Apple Officially Killing Messages Beta For Lion Users Next Month

It's been a long time since we talked about the Messages beta for Mac OS X Lion, but today it's working its way back into the news. It seems that Apple is gearing up to pull the plug on the last few stragglers who have enjoyed access to the Messages beta after the launch of Mountain Lion, sending out an email today that says the beta will soon be ending. Our own Craig Lloyd had one of these emails land in his inbox just a few minutes ago, and you can check it out after the jump.

As it turns out, Apple has decided a solid end date for the Messages beta: December 14, 2012. That's just under a month from now, so if you're still using the Messages beta on Lion, your days are numbered. Of course, if you want to continue using Messages, it can be found in OS X Mountain Lion, which Apple unsurprisingly suggests users upgrade to. Here's the email for Apple:

The Messages Beta program for Lion will end on Friday, December 14, 2012. We hope you've enjoyed the opportunity to preview Messages.

If you'd like to continue using Messages, upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store. Messages is one of many great new apps and features built right into OS X Mountain Lion.

Thank you for your participation in the Messages Beta program.

Mountain Lion, which currently is at version 10.8.2, is available on the Mac App Store for $20. That's not too bad a price for an OS upgrade, so it isn't much of a surprise that we saw so many Mac users take advantage of it back when it launched back in July. We reviewed Mountain Lion when it launched, deciding that there was a lot of value in the new version of Mac OS X, especially for just $20.

With that in mind, it might not be a bad idea to upgrade anyway. After all, you get a full version of Messages along with all of the other features Mountain Lion brings with it. Did any of you get this mysterious email popping up in your mailbox today?