About Time: Apple Faces Lawsuit Over Delayed Apple Intelligence

Apple is facing a federal lawsuit over its promotion of delayed Apple Intelligence features. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, claims false advertising and unfair competition.

The suit seeks class action status and unspecified financial damages on behalf of purchasers of Apple Intelligence-capable devices. It stems from Apple’s acknowledgment that important features, including an enhanced Siri, won’t be available until much later than initially planned.

The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s advertisements created a “clear and reasonable consumer expectation” that these features would be available upon the iPhone’s release. It claims that Apple’s marketing drove “unprecedented excitement” and was part of an effort to convince consumers to upgrade at premium prices.

The suit mentions a September ad featuring actor Bella Ramsey promoting Siri capabilities that are now delayed. Apple has since removed this ad from YouTube. However, the lawsuit says Apple has failed to retract all similar representations in the market that began in the Summer of 2024.

The Clarkson Law Firm, which has previously sued Google and OpenAI over AI practices, filed this lawsuit. In this case, Clarkson is suing over AI features that didn’t ship, rather than those that have.

This lawsuit highlights the growing scrutiny of AI-related claims in the tech industry and the probable legal consequences of promoting features that are not yet available or fully developed. It also underscores the challenges tech companies face in balancing marketing efforts with product readiness.

An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit.

Sources