Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

[MacRumors]

In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation.

The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false.

In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class action lawsuit, and Apple has now responded. Specifically, Apple on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, according to court documents reviewed by MacRumors.

Apple's lawyers said the delay of just two Siri features that will be part of the overall Apple Intelligence suite — awareness of personal context, and in-app controls — "cannot support" the "sweeping claims" made by the plaintiffs.

"Plaintiffs complain about the timing of release of two features, despite the near-two dozen Apple Intelligence features that have already been delivered," said Apple's lawyers.

Some of the Apple Intelligence features that were already released include Writing Tools, Image Playground, Genmoji, Priority Notifications, and others.

Apple's lawyers said there are numerous other issues with the complaint, as it is filed, and they said the delayed Siri features do not constitute a breach of warranty. They also said Apple was clear "from the outset" that additional Apple Intelligence features "would be delivered over time and continue to evolve."

By purchasing an iPhone 16, all of the plaintiffs have "benefitted from camera improvements, enhanced silicon and increased performance, upgraded displays, and numerous other hardware and software improvements," including more than 20 Apple Intelligence features that were already available prior to the lawsuit, the lawyers said.

In July, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company was "making good progress" on the Siri features and aimed to release them "next year."

Apple first announced the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote, but in March it announced they were delayed. The promised capabilities will include better understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, 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.

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

Apple is reportedly aiming to release the features as part of iOS 26.4, in March or April next year.

The case is Landsheft v. Apple Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Article Link: Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

 

[Salvor Hardin]

Certainly eyebrow raising

 

[jclardy]

It's crazy that the siri upgrade is still being pushed to 26.4, one of the last upgrades before 27 is announced.

 

[Artemiz]

I’m against Apple on this one. But I also know the only winners in a class action are the lawyers.

 

[Ct applefan]

While Apple did seem to drop the ball with AI it’s not the end all of how you use your iPhone . I don’t use it and dont plan on it unless it blows my mind somehow.

 

[Pudlo]

easy to judge...just check the % of the wwdc where they were presenting iphone 16 and telling about AI (it was a lot) and drop the price byt that % and return moeny to the people 💁🏼

 

[H2SO4]

I’m against Apple on this one. But I also know the only winners in a class action are the lawyers.

That’s a cliche.
If it makes companies think twice about artificially pumping the stock by announcing features they suspect probably won’t make it then the consumer wins.

 

[dannyyankou]

No way this will be dismissed. I actually think there’s a good case here.

 

[Selena Agna]

"False advertising about personal-context Siri features is totally OK because we released Image Playground!"
- Apple Legal

 

[Sammael]

The updated Siri is coming on the second Tuesday of next week.

 

[Artemiz]

That’s a cliche.
If it makes companies think twice about artificially pumping the stock by announcing features they suspect probably won’t make it then the consumer wins.

Oh I’m not against holding companies accountable but there has to be a way to line up the pockets of the actual aggrieved party and not the fancy lawyers.

 

[ctg7w6]

Unlike many people here, I actually really like AI. Some of the things I’ve seen Google and Samsung phones do is incredible. I want that. I bought the 16 Pro Max because it was the beginning of Apple Intelligence. I had no other reason to upgrade from my 14. It was the AI. I do think Apple should get hammered for this one. They made false promises because they didn’t want to be left behind by other companies. And how many AI features will lock out the 16? Especially with 8GB of RAM.

I did not get the AI I was promised. I got a bunch of balogna.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

The updated Siri is coming on the second Tuesday of next weeI

Is it now . Lol

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

pretty nasty

 

[dannyyankou]

The updated Siri is coming on the second Tuesday of next week.

It is not. Joz himself said it’s coming in 2026.

 

[What_Is_George]

This was THE feature for Apple Intelligence, this was what was supposed to make it really useful and cool. Any other iPhone should be able to get many of the features, especially asking chat got questions and googling images.

 

[jarman92]

Oh I’m not against holding companies accountable but there has to be a way to line up the pockets of the actual aggrieved party and not the fancy lawyers.

Class actions are punitive, not compensatory. Lawyers are paid for their work, which is always thousands of man-hours with highly educated and experienced professionals. Sometimes they get paid a lot, but sometimes they don't get paid at all.

 

[FatLouie]

Oh I’m not against holding companies accountable but there has to be a way to line up the pockets of the actual aggrieved party and not the fancy lawyers.

Suits like this are rarely about the aggrieved party, but about the behaviour of the company. Exceptions apply when there has been physical harm or injury.

 

[benface]

It is not. Joz himself said it’s coming in 2026.

Found the internal version of the new Siri!

 

[tomtad]

I had the same reaction

 

[ELman]

"By purchasing an iPhone 16, all of the plaintiffs have "benefitted from camera improvements, enhanced silicon and increased performance, upgraded displays, and numerous other hardware and software improvements,"

Say that to the person who purchased a 16 now that the 17 is out and much improved. Apply only started promoting AI when Microsoft and Google started mentioning it in everything they did. Apple didn't want investment firms to think they were not all in on AI.

 

[Lizzard899]

No way this will be dismissed. I actually think there’s a good case here.

They will prob have to backtrack on this siri thing and be forced to never release it.

 

[hovscorpion12]

The users suing Apple have no case. The iPhone 16 was not an Apple Intelligence focused device. Apple’s lawyers argued correctly that the iPhone 16 launched with many features that enhanced the user experience.

This case will be dismissed. Plain and simple

 

[Mazda 3s]

View attachment 2559235

I had the same reaction

"I'm gonna be a dad!"

But honestly, I can't believe that people are really THAT upset about this. I've never put so much stake in a company's software promises. Is it disappointing? Sure. Does it really affect me in any meaningful way? Nope. Siri has always sucked, so I never had high hopes for anything anyway

 

[sameasalways]

Apple on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss a consolidated U.S. class action lawsuit related to delayed Siri features, according to court documents reviewed by MacRumors.

The delayed Siri features will be powered by Apple Intelligence, which was heavily advertised for the iPhone 16 models released last year.

The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing surrounding the delayed Siri features was false. In response, Apple's lawyers said the delay of just two Siri features — contextual awareness and in-app controls — cannot support the lawsuit's wide-ranging claims.

"Plaintiffs complain about the timing of release of two features, despite the near-two dozen Apple Intelligence features that have already been delivered," said Apple's lawyers.

"This limited delay cannot support Plaintiffs' sweeping claims," the lawyers argued.

Apple's lawyers said there are numerous issues with the complaint, as it is filed, and they said the delayed Siri features do not constitute a breach of warranty.

By purchasing an iPhone 16, all of the plaintiffs have "benefitted from camera improvements, enhanced silicon and increased performance, upgraded displays, and numerous other hardware and software improvements," including more than 20 Apple Intelligence features that were already available prior to the lawsuit, the lawyers said.

In July, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company was "making good progress" on the Siri features and aimed to release them "next year."

Apple first announced the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote, but in March it announced they were delayed. The promised capabilities will include better understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, 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.

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

Apple is reportedly aiming to release the features as part of iOS 26.4, in March or April next year.

The case is Landsheft v. Apple Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Article Link: Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Unbelievable, a giant corporation didn't live up to it's promises... Who could have guessed that one outside of people which don't spend their entire life staring at their iPhones.