Apple Hit With More Class Action Lawsuits Over Delayed Siri Features in U.S. and Canada

[MacRumors]

Apple has been hit with at least two more proposed class action lawsuits over its delayed personalized Siri features for iPhones.

In the U.S., a complaint filed in a California federal court this week alleges that Apple violated false advertising and unfair competition laws by marketing Apple Intelligence upgrades for Siri that are still not available. The two named plaintiffs said they never would have purchased or been willing to pay as much for an iPhone 16 had they known that Apple's marketing surrounding the features was false and misleading.

Apple advertised the Siri features in product presentations, on its website, in a TV commercial starring actor Bella Ramsey, and elsewhere.

Apple was already sued over the delayed Siri features in California last month, and the class action lawsuits could eventually be merged if they proceed.

A similar complaint was filed against Apple last week in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Apple first previewed the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote last June, as part of a wide range of Apple Intelligence features that it said would be rolling out over the course of the following year. That gave Apple until WWDC 2025 this June to roll out the Siri features, but last month the company announced that it needed more time and anticipated rolling out the features at some point "in the coming year" from then.

The features were initially expected to launch in iOS 18.4 last week, but they are now expected to arrive at some point during the iOS 19 cycle. Many well-connected Apple reporters and observers believe the features will not be available until 2026.

Whenever they launch, the Siri upgrades will include understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, during its WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.

The class action lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada are both seeking damages from Apple, in an amount to be proven at trial, so class members who purchased an iPhone 16 in order to use the personalized Siri features could eventually receive a payout from Apple, if the judges presiding over each case find that the company broke the law.

Apple's lawyers have yet to respond to any of the lawsuits.

Article Link: Apple Hit With More Class Action Lawsuits Over Delayed Siri Features in U.S. and Canada

 

[QuantumPulse]

Maybe I'm slow but I'm not seeing the issue given that  Intelligence is ostensibly still in beta.

 

[I7guy]

All of these lawsuits are gonna end up combined. There will be a settlement, but each member of the class will get $1.25 while the attorneys get $100m.

 

[iMac The Knife]

While I can't believe anyone would buy a new phone based on either promised or implemented AI features, I still think this was a sleazy thing for Apple to do, or for any company to do for that matter.

 

[211]

As this is about false advertising of Siri features, shouldn't this go back to 2011 with the iPhone 4S?

 

[needsomecoffee]

Given the news in the story about Siri issues that Apple FAKED the Siri AI demo... Not so good unless you are a plaintiff.

 

[miric]

I think if/when Apple will solve the issue, they definitely should rename it to something different. "Siri" name already got a lousy glory.

 

[F23]

expect every iPhone user globally to get a 1 cent payout in 5 years

 

[vegetassj4]

What in the world? Siri has been awesome for 14 years now. Siri, we’re going to love her.

CUPERTINO, California—October 4, 2011—Apple® today introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, for example, if you ask “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast. Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access, for example, if you tell Siri “Remind me to call Mom when I get home” it can find “Mom” in your address book, or ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location. Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking.

*some features may not be available until a later date, certain restrictions apply. The views and opinions expressed in
this press release are those of Siri and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.

 

[SkyRom]

I've been pretty annoyed at the longer Apple cycles and slow updates on Mac Pro line hardware and proper software updates the last few years, but these suits are ... pathetic. Lawsuits should be for when actual injuries or material losses occur, not when the 4,000th feature of a smartphone isn't quite as good as someone expected, especially when everyone knew and understood AI was the rapidly evolving hot new "thing" that would be changing every few months and disrupting thousands of industries and markets.

Frivolous cases hurt everyone. It wastes the time of the courts and citizens, raises prices on honest consumers, it prevents Apple from investing in new R&D, and hurts workers all around the globe who won't get raises because more money than necessary is getting pumped into international attorney fees. Lame. Gross. In this particular set of cases, I hope Apple routes them.

 

[antiprotest]

Maybe I'm slow but I'm not seeing the issue given that  Intelligence is ostensibly still in beta.

You can't tattoo "beta" on your forehead and go on a murderous rampage without consequences. I guess if beta is Apples's defense, part of the suit will be to test how much they can get away with using that excuse.

 

[macfacts]

Maybe I'm slow but I'm not seeing the issue given that  Intelligence is ostensibly still in beta.

Apple will have to be two faced, outside of courts and in advertising say apple AI is worth a lot and in courts arguing it is not worth a lot

 

[TechWhisperer]

Apple's gonna take forever to figure out this AI stuff, plus they need to fix their damaged reputation first. No way they catch up to the real AI players for at least 5 years IMO.

 

[Rogifan]

Who ever greenlit that commercial showing off a feature that doesn’t exist needs to be fired.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

You can't tattoo "beta" on your forehead and go on a murderous rampage without consequences. I guess if beta is Apples's defense, part of the suit will be to test how much they can get away with using that excuse.

It would set a precedent then for any manufacturer to tout what amounts to unusable, underdeveloped and buggy features as selling points for new models. That amounts to false advertising. It's like advertising the iPhone 17 will have teleportation capability then saying in small print "but not available at this time or maybe any time".

 

[OGdrknight]

OMG, we will sue about everything. Next, someone will sue because we have AI in our phones..ugh!

 

[StuBeck]

Maybe I'm slow but I'm not seeing the issue given that  Intelligence is ostensibly still in beta.

You're not slow, but advertising that a feature will be available for a phone on a specific version of software, and then delaying it months later is the core of this lawsuit.

Whether its worthy of a lawsuit is another manner entirely.

 

[morphineseason]

While I can't believe anyone would buy a new phone based on either promised or implemented AI features, I still think this was a sleazy thing for Apple to do, or for any company to do for that matter.

It might not have been the main selling point for most customers, but it was the main selling point of Apple's marketing, which is the big issue. If you're advertising a feature that doesn't exist when you buy the device, it's false advertising. They really shouldn't have been advertising Apple Intelligence at all until the 18.1 update dropped imo. The device was in stores for over a month without any Apple Intelligence features.

 

[Rogifan]

Maybe I'm slow but I'm not seeing the issue given that  Intelligence is ostensibly still in beta.

But the feature shown off in this ad isn’t in beta. For all we know it doesn’t exist.

 

[MartyMcfly88]

Maybe I'm slow but I'm not seeing the issue given that  Intelligence is ostensibly still in beta.

They sold the iPhone 16 heavily on Apple Intelligence, it was the most prominent part of all the marketing, so it's absolutely right they are being sued for misleading people.

 

[Apple$]

They should have delayed releasing the ad till the spring of 2025.

 

[Bones402]

"Here's a link I found on the web" Siri.

 

[Daalseth]

False advertising? Absolutely. I hope Apple gets nailed on these cases for flagrantly lying in their advertising.
But then so should Tesla.

 

[Anonymous123]

Based on info from the previous MacRumors article, these lawsuits are entirely warranted:

“The report claims that the demo of ‌Apple Intelligence‌'s most impressive features at WWDC 2024, such as where ‌Siri‌ accesses a user's emails to find real-time flight data and provides a reminder about lunch plans using messages and plots a route in maps, was effectively fictitious. The demo apparently came as a surprise to members of the ‌Siri‌ team, who had never seen working versions of the capabilities.”

That’s not even a beta. That’s scam-level tactics used to sell a product with fictitious features.

 

[I7guy]

They sold the iPhone 16 heavily on Apple Intelligence, it was the most prominent part of all the marketing, so it's absolutely right they are being sued for misleading people.

Sure but they have to win also. Suing is not enough. Suing and winning is what matters.