Apple is now facing class-action lawsuits over the delay in the arrival of a new and improved version of Siri under the umbrella of Apple Intelligence’s generative AI features. Adding to the problem was the massive marketing campaign for it, which led people to upgrade to various iPhone 16 models. In one class-action lawsuit, plaintiffs said that they would never have upgraded to the new iPhone 16 range if Apple had not leveraged false marketing claims surrounding revamped Siri features.
According to MacRumors, one class-action lawsuit has been filed by two plaintiffs in a California federal court this week, which alleges that the California-based giant violated false advertising and unfair competition laws by marketing features that have yet to arrive. Similarly, another lawsuit has been filed against Apple last week in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
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“This drove unprecedented excitement in the market, even for Apple, as the company knew it would, and as part of Apple’s ongoing effort to convince consumers to upgrade at a premium price and to distinguish itself from competitors deemed to be winning the AI-arms race,” the lawsuit filed in California said. “Contrary to Defendant’s claims of advanced AI capabilities, the Products offered a significantly limited or entirely absent version of Apple Intelligence, misleading consumers about its actual utility and performance.
Worse yet, Defendant promoted its Products based on these overstated AI capabilities, leading consumers to believe they were purchasing a device with features that did not exist or were materially misrepresented.”
The suit also highlights an advertisement featuring Bella Ramsey, that showcased the upgraded voice assistant in action. Apple eventually had to pull down that ad.
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The suit was filed by the Clarkson Law Firm, which has also sued Google and OpenAI over their AI practices.
This isn’t the first time this year Apple ran into legal trouble over Siri. In January, the company had to pay $95 million to settle another class-action lawsuit which accused Siri of eavesdropping on people using its services.