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Apple Sued over 'Misleading' Advertising in Siri Depictions
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is the target of a new lawsuit from an iPhone 4S customer who claims that the company engaged in "misleading and deceptive" advertising in promoting its Siri personal assistant feature for the device. The plaintiff, Frank Fazio, alleges that Apple's depictions of Siri in its advertising suggest an ease of use that he claims is not present in real-world usage.
Apple has not responded publicly to the lawsuit, but the company has repeatedly noted on its website and elsewhere that Siri is a beta feature. While Apple rarely releases beta products to the public, it did so in the case of Siri in order to help build the library of voice input it needs to improve Siri's voice recognition capabilities. The beta label has also not stopped Apple from extensively promoting Siri, making it a key part of its iPhone 4S marketing from the iPhone 4S launch event to its website to its television advertising.
Earlier this month, Apple and Vodafone won a case in the United Kingdom in which a member of the public complained that Apple's iPhone 4S advertising in the country was misleading for its depictions of location-based services that are only available in the United States at the present time. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled in Apple's favor when it determined that Apple's UK ads did not depict Siri integration with the Maps application (a U.S.-only feature for the time being) and that Siri's ability to access a user's local weather in the UK was sufficient to satisfy Apple's claims that it can use location information to provide personal assistance.
Fazio claims Siri is far less responsive in real life. When he asked for directions to a certain place, or to locate a store, “Siri either did not understand what Plaintiff was asking, or, after a very long wait time, responded with the wrong answer.”The class action lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Apple and a court order preventing Apple from engaging in any further misleading advertising related to the feature.
Apple has not responded publicly to the lawsuit, but the company has repeatedly noted on its website and elsewhere that Siri is a beta feature. While Apple rarely releases beta products to the public, it did so in the case of Siri in order to help build the library of voice input it needs to improve Siri's voice recognition capabilities. The beta label has also not stopped Apple from extensively promoting Siri, making it a key part of its iPhone 4S marketing from the iPhone 4S launch event to its website to its television advertising.
Earlier this month, Apple and Vodafone won a case in the United Kingdom in which a member of the public complained that Apple's iPhone 4S advertising in the country was misleading for its depictions of location-based services that are only available in the United States at the present time. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled in Apple's favor when it determined that Apple's UK ads did not depict Siri integration with the Maps application (a U.S.-only feature for the time being) and that Siri's ability to access a user's local weather in the UK was sufficient to satisfy Apple's claims that it can use location information to provide personal assistance.
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31 months ago
I heard that this guy also sued McDonald's restaurant because his Big Mac didn't look like the picture. :)
31 months ago
The person suing probably talks like the character "Barry Kripke" on "The Big Bang Theory". LOL
31 months ago
"Misleading"? I don't think Apple has stated the product was flawless, especially since it's been noted that it's still in beta. It may appear that way in ads, but that's for obvious reasons. Is any company going to advertise their products' occasional flaws? For some reason I don't see this lawsuit getting very far.
You're ignoring the point of the suit. It's not a suit over whether or not states the product is in beta. It's a suit over the fact that if you don't go to the website or ask someone if it's in beta, you're led to believe, by the commercials, that it works as advertised. It does not.
31 months ago
My biggest Siri complaint is when she says, "I don't know that, would you like me to search the web for that?"
"Yes!!!!" of course I do, I want the answer to my question and you didn't know it, go find it! PLEASE!
Give me a checkbox to say "please always search the web for me".
Gary
"Yes!!!!" of course I do, I want the answer to my question and you didn't know it, go find it! PLEASE!
Give me a checkbox to say "please always search the web for me".
Gary
31 months ago
Will be interested to see how this works out. Apple does seem to be stretching it a bit with how great Siri is.
I won't say it's entirely useless, but I'll manually play the song, google the restaurant I'm looking for, etc., without waiting to see if Siri got it right.
I won't say it's entirely useless, but I'll manually play the song, google the restaurant I'm looking for, etc., without waiting to see if Siri got it right.
31 months ago
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.
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