Apple is reportedly considering rebranding the Apple ID as “Apple Account,” and may make the change before the end of 2024.
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.
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.
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.