Apple's $250 Million Siri AI False Advertising Settlement Opens Claims: Up to $25 Payout for iPhone Buyers

On September 21, 2026, the official claims portal (smartphoneaisettlement.com) went live for a $250 million class action settlement against Apple Inc. over misleading marketing of Siri and Apple Intelligence. The lawsuit (Landsheft v. Apple Inc., Case No. 5:25-cv-02668 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) alleged that Apple heavily advertised a 'more personalized, context-aware Siri capable of taking actions across apps' at WWDC in June 2024 to spur sales of flagship devices, despite being unable to deliver those capabilities.

Under the settlement terms, U.S. consumers who purchased an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 series model (iPhone 16, 16e, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max) between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025, are eligible to submit claims. Each qualifying device is expected to receive approximately $25 in cash (up to a maximum of $95 if fewer claims are filed). Claimants must submit their device serial numbers by December 21, 2026, ahead of the final approval hearing scheduled for September 29, 2027.

Apple had positioned the upgraded AI Siri as the centerpiece of its iPhone 16 marketing campaigns, promising that the voice assistant could look up passport numbers from emails and perform multi-step edits across apps. However, in March 2025, Apple spokeswoman Jacqueline Roy officially acknowledged that delivering the personalized Siri would 'take longer than we thought' and delayed the core features. Apple agreed to the $250 million settlement without admitting wrongdoing.

Sources: The Verge (September 21, 2026), 9to5Mac (September 21, 2026), MacRumors (September 20, 2026), and Northern District of California Court Filings (Case 5:25-cv-02668-NW).

BenPig patted its piggy bank and thought 25 dollars probably isn't even enough to buy an official Apple phone case.