Apple IDs may be renamed 'Apple Accounts' by the end of 2024

The familiar Apple ID may be rebranded "Apple Account"

Apple ID is the way users log in to Apple Services. It's such a familiar part of using the Apple ecosystem that it's not thought about, until a user wants to merge two or more Apple IDs together

The Apple ID is such an integral part of everything to do with Apple now that it's hard to definitively say when it began. Apart from the abortive eWorld in the '90s or the dealer-only AppleLink of the '80s, the first time users had to sign in to anything was with iTools in 2000.

Even then, that service was free so there was no registering of credit cards with it, and consequently less need for security. Then the iTunes Music Store came along in 2003, and now the sign in was more often, more formally, called Apple ID.

So whether it's for 24 years or merely 21, Apple ID has been part of being an Apple user for decades — and now it may change.

According to MacRumors, Apple is considering renaming the sign-in identification to "Apple Account." It may do this before the end of 2024, in which case it's reasonable to expect that the rebrand could be launched alongside the forthcoming iOS 18 and next version of macOS.

There's no detail about why Apple would be considering this, nor any certainty over whether it will happen.

If it's not to just be cosmetic rebranding, perhaps Apple will be altering or improving Apple ID in some way that warrants distinguishing it from the previous model. However, other than finally allowing IDs to be merged, or somehow connecting the ID to a wider rollout of the Apple Card, it's hard to guess what further features it could bring.