- Apple is facing a lawsuit due to false advertising
- Clarkson Law Firm claims Apple 'misled customers' with Apple Intelligence-powered Siri
- It comes after Apple delayed the AI-powered voice assistant
Apple Intelligence continues to dominate headlines for everything but its AI capabilities, as Apple now faces a lawsuit for false advertising over its AI-powered Siri.
The lawsuit, which Axios originally reported, claims Apple has falsely advertised its Apple Intelligence software that launched alongside the iPhone 16 lineup of smartphones.
The lawsuit claims that Apple has misinformed customers by creating "a clear and reasonable consumer expectation that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone's release".
Now, six months after the launch of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, some of the Apple Intelligence features showcased in promotional campaigns have been delayed, with no expected release schedule.
Most notably, the lawsuit highlights an ad starring The Last of Us actor, Bella Ramsey, where Ramsey showcased Siri's AI capabilities including personal context and on-screen awareness to help them schedule appointments. That ad, which was available from September, has now been removed from YouTube following the announcement of Siri's delay.
Filed in San Jose, California, by Clarkson Law Firm, which has previously sued Google and OpenAI, the lawsuit targets Apple's iPhone features that haven't shipped yet and not the capabilities of Apple Intelligence features like Genmoji that have.
You can read the full lawsuit online, but the key argument reads, "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."
We'll have to wait and see if anything comes of this legal battle, but considering Apple has only delayed Siri's upgrade, we could see the AI improvements launch before anything comes to pass.
Apple Intelligence's redemption arc
Just yesterday, reports of a Siri leadership shakeup started to surface. And, with exec Mike Rockwell expected to be named as the person to oversee the launch of Siri's AI upgrade, there's reason to be optimistic.
Rockwell is known for his impact in bringing Apple Vision Pro to market, and it shows a real effort from the company to overhaul the current Siri approach so that consumers finally get the capabilities promised.
If Rockwell's direction can get Siri back on track, then Apple Intelligence as a whole could still be a success. After all, once the dust settles, if Apple has a capable AI offering in its smartphones, we'll all quickly forget about the lawsuits and the bad press.
That's not to say we shouldn't hold Apple accountable for advertising features that are still not available on a device six months after launch, but if any company deserves a chance at redemption it's the Cupertino-based firm.
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