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After Apple announced its Apple One service bundles at its "Time Flies" event earlier this week, there was uncertainty among some users with older Apple IDs about whether Apple One would work with multiple Apple IDs.

apple-one-prices.jpg


Some users have two Apple IDs, often split between one for iCloud services and one for purchases and subscriptions. This is a result of the fact that the iTunes Store account and Apple's various cloud service accounts were originally separate. As these accounts were eventually upgraded into modern Apple IDs, it left many users with two different Apple IDs. Although Apple allows users to use both accounts on their devices with various workarounds, the problem has never been fully addressed and Apple does not allow users to consolidate multiple accounts.

MacRumors reader Richard raised a potential issue with Apple One and multiple Apple IDs following the announcement of the new service:

I actually have a question after the announcement of the new Apple One subscription. I, like many older Apple users, have two Apple IDs — one for all of my iCloud services and one for all of my purchases, Apple Music subscription, etc.

We all know Apple has failed to allow any type of merging, but has continued to support two Apple IDs. My question for them is, how will that change with Apple One? Because the subscription service offers a subscription for iCloud storage and my other subscriptions, which span across two Apple IDs...

Since Apple One includes subscriptions to services such as Apple Music, which some users will have registered to the Apple ID that was originally their iTunes Store account, and a subscription to iCloud storage, which some users will have registered to the Apple ID that was originally for Apple cloud services, it was not immediately clear if Apple will support multiple Apple IDs for Apple One.

Microsoft's Senior Cloud Advocate Christina Warren raised the question on Twitter, and received a reply from Apple's Chris Espinosa, which was spotted by 9to5Mac.



Espinosa, who was Apple's eighth employee and pioneered Apple's Family Sharing feature, which deals with multiple Apple IDs within a family, confirmed that Apple One will manage users with multiple Apple IDs. It is unclear if this will involve any new consolidation of accounts, but the news will placate many users who were concerned about being excluded from Apple One.

The launch date of Apple One is as yet unconfirmed, but the service bundles are expected to arrive this fall.

Article Link: Apple One Subscription Plans Will Support Users Who Have Multiple Apple IDs
 

ghostface147

macrumors 601
May 28, 2008
4,332
5,474
We may be getting this as soon as I verify that it can play movie files I have on Google Drive. I currently pay $15 for family Apple Music, $3 for 200 gigs of iCloud and $10 for 2 TB of Google Drive storage. So for only $2 more I can get a few more services? No brainer.
 
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Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,159
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Both my fiancée and I each have two separate Apple IDs. Currently we each have to our own “family.” I’m hoping with this she and I can combine the 4 accounts and make one big family account.
 
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ghostface147

macrumors 601
May 28, 2008
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I have a few movies I ripped into various formats (FLV, WMV, etc) that aren't found on streaming services that didn't play from iCloud Drive several years ago. That's why I went to Google Drive. They play nearly all formats.

Edit - Turns out I can't stream from iCloud. It's just a storage space. Guess I'll be sticking with Google Drive.
 
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DotCom2

macrumors 603
Feb 22, 2009
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EXCELLENT...I think. lol. This has always been problematic for me when ever it asks for my Apple ID since I have two, one for iTunes and one for iCloud. It would be greatly appreciated if Apple found a way to combine the two. PLEASE?
 
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Silencio

macrumors 68040
Jul 18, 2002
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Chris Espinosa is still at Apple. He actually works — or worked — on the iOS Family Sharing system, so he'd be one to know the answer to that question.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
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That's how we do it. My original Apple ID that I started out with - we use that for our everything purchase account for Apple TV now. My wife and I have our own Apple IDs and my mother in law is also on our family plan. Looking forward to simplifying this - and it would be nice to consolidate with my original Apple ID.
 

HylianKnight

macrumors 6502a
Jul 18, 2017
565
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EXCELLENT...I think. lol. This has always been problematic for me when ever it asks for my Apple ID since I have two, one for iTunes and one for iCloud. It would be greatly appreciated if Apple found a way to combine the two. PLEASE?
I'm not going to get too excited, as this is still a non-answer imho. They say it will work, but offer zero specifics. Are they going to allow merging (based on history, unlikely), will it involve family sharing (far from ideal), or will they say just buy the Apple one subscription on the account you prefer and just burn some extra cash while your services expire on the other account? We just don't know. I want an official response that addresses this BEFORE apple one is available so that we might have time to prepare.
 
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