Apple to Pay $250 Million to Settle Siri AI Lawsuit
▼ Summary
– Apple agreed to a $250 million settlement for a false advertising lawsuit claiming it overhyped Apple Intelligence features, specifically a Siri overhaul that plaintiffs say never materialized.
– The settlement covers US customers who bought an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025, with potential payments of up to $95 per device.
– The Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division found that Apple’s claim that Apple Intelligence was “available now” conveyed the updated Siri was available at launch when it was not.
– Apple acknowledged in March 2025 that enhanced Siri features were delayed and would roll out in the coming year, and subsequently pulled an ad showing the promised capabilities.
– The settlement includes no admission of fault by Apple and is one of the largest the company has reached, following a $95 million payout in 2024 over Siri privacy claims.
Apple has agreed to a $250 million settlement to resolve a false advertising class-action lawsuit centered on its much-hyped Apple Intelligence features. The plaintiffs argued that the company misled consumers by heavily promoting a major Siri AI overhaul that, according to their legal team, never actually launched and might remain unavailable for years to come.
The settlement arrives just ahead of Apple’s anticipated developer conference in June, where the company is expected to finally unveil some version of an AI-enhanced Siri. That event would mark yet another attempt to detail a radically improved digital assistant for the iPhone.
According to the lawsuit, Apple saturated the market with deceptive ads that pushed consumers to buy iPhones based on “the promise of certain Enhanced Siri features.” Those features were first announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2024, just months before the iPhone 16 hit shelves.
Filed Tuesday in a California federal court, the proposed settlement ranks among the largest Apple has ever reached. It applies only to U. S. customers who purchased any model of an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025. Depending on the claim, eligible buyers could receive up to $95 per device.
Court documents show that a $250 million common fund will provide successful claimants with “a presumptive per-device payment of $25 for each eligible device, which may decrease or increase up to $95 per device depending on claim.” The settlement also notes that Apple “anticipates delivering additional Siri Apple Intelligence features in future software updates at no additional cost.”
The filing also references scrutiny from the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division, which found that Apple’s claim that Apple Intelligence was “available now” implied the updated Siri was ready at launch, when it was not. In March 2025, Apple informed consumers that the Enhanced Siri features would arrive at a later, unspecified date.
The settlement, which still requires a judge’s approval, includes no admission of wrongdoing by Apple. In a statement to The New York Times, Apple spokesperson Marni Goldberg said the company “introduced dozens of features across many languages that are integrated across Apple’s platforms” with the launch of Apple Intelligence. She added that Apple “resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”
Apple acknowledged last year that its AI upgrades for Siri were falling behind schedule. In a March 2025 statement to Daring Fireball, Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy said the company had “been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps.” She confirmed, however, that it would take “longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
The very next day, Apple reportedly pulled an advertisement featuring Bella Ramsey, where the actor used a version of Siri capable of answering the query, “What’s the name of the guy I had a meeting with a couple of months ago at Cafe Grenel?”
This marks the second time in two years that Apple’s voice assistant has led to a costly legal outcome. In May last year, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over claims that Siri listened in on private conversations without user consent.
(Source: Wired)
