Apple has been hit with a lawsuit over allegations of false advertising and unfair competition regarding the delayed launch of some of its Apple Intelligence features.
The tech company has made much of its AI-infused Apple Intelligence tools when they were first unveiled at its developer event in June 2024, and while some of the features have made their way to its various devices since then, the company recently revealed that some of the more advanced AI-powered tools — including for its Siri virtual assistant — would not be ready until 2026.
Filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose and first reported by Axios, the suit said that Apple’s ads for Apple Intelligence “saturated the internet, television, and other airwaves to cultivate a clear and reasonable consumer expectation that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone’s release.”
The suit continued: “This drove unprecedented excitement in the market, even for Apple, as the company knew it would, and as part of Apple’s ongoing effort to convince consumers to upgrade at a premium price and to distinguish itself from competitors deemed to be winning the AI arms race.”
It said that contrary to Apple’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.”
The suit added that “worse yet,” Apple 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.”
Filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, the lawsuit is seeking class-action status and damages for customers who bought the latest iPhones and other devices capable of running Apple Intelligence, with the suit claiming that these customers have not received the Apple Intelligence features that were promised by the tech giant.
Earlier this month, Apple confirmed that it’s been “working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps,” but added: “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.” In a further sign of difficulties behind the scenes, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Apple had overhauled the leadership team in charge of Apple’s AI-powered Siri features.
The case highlights broader concerns about Apple’s ability to keep pace in the competitive AI sector, with delays in delivering promised features potentially eroding consumer confidence while also giving competitors such as Google and Microsoft an edge in the field.
Digital Trends has contacted Apple for comment on the lawsuit and we will update this article when we hear back.
