Apple Agreed to Pay $250 Million Over Its Broken Siri Promises — Here's How to Claim Your Money
If you bought an iPhone 16 or certain iPhone 15 Pro models expecting a dramatically smarter Siri — and then waited, and waited, and kept waiting — Apple now owes you money.
Apple has agreed to a $250 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading consumers about the AI capabilities it promised when it launched the iPhone 16 in September 2024. The lawsuit alleged false advertising and unfair competition after Apple heavily promoted a personalized, dramatically upgraded version of Siri as one of the flagship features of its new iPhone lineup — features that, as of today, still haven't fully arrived.
What Apple Promised and What It Delivered
The controversy traces back to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, when the company unveiled Apple Intelligence — its entry into the AI race — and showcased a version of Siri that would function more like a modern AI assistant, capable of understanding context, taking actions across apps, and delivering genuinely personalized responses. When the iPhone 16 launched that fall, Apple saturated television, the internet, and social media with advertising that positioned the upgraded Siri experience as a defining reason to upgrade.
The problem was that most of those features weren't actually in the phone at launch. Promised capabilities were delayed, then delayed again. Apple eventually acknowledged the setbacks publicly, with CEO Tim Cook reaffirming as recently as the company's Q2 2026 earnings call that a "more personalized Siri" is still planned for later this year. Reports have suggested Apple struggled internally with reliability issues and even explored a potential partnership with Google to use Gemini technology as part of Siri's backend.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California, alleged that Apple created consumer expectations it had no reasonable basis to create — and that people bought iPhones based on those expectations.
Who Is Eligible
The settlement covers U.S. customers who purchased specific devices between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025. Eligible products include the iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro models are included because, although Apple hadn't made its AI promises at the time those devices launched, they are capable of running the features and Apple's promises applied to those customers too.
Eligible claimants can receive a base payment of $25 per device, with payments potentially rising to as much as $95 per device if claim volume is low. The $250 million fund also covers attorneys' fees and administrative costs, which reduces the pool available for direct consumer payouts.
What You Need to Do
Payouts are not automatic. You will need to file a claim. Notices to eligible claimants will go out by email within 45 days of the settlement's preliminary approval. When the notice arrives, you will have a 90-day window to submit your claim using a link Apple will send you.
To file, you will need proof of purchase, the device serial number, your phone number, and your Apple Account information. A dedicated settlement website with full filing details is expected to launch within the coming weeks through Clarkson Law Firm, which handled the case. The settlement still requires final court approval, but the preliminary approval is in place.
Apple's response was characteristically brief. "Apple has reached a settlement to resolve claims related to the availability of two additional features," a spokesperson told CBS News. "We resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users."
The upgraded Siri features are expected to be previewed at Apple's annual developer conference, WWDC 2026, which begins June 8.
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