Apple Sued over 'Misleading' Advertising in Siri Depictions

[edoates]

Siri is flawed ...

While I don't agree with suing for everything you don't like, this guy has a reasonable complaint: SIRI is SIRIously flawed. I have no discernible accent (native Californian, and I don't end every sentence with "totally" or "ya know"), and yet SIRI has trouble getting most things correct. The most common answer is "can I search the web for you?"

But it is Beta, and as such I don't think it should feature so prominently in iPhone ads as a major selling point.

Oh, well. everybody sue Apple these days. I just view SIRI as one of many features on my iPhone, and am content to await its further refinement.

 

[blow45]

I thought it was obvious. It's clearly states the limitations on Apple's website.

What limitations does it state "clearly". That features may vary by area? That means nothing. Or that it is in beta, that also means nothing? Stating limitations clearly means you explain point by point the limitations of your tech. But that's not how they touted in their marketing speak is it? And let's be honest here.

 

[samcraig]

But if Apple should define "beta," then why shouldn't they define "every word that people might not understand" on their site? That may be extreme but that's the point. If you're going to make that argument then why stop at beta? It seems arbitrary to need to define beta and leave the other words that people might not understand alone.

So you think if beta isn't defined that if they define beta - they should define every word. Ok. But that's not at all what I said.

 

[morespce54]

Siri is a joke. I stopped using it about a week after getting the 4S as I found it easier to just use the touchpad. All the Siri commercials are a bit stretched as well.

Agreed.
I don't think Apple deserve to be sued over Siri but I certainly think the commercials are (quite) a bit of a stretch as well...
I mean, it's still a plus but to me, it's definitely not the biggest feature of the 4S (anymore).

 

[soco]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B176 Safari/7534.48.3)

I you buy a product after a 30 second tv commercial your an idiot. Any further research, he would have found that it was beta.

I'm sorry, but are you saying that if I see the commercial, go to the store and ask the Apple salespeople about it, and then ask my dad about it who has an iPhone and only used Siri so far for asking things like, "What's the meaning of life? lol" - that I haven't done the proper research?

It's sad that we've come to a point with advertising and the expectations of the consumer that so much is expected of a consumer that the above isn't good enough.

 

[LaWally]

Since Siri was beta, I wondered why Apple did not sell the 4s without it and let those who wanted it to download/install it.

 

[Apple Key]

Automotive: A Ford commercial showing 3 different families thoroughly enjoying their new Ford Focus, but a fourth family is depicted struggling to get the car to start and then smiles when a mobile mechanic pulls up to the drive way.

Thanks for the laugh.

The funny thing is even if the product isn't perfect, the public doesn't necessarily want to see it (or know about it). Nobody wants to think the product they just bought is a piece of junk because that reflects badly upon themselves.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

what a bs comment. Apparently honest living means marketing bs can say whatever they want and honest hard working lawyers cant make a case against it. Anyway the judge will decide if their claims are valid or not, not you, and certainly you cant deride them for making a dishonest living when after years of study they are practicing law.

I meant the plaintiff. Not the lawyers - I have plenty of friends that are barristers and solicitors and have no qualm with their work. I have issue with idiots suing for anything where they think they can make a quick buck - be that personal injury claims or idiots like this plaintiff.

 

[3N16MA]

This pronouncement of integrity from a user of Location Spoofer to cheat MLB revenue. Sounds like a guy I know who is first to be righteous about everybody else's b.ball techniques, then elbows, usually out of sight, and looks totally surprised when he's caught. Bad call.

Why did you quote me and alter my original post? I have no clue what you're talking about.

 

[ABernardoJr]

So you think if beta isn't defined that if they define beta - they should define every word. Ok. But that's not at all what I said.

I don't think you're understanding the point here so I'll spell it out. You were arguing that "beta" as a label is irrelevant unless people know what it means, saying Apple offered no definition (all from the post a page or two back). My point is that if you're really trying to make that argument that Apple needs to enunciate the definition of "beta" to make it relevant, then why don't you think that every other word they don't know should be defined as well? I'm not saying you *did* say this, I'm asking why you *don't* say this, because you seem to be drawing an arbitrary line at defining beta to make it relevant but then say that that's not needed to define other "confusing" words.

 

[nikhsub1]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B179 Safari/7534.48.3)

Some people really suck at life

You should consider a career in fortune cookie authoring.

 

[JHankwitz]

I guess it's time to file a lawsuit against Victoria's Secret because the lingerie I purchased for my wife didn't make her look like the women advertized on TV. I think this one could turn into a class action suit.

 

[Konrad9]

This is extraordinarily dumb.

 

[samcraig]

I don't think you're understanding the point here so I'll spell it out. You were arguing that "beta" as a label is irrelevant unless people know what it means, saying Apple offered no definition (all from the post a page or two back). My point is that if you're really trying to make that argument that Apple needs to enunciate the definition of "beta" to make it relevant, then why don't you think that every other word they don't know should be defined as well? I'm not saying you *did* say this, I'm asking why you *don't* say this, because you seem to be drawing an arbitrary line at defining beta to make it relevant but then say that that's not needed to define other "confusing" words.

because that's the argument. People are saying Siri doesn't have to work perfectly because it's in Beta. And that everyone should know that - and what Beta means. No one is arguing any other aspect of the ad in terms of language.

