Apple iOS 6 Beta 3 Adds iCloud Email Addresses

Apple has made the latest beta version of iOS 6 available to participants in its developer programme.

A host of new improvements and features have been reported by the development community in iOS 6 beta 3 for iPhone and iPad, chief which is the introduction of ‘icloud.com’ email addresses.

Apple will begin the process of shepherding iCloud users from the old ‘.me’ email address and Apple IDs to the domain when iOS 6 is released later this year.

iOS 6 Beta Improvements

“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,” reads the iOS 6 change log. “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.”

Apple has discontinued its MobileMe services in favour of iCloud, although customers are still able to transfer their accounts over a little while longer. iCloud was first introduced in iOS 5, which was released in October last year alongside the iPhone 4S.

Announced at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) last month, iOS 6 promises more than 200 features, including updates to Siri, better Facebook integration and a new Passbook app which lets users store boarding passes, loyalty cards and e-tickets.

Safari improvements such as iCloud tabs, offline reading lists and VIP inboxes are also on board, as is a new mapping application after Apple ditched Google Maps.

Users are reporting that beta version 3 adds better support for public transport information, satellite imagery, 3D models and traffic information to the new map app, while some users outside the US are reporting that turn-by-turn navigation and traffic data is now operational .

The update also adds the option to add a phone number to iMessage for unified messaging, along with new icons for Mail, Safari and privacy functions.

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