Apple has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. The company allegedly misled consumers about the AI capabilities of its iPhone 15 and 16 models, according to official settlement documents.
The settlement covers approximately 36 million devices. They were sold between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025. Individual payouts range from $25 to $95. It depends on the number of valid claims filed.
The lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Peter Landsheft. It centered on Apple’s marketing of its “Apple Intelligence” system and an upgraded Siri assistant. Both were featured prominently at the iPhone unveiling in June 2024. According to court documents, plaintiffs argued Apple advertised AI features that “did not exist at the time, do not exist now, and will not exist for two or more years, if ever.”
The iPhone 16 launched in September 2024. Apple Intelligence was missing. The promised “Enhanced Siri” was nowhere to be found.
Subsequent rollouts faced serious problems. A Siri upgrade was delayed in March 2025 over quality concerns. AI-powered notification summaries were pulled entirely. They’d misrepresented news content. That reinforced consumer complaints about overhyped performance.
Apple denied any wrongdoing. They agreed to the settlement anyway. “The case concerns only two delayed features in a broader Apple Intelligence suite,” said Marni Goldberg, an Apple spokeswoman. She emphasized that dozens of AI features have since been released across Apple platforms.
The settlement arrives during a turbulent period for Apple’s AI efforts. The company’s AI chief John Giannandrea retired in December. Apple announced in January it would adopt Google’s Gemini technology to power key AI products. That includes Siri. It’s a significant strategic shift from its in-house approach.
Legal experts view the case as among the first major consumer settlements targeting AI marketing claims specifically. Artificial intelligence has become a central selling point for consumer electronics. The settlement signals growing legal scrutiny over exaggerated capabilities. It establishes a precedent. Regulators and courts are developing standards for evaluating real-world AI performance.
For Apple, the $250 million payout represents both a financial cost and a warning. Don’t oversell emerging technology before it’s ready for consumers.