 

[Apple Key]

What limitations does it state "clearly". That features may vary by area? That means nothing. Or that it is in beta, that also means nothing? Stating limitations clearly means you explain point by point the limitations of your tech. But that's not how they touted in their marketing speak is it? And let's be honest here.

Would it have been any different if they defined what beta was on their site, like Microsift does for Windows 8? No, people would have still bought it and used it anyways. Bugs??? Oh, okay, I'll give it a shot.

"Currently the Beta version of this software is only available in English Language and since it is in the beta version, there might be a case of bugs in this version of release."

Sidepoint:
I personally believe the reason they released it in beta is because it's not feature complete. Not because it wasn't going to work as expected. Also, so that they can see how people use it and modify/alter it to behave as expected.

 

[babyj]

Apple can't have it both ways. If they're going to use a feature as a major selling point then saying it's only beta doesn't really cut it. They're stretching the definition of beta as well, they should be referring to it as general release but it probably won't work properly.

Not sure about the fuss over a lawsuit. Is it that big a deal?

In the UK they would get their knuckles rapped by the Advertising Standards Agency (as has happened on numerous occasions to Apple). If a customer wasn't happy they'd get a refund and if they refused the refund it would be a small claims court matter, which would at best result in a refund and court filing fees (£50).

 

[blow45]

While I don't agree with suing for everything you don't like, this guy has a reasonable complaint: SIRI is SIRIously flawed. I have no discernible accent (native Californian, and I don't end every sentence with "totally" or "ya know"), and yet SIRI has trouble getting most things correct. The most common answer is "can I search the web for you?"

But it is Beta, and as such I don't think it should feature so prominently in iPhone ads as a major selling point.

Oh, well. everybody sue Apple these days. I just view SIRI as one of many features on my iPhone, and am content to await its further refinement.

On the contrary, apple is suing everyone these days, not everyone is suing apple though. You have a very valid point. Siri has been apple's major selling point in the new iphone which was a very minor revision, where apparently everyone was too **** scared at apple to either change the form factor of the ONE phone they have on the market, or make minor design modifications at least (well they did correct their horrible antennae design). Hence siri was touted as a major selling point. But apple by virtue of keeping the one phone they make the same (which it has to be said was a stunning design of glass and metal) they drastically cut down on costs...

 

[*LTD*]

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri-faq.html

"Siri is currently in beta and we’ll continue to improve it over time."

Not exactly buried under "fine print", either.

 

[bbeagle]

I went up to Alaska, saw a polar bear and gave him my Coca Cola. Not only didn't he drink it - he mauled me! That's not in the Coca Cola ads! I'm suing!

 

[rwilliams]

What worries me about Siri is that it is still unreliable and at times, seems to have gotten dumber, returning some really strange responses to rather mundane questions. Apple is still having trouble with the load that iPhone 4S users are putting on Siri. Now we've seen that the new iPad doesn't have Siri. What happens when the next iPhone is released later this year? How will they handle that new crop of users while still trying to maintain the uptime of Siri's servers?

 

[The Phazer]

Apple's advertising for Siri is positively misleading. It just plain doesn't work, and last time I saw a TV advertisement it didn't say "six months after you pay full price for this device it's main advertising point will still be a half assed beta."

I'm glad to see Apple suffering some consequences of that.

Phazer

 

[kironin]

Siri is seriously flawed, but two phrases that have been a major plus for me are "remind me" and "take note" , those have been fantastic especially the "remind me" with the app being synced with all my devices though iCloud. That really has changed things for me. I assume it will only get better. The commercials I take more like what it could be in the future than now, but seriously, who bought a 4S just because of this ? I got it because the wifi finally died on my 3G.

 

[ABernardoJr]

because that's the argument. People are saying Siri doesn't have to work perfectly because it's in Beta. And that everyone should know that - and what Beta means. No one is arguing any other aspect of the ad in terms of language.

Alright you clearly aren't grasping the point I'm getting at, nor are you recognizing the idea of applying this principle of arbitrariness beyond the case at hand. But as one last attempt to clarify, I'll put it this way. Making the argument that people don't know what "beta" means as a way to justify someone's uproar over frustrations with said beta (due to the nature of the product being in its beta phase) is a poor and weak argument. You could try to apply this to any kind of disclaimer and say "I didn't know what (insert term here) meant, and so the fact that it says its (term) is irrelevant". Yes, that might work in some cases, where the term is too vague or complex for one to understand or learn about. However, that is not so in this case because the term "beta" is neither an overly complex term whose definition cannot simply be found with a dictionary search, nor is it a "marketing term" like "Retina Display" that is vague and seemingly undefined (explicitly).

All I'm saying is that calling it a beta is not insufficient on Apple's part (and no, I wouldn't change that stance if it were Microsoft, RIM, etc.). The term beta is not some excessively obscure, confounding term, and it is not too difficult to find out what it means. But some people are far too eager to make a quick buck off of lawsuits that are frivolous.

 

[Darthdingo]

Isn't Siri the FaceTime for the 4S ? A feature that looks awesome in the commercials and Ads, but that no one really uses after they have had the phone awhile.

FaceTime does not work on 3G, only WiFi still ? LOL Well since the ATT iPhone with iOS5.1 is now magically a "4G" phone, shouldn't FaceTime be enabled, without needing WiFi ?

 

[MacDav]

Disgusting Lawyers

What do you call it when you take 10 money chasing lawyers, chain weights to them and throw them all in the ocean?













Answer: A good start.