Apple’s long-delayed Siri upgrade is no longer just an embarrassing AI setback, as the company has agreed to a very real, very hefty settlement. The company is paying $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it misled iPhone buyers in the US about the AI-powered Siri features announced as part of Apple Intelligence.
According to the Financial Times, the case centers on Apple’s promise of a more personalized Siri that was first shown at WWDC 2024 and promoted alongside newer iPhones.
Why is Apple paying out a quarter of a billion dollars?
Apple originally pitched the new Siri as a major part of its Apple Intelligence rollout. The assistant was supposed to understand more personal context, read what was happening on a user’s device, and take actions across apps. But that version of Siri never really arrived. Apple did roll out some Apple Intelligence features over time, like writing tools, image-generation features, and a decent ChatGPT integration. Meanwhile, the more ambitious Siri overhaul, however, was delayed well beyond the iPhone 16 launch window.
The lawsuit covers US buyers of the iPhone 16 lineup and iPhone 15 Pro models. Those were the devices Apple marketed as capable of running Apple Intelligence features. Over the last couple of years, the company has been trying to convince users and investors that it can seriously compete in the AI race. But the delay was obvious, and Apple publicly acknowledged the Siri delay in March 2025. This came several months after the iPhone 16 launched.
Apple still plans on delivering it
The upgraded Siri is reportedly still on the roadmap. Apple now plans to offer the new version this year, with reports pointing to iOS 27 and a partnership with Google that would let Apple use Gemini models to help power the experience. Two years later, the feature still isn’t fully here, and Apple may be paying hundreds of millions of dollars for the gap between the demo and the delivery.
