Apple Agrees to $250 Million Settlement Over Apple Intelligence Marketing Claims

Apple has agreed to establish a $250 million settlement fund to resolve a class-action lawsuit claiming the company misled consumers when marketing Apple Intelligence capabilities across its recent smartphone lineups, according to reporting by Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/banking/article/apple-could-owe-iphone-owners-up-to-95-heres-how-to-claim-it-202802769.html?.tsrc=rss).

The legal dispute centers on promotional campaigns for the iPhone 16 lineup and the higher-tier iPhone 15 models, which highlighted generative artificial intelligence integrations as marquee features. Plaintiffs alleged that Apple touted an enhanced Siri assistant capable of executing sophisticated tasks to motivate millions of upgrades in 2024, despite the software functionality not being ready at launch.

In their complaint, plaintiffs asserted that Apple promoted AI capabilities that did not exist at the time of purchase and would not arrive for years. The filing cited statements in March 2025 in which Apple acknowledged the marketed features were not yet available. For its part, Apple denied all allegations in the lawsuit, maintaining that it engaged in no improper or unlawful conduct.

The agreement covers original buyers who are U.S. residents and bought an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 device between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025. Qualifying devices must have been acquired for personal or business use rather than commercial resale.

Under the terms of the settlement, verified claimants are eligible to receive $25 per device up to a maximum cap of $95, though actual payments may be adjusted proportionally based on the overall volume of approved claims. Compensation will be distributed through paper checks, direct deposit, PayPal, or Venmo.

To receive payment, device owners must submit a claim form alongside each hardware serial number through the settlement administrator website before Dec. 21, 2026. Payout distributions remain contingent on judicial approval, with a final hearing scheduled in federal court on Feb. 24, 2027.