You Might Be Eligible for a Cut of Apple's $250 Million AI Settlement

Credit: Kaspars Grinvalds

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It's no secret that Apple is way behind in the generative AI race. While other companies, like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic have had major wins over the past three and a half years, Apple has stumbled to find its footing, rushing to release features with varying levels of success. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing, depending on who you ask. While Microsoft has shoved its AI products into as many apps and services as possible (to the degree that the company has since had to back off), Apple users have largely been able to ignore Apple Intelligence if they wish.

As it happens, Apple was a bit too eager to oversell its AI endeavors. Back in 2024, Apple hadn't really done anything with AI, at least not in the same way as the other big tech companies. After a year and a half of ChatGPT, Apple was undoubtedly feeling the pressure to deliver on AI. So, when it came time to formally announce Apple Intelligence, it swung big, highlighting a ton of powerful new features, including, notoriously, an AI-powered Siri. Apple said the new Siri would have new contextual abilities, like the capacity to dig through your inbox to find information without you needing to specify, as well as the ability to perform actions on your behalf. The company even produced an ad starring Bella Ramsey, who used the new Siri to remember the name of someone they had coffee with in the past.

Apple Intelligence didn't roll out as advertised. The company slowly introduced some of those features over the course of iOS 18's tenure with mixed results. Apple had to pull back Notification Summaries, for example, after the AI summaries misinterpreted reporting from outlets like the BBC. AI Siri has never actually materialized, despite Apple's advertisements. (Apple has since pulled the ad with Bella Ramsey.) Per the latest rumors, Apple is preparing to launch it with iOS 27.

Apple is now settling the AI lawsuit

As you might expect, a two-year delay on a feature doesn't fly with consumers. That's how this class action lawsuit started: Clarkson Lawfirm filed the suit, alleging that Apple misled customers about its AI features, particularly the new "enhanced" Siri. It's not unusual for features get delayed from time to time, but the crux of the case, according to Clarkson, is that Apple advertised these features as a core component of new iPhones. As such, the lawsuit alleges that people who bought Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones, including the iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, and the entire iPhone 16 line, may have done so under the guise that their devices would run these features.

Apple has not admitted any wrongdoing in this case. However, as reported by The Verge, the company did just agree to a $250 million payment to settle it. As part of that settlement, anyone who purchased one of these iPhones between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025, is covered under the suit. An Apple spokesperson told The Verge that the company agreed to settle to "stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”

$250 million is a lot of money (perhaps not for a $4 trillion company) but considering the number of iPhones Apple sold in that time frame, the payouts will likely be relatively small. At this time, claimants can receive $25 for each iPhone they purchased during this period, but depending on the final claim total, that amount may change. It could decrease with too many valid claims, or it may increase to as much as $95 per device.

It's too early at this time to make a claim if you fall under the suit. The settlement still needs to be approved by the court. But assuming it is, I will update this piece with instructions on how to file your claim.