This is pure rebranding. Nothing has functionally changed with “Apple ID” becoming “Apple Account.” You’re going to continue using your existing credentials to sign in to an Apple Account on your devices and the web.
Former MacRumors contributor Marko Zivkovic was first to report that Apple was prepping to rename “Apple ID” to “Apple Account.” Stock apps on iOS 18 and other upcoming updates have received modifications to reflect this change.
However, Apple’s support documents and the Apple ID sign-in page at appleid.apple.com will switch to “Apple Account” by time iOS 18 and the other updates are publicly released in the fall.
What is Apple ID… That is, Apple Account?
More than just an identity service across the Apple ecosystem, Apple ID is your master account required to use iMessage, iCloud, App Store and other Apple services with a single user name and password. Apple ID is also required to make purchases across Apple’s stores, including apps, music, movies and more.
You can use Apple devices without signing in to an Apple ID, but you won’t be able to access any services and sync data between devices. Apple ID supports two-factor authentication and secure passkey login as additional layers of security.