Apple is set to pay $250 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of overselling Siri's artificial intelligence abilities on newer iPhones.
According to MacRumors, the proposed class-action settlement centers on Apple's marketing of an upgraded Siri experience tied to Apple Intelligence, the company's set of artificial intelligence features.
The publication noted that Apple previewed those capabilities at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference ahead of the iPhone 16 debut, then postponed the features and removed related ads in March 2025.
At the center of the case is a familiar consumer frustration: People may have paid premium prices for devices based on features that did not materialize, a costly reminder that flashy tech promises can leave everyday buyers wondering whether they truly got what they paid for.
The lawsuit alleged Apple advertised the iPhone "with features that did not exist or were materially misrepresented," putting the focus on whether the company used anticipated AI tools to help sell phones before they were actually ready.
That is particularly significant because the covered devices were not niche products. The devices span the entire iPhone 16 family, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, if purchased from June 10, 2024, through March 29, 2025, per MacRumors.
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Customers could receive up to $25 per device, with payouts potentially rising to $95 each if relatively few people file claims. Notices for those eligible to make claims will be emailed within 45 days after May 5, 2026.
For consumers, the bigger takeaway goes beyond a modest payout.
When major tech companies market unfinished AI tools as if they are already part of the product experience, shoppers can end up making expensive decisions based on hype rather than reality.
In practice, that can mean upgrading early, spending more, and waiting months — or longer — for features that helped justify the purchase in the first place.
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The timing is also notable.
According to MacRumors, the settlement lands just before Apple is expected to unveil another revamped Siri experience with iOS 27 at WWDC 2026 in June. A "smarter Siri" is marketed with the original features promised for iOS 18 that are now to be delivered within iOS 27.
The new Apple Intelligence tools are expected to rely on the Siri chatbot function, working similarly to ChatGPT or Claude.
As for Apple's response to the lawsuit, the company said in a statement to MacRumors that it settled the case to "resolve claims related to the availability of two additional features" and to "stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users."
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