Apple faces class-action lawsuit over delayed Siri AI features

Apple faces a federal securities class-action lawsuit from shareholders who claim the company knowingly promoted incomplete Siri AI features for the iPhone 16 despite lacking a functional prototype. The lawsuit, filed by shareholder Eric Tucker, targets CEO Tim Cook and current and former CFOs, alleging violations of US securities laws after Apple’s stock fell in March 2025 following confirmation that advanced Siri features won’t arrive until 2026.

What you should know: The lawsuit represents all individuals or entities who purchased Apple shares between June 10, 2024, and June 9, 2025, seeking damages for alleged securities violations.
• Filed against CEO Tim Cook, current CFO Kevan Parekh, and former CFO Luca Maestri as defendants.
• Claims Apple promoted “supercharged Siri” capabilities at WWDC 2024 without having a working prototype.
• Apple’s stock hit an all-time high in December 2024 before falling in March after executives confirmed the delay.

The timeline: Apple heavily promoted Siri’s enhanced capabilities for nearly a year before acknowledging significant delays.
• Features were showcased at WWDC (Apple’s annual developer conference) in June 2024 and promoted on Apple’s website and YouTube.
• The iPhone 16 launched in September 2024 with promises of advanced AI features.
• Apple quietly removed promotional materials and announced delays in March 2025.
• Advanced Siri features now won’t arrive until iOS 26.4 in spring 2026.

What was promised: The delayed features include Siri’s ability to understand personal context and take actions based on screen content.
• According to WWDC 24 demos, users could ask Siri about flight details, and it would search through emails, find tickets, check live status, and provide responses.
• These contextual AI capabilities were central to Apple’s iPhone 16 marketing strategy.

Why the delay happened: Apple software chief Craig Federighi recently explained that technical challenges emerged when trying to integrate old and new code.
• “Things started falling apart when the team tried to merge old Siri code with new,” Federighi said.
• Apple has since completely shifted Siri to new code architecture to meet quality standards.
• The company prioritized maintaining customer expectations over meeting original timelines.

Broader legal implications: This shareholder lawsuit joins at least three other cases from iPhone 16 users who claim they paid premium prices for unavailable features.
• The case has not yet been certified by a judge.
• Similar patterns of AI feature delays have affected other tech companies facing regulatory scrutiny.
• The lawsuit highlights growing investor sensitivity to AI development timelines and corporate transparency.