Forget @mac.com or even @me.com—Apple is changing things up yet again when it comes to the e-mail domains given to subscribers. The company indirectly revealed on Monday that it plans to issue @icloud.com e-mail addresses to those using the mail feature of iCloud. If you are currently using a @me.com address from MobileMe but testing the iOS 6 betas, you'll receive an @icloud.com e-mail that matches the previous one automatically.
The discovery came after Apple issued the third beta of iOS 6 to its registered developers on Monday. The relevant bit about e-mail addresses comes from the iOS 6 Beta 3 changelog—quoted at MacRumors, the log says that those signing up for new Apple IDs will automatically receive an @icloud.com address. The same applies to anyone with an existing Apple ID who enables Mail on their iCloud account for the first time. But as mentioned above, if you have an existing @me.com address from MobileMe that has already been used with iOS 6 Beta 3, you'll receive an iCloud address that matches the one you were using previously.
We've made plenty of snarky comments about Apple's affinity for redoing and relaunching its cloud services—which went from iTools in 2000 to .Mac in 2002, to MobileMe in 2008, and now iCloud in late 2011/early 2012. But the changes in e-mail addresses have to be some of the more obnoxious side effects for long-time users. We can't imagine there are many Ars readers eager to go around telling their friends and family to change their address books again. Are you one of them?
Update: Readers have pointed out that @mac.com e-mail addresses have continued to function despite the switch to @me.com at the launch of MobileMe. As such, this will most likely extend to @icloud.com addresses as well, allowing existing @mac and @me e-mails to continue working if the user doesn't want to use the new domain. New users who sign up for an Apple ID and/or iCloud will probably only get an @icloud.com address, though.
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