Alongside the release of iOS 6 beta 3 to developers earlier today, Apple has now begun rolling out iCloud.com email addresses to iCloud mail users, making a transition away from the “me.com” addresses associated with the now defunct MobileMe service.
MacRumors points out a section from the iOS 6 beta 3 change log:
icloud.com email addresses are now available for iCloud mail users. Users signing up for new Apple IDs, or enabling Mail on their iCloud account for the first time, will automatically receive an @icloud.com email address instead of a me.com email address. iCloud users with @me.com addresses that have been used with iOS 6 beta 3 will receive an @icloud.com email address that matches their @me.com address.
It’s unclear whether or not Apple will actually replace users’ “Me.com” addresses with “iCloud.com” addresses, or whether they will mirror the two email addresses, allowing people to choose which address they would prefer.
When Apple transitioned from “.Mac.” to MobileMe, users were still able to keep their “Mac.com” email addresses – I suspect this will remain the same with the “iCloud.com” transition. We’ll let you know if and when we here more details about the transition.
