Apple has agreed to pay $250 million to resolve several class action lawsuits over how it marketed Apple Intelligence features alongside the iPhone 16 and certain iPhone 15 models. According to court documents released Tuesday, these cases are pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The deal still needs court approval before any payments can be made.
Consumers who purchased eligible iPhone 16 or iPhone 15 devices between June 2024 and March 2025 may be eligible for payments of up to $95 per device. Apple has denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
What the Apple Intelligence Lawsuits Alleged
The complaints focused on the difference between how Apple promoted Apple Intelligence during its launch in June 2024 and what was actually available on the iPhone 16 in September 2024. During the demos, Apple described a proactive assistant that could track context between apps, summarize notifications, improve typing in Messages and Mail, and offer significantly improved Siri.
When the iPhone 16 launched, many of those features weren’t ready yet. Apple released them gradually and some arrived in a state that did not work as expected. For example, notification summaries often produced inaccurate interpretations of news headlines, leading Apple to disable the feature. The most advanced update to Siri, which plays a key role in Apple’s artificial intelligence plans, has been delayed until March 2025 due to quality issues.
One of the lawsuits claims that Apple misrepresented the capabilities of the iPhone 16 series and misled millions of consumers into spending hundreds of dollars on a phone they didn’t need, based on features that weren’t actually available.
What happens next in Apple’s $250 million deal?
The deal does not address Apple’s biggest challenges in developing AI. John Giannandrea, Apple’s chief AI officer, retired in December. In January, Apple announced that it would incorporate Google’s Gemini models into parts of its artificial intelligence systems, including Siri, which means relying more on external technology.
Apple spokeswoman Marni Goldberg said the company resolved the issue to stay focused on its product roadmap. He also noted that since the initial release of Apple Intelligence, the company has introduced dozens of features in many languages.
Details regarding eligibility, claim submission procedures and payment schedules have not been made public. Affected users must wait for court approval and official claim notifications before submitting the request.
