Apple has been accused of false advertising and unfair competition for delaying the Siri Apple Intelligence features that it promoted when launching iOS 18 and the iPhone 16 models, reports Axios.
The suit targets Apple ads that showed off Siri features that were unavailable, and claims that Apple cultivated "a clear and reasonable consumer expectation that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone's release," while also driving "unprecedented excitement" that convinced millions consumers to upgrade their devices when the upgrades were not necessary.
After confirming that the Siri features would be delayed until the coming year, Apple removed the ads, but that was after they had been running for several months. Apple is accused of advertising functionality that did not exist, and continuing to promote the Siri capabilities well after the company was aware that they would not be available on time.
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 lawsuit was filed in a San Jose, California court and the plaintiffs are seeking class action status along with damages for customers who purchased an Apple device that supports Apple Intelligence.
