Apple pays $250 million to settle a lawsuit over delayed artificial intelligence features in Siri

Apple has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over how it marketed its AI features ahead of the launch of the iPhone 16. The Financial Times was first to report the news.

The lawsuit alleged that Apple exaggerated the breadth of features Apple Intelligence would bring, which included a significantly upgraded version of its assistant Siri. The complaint alleges that the company created the impression that advanced AI capabilities would be available to users sooner than they actually were. In particular, the plaintiffs allege that Apple overstated the readiness and functionality of these features, especially promised improvements to Siri, which have not yet been fully realized.

As a result, the complaint alleges, people who purchased the iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 believed they were paying for cutting-edge AI tools that were not actually available at the time of purchase. The lawsuit classifies this as false advertising, and says Apple’s marketing influenced purchasing decisions based on incomplete or delayed features.

Apple did not admit to any wrongdoing in court, but chose to settle the case rather than continue litigation. Under the proposed agreement, eligible US customers who purchased an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025 could get up to $95 per device.

Apple has been touting a more advanced version of Siri since it unveiled Apple Intelligence in 2024 during WWDC. The expected updates are expected to help Siri act like modern AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude. The upgraded experience is rumored to be powered by Google Gemini, though more recent reports suggest that the company’s upcoming iPhone operating system may allow users to choose from a number of large third-party language models.

The settlement arrives ahead of Apple’s annual developers conference on June 8, where the company is expected to preview a version of AI-enhanced Siri.