What you need to know
- Apple's upcoming iOS 16 update will allow people to buy a new domain name from with the settings app.
- CloudFlare has been chosen as the registrar that people will buy domains from.
- Custom domain names can be attached to iCloud Mail.
Apple's upcoming iOS 16 update will make it insanely easy for people to buy a new email domain right from within the Settings app. The software is currently available to developers but will be released to the world later this year.
Being able to configure iCloud Mail to use a custom email domain isn't new but with iOS 15 people are expected to buy the domain themselves. Now, it looks like Apple has struck a deal with CloudFlare, putting the option to buy a new domain via the registrar right into the iOS 16 Settings app.
Apple mentions the feature on its iOS 16 preview page, while one Twitter user reports the CloudFlaire involvement. The full workflow for the process of buying and configuring the domain hasn't been shared yet, however, although we can hope that the tie-in with CloudFlare will ensure some settings are pre-populated to make everything as easy as possible.
Using a custom email domain means that users of iCloud+ can still use Apple's email service but with their own domain name attached. It's a feature that Google has offered for years and Apple added with its launch of iCloud+ last year, but this is the first time that Apple has offered a way to actually buy the domain on-device. Using a custom domain name means users' email addresses don't need to be name@icloud.com, making for a more personal — or professional — look.
Apple's iOS 16 was announced during the WWDC22 opening keynote on June 6 and was immediately made available as a developer beta, with a public beta program set to kick off next month. Those who want to wait for the finished version will need to wait for Apple tor release iOS 16 this fall, likely alongside the iPhone 14 lineup. New Apple Watch hardware is also thought to be on the docket for a similar timeframe, too.
