Apple will pay $250 million, roughly 75 billion forints, to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought by users over the late arrival of certain AI features, the Financial Times reported. The suit alleged that Apple overstated the scope of new capabilities under its "Apple Intelligence" banner.
According to the complaint, Apple created the impression that advanced AI features would be available at the launch of the new iPhone 16 series. Plaintiffs say those capabilities were actually not usable at that time and only became available about a month later via a software update. They further claim that some features — notably the touted "new Siri" — remained unavailable well over a year and a half after the devices were released.
As a result, plaintiffs argued, consumers may have believed they were paying for cutting-edge AI functionality that was not actually present at the time of purchase. The lawsuit characterized this as misleading advertising.
Apple did not admit any wrongdoing in court, but chose to settle the case out of court. Under the proposed agreement, U.S. buyers who purchased an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025 could receive up to $95 per device, which is about 29,000 forints.
The Financial Times coverage and details of the lawsuit indicate the settlement would end the current litigation, while Apple maintains that the agreement is not an admission of liability.
Why this matters
The case highlights how timing and transparency around hardware and software announcements can become legal and commercial flashpoints for tech companies, especially when AI capabilities are used as a selling point. The outcome may influence how manufacturers communicate the availability and rollout timing of software features promised for their devices.
