Apple Owes iPhone Users $250 Million Because of Apple Intelligence | Here’s What You NEED To know

Añadido: 2026-05-08

[00:00:00]So, I don't know if you remember, but back when Apple was launching and announcing the iPhone 16, they kept saying this >> and built for Apple intelligence from the ground up.

[00:00:10]>> iPhone 16 Pro is built from the ground up for Apple intelligence. I'm also excited about a new generation of iPhone. Built from the ground up to deliver Apple intelligence and its breakthrough capabilities. So, what I want to do in this video is break down exactly what happened, why Apple got sued, who qualifies or is eligible for this class action lawsuit, and finally, how to get your money. Let's get into it. So, I quickly want to talk about what Apple promised, what they mentioned, and what exactly they set expectations for when it came to the new revamped Siri. So, back in 2024 at WWDC, Apple unveiled the new Apple Intelligence or new moniker, what it could do. it was still a little bit vague in terms of how it would function and in terms of how it's going to fit inside of the Apple ecosystem, but they announced it and talked about some of those talking points in terms of what it could do in a perfect state. And then when the iPhone 16 was announced in September of 2024, this is where they kind of let all the walls kind of break down, right? They mentioned that the iPhone 16 was purpose-built and built from the ground up for Apple intelligence, stating that the only way to get Apple intelligence or if you wanted to use it the way that it was supposed to be used, you needed to have an iPhone 16 and newer. They later did mention that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max had enough RAM to sustain and work alongside Apple Intelligence. But for the most part, the biggest piece and the biggest piece of marketing for Apple and the iPhone 16 was that the iPhone 16 lineup was built from the ground up for Apple intelligence. They then went on a barrage of advertising on Apple Intelligence and what it could do. They showcasing a more personal Siri intelligent assistant features, cross app actions, AI powered assistance overall. So, they promised a lot of good things that people were excited about and to this day still are. And while some Apple intelligence features did ship like the new aura glow or the new rainbow glow of Siri, the new look of it, we got some writing tools, Genoji cleanup, visual intelligence, live translation. Those were all things that were promised, but in a lot of the advertising, they were showcasing features that ended up not shipping, the contextual awareness of it all, a real live assistant, cross app actions that were again still aren't shipped even to this day in 2026. So that is exactly why Apple's getting sued. Apple promised a certain feature set of Apple Intelligence and still now almost two years later, those features are non-existent in the iPhone 17 lineup alongside iOS 26. Like I said, we have some Apple Intelligence features and in the background, it's actually running decently well. Siri getting a little bit better overall and I'm actually happy of the current state of Apple intelligence.

[00:02:34]It was just unfortunate the way that Apple advertised and the amount that they promised, especially when it came to contextual awareness and how smart the iPhone would be alongside Siri in terms of being able to interact with your applications on your behalf to a certain extent. But even with the features that we did get, the timeline was very delayed. Apple talked about iPhone 16 being the Apple Intelligence iPhone. They released in September, and the first real Apple intelligence features didn't come out until iOS 18.1, which was not until 5 weeks after the iPhone 16 launch. Now, an important thing to note here is that Apple is settling on this class auction lawsuit, meaning that they're not admitting to any wrongdoing. They're still saying that Apple Intelligence came out, but they wanted to avoid any further litigation. So, they just, you know, $250 million to kind of stop this lawsuit and then focus on real Apple intelligence features, which hopefully are coming out with iOS 27. But this is probably the biggest example of Apple overpromising software features and just underdelivering even almost 2 years later. So, now the juicy part. Who is eligible for this class action lawsuit?

[00:03:31]who's eligible to get paid out and how much will you be getting paid? So, so there's a few iPhones that are in the eligible devices category. So, it goes from the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max to the iPhone 16, 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. So, if you have any of those phones and you purchase them between June 10th of 2024 and March 29th of 2025, then you are eligible to collect your lawsuit money. And like I said, even though the iPhone 16 was the phone that was advertised as built from the ground up from Apple Intelligence, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max still qualify because they were able to run Apple Intelligence and they were still being sold during that time period. And then yes, for those people wondering, if you bought multiple devices in these categories and in this time frame, then you will be eligible for this class auction lawsuit multiple times as well.

[00:04:13]But now, here's some key dates that you definitely need to know, which I'll also put up on the screen and probably put in the description as well in order to follow along to make sure that you receive your money in a timely manner because this is not automatic. You have to claim this in order to receive your money. And it's going to be anywhere between $25 and $95. Now, we're not 100% sure what that scale is going to ensue in terms of who's going to get the 25 and who and why somebody would get 95, but here's what you need to know. So, on June 17th, the settlement approval is expected. Then on June 22nd, Apple identifies the eligible customers. And then on August 7th is when the notifications go out. So, there will be a 90-day period that'll go all the way to November 6th of 2026 for the claim deadline for you to be able to make that claim. So, you have a 90-day window to make that claim and notifications will come probably via your Apple ID via email and then as well as in your physical mail. And then one quick warning here, the Apple claims website is not up yet. So, if you start to get emails and stuff immediately, be aware that that's not going to be the real thing. So, be careful with scams at the end of the day. So, my overall thoughts on this is that yes, Apple definitely overpromise what Apple Intelligence can do and we're still waiting on those features which hopefully are coming with iOS 27. It is unfortunate that they use that verbiage in terms of built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence. And if they didn't do that, then maybe this whole lawsuit would have been avoided and it just would have been kind of an underdeliver situation as opposed to actually having to pay people out. But I'm still relatively optimistic with the new features coming out with iOS 27.

[00:05:32]Apple better make sure that the iPhone 16 lineup can handle everything that they throw at it in terms of Apple intelligence features because that would be another big issue if maybe it needs too much RAM or too much power or too much ondevice kind of efficiencies to run correctly and the iPhone 16 lineup might not be able to handle it. That would be a whole other situation that Apple wants to avoid. So, they got to make sure that the iPhone 16 lineup especially can handle whatever newcomers come with Apple intelligence and iOS 27.

[00:05:56]But again, I remain relatively optimistic for those features, but it is unfortunate that Apple overpromised and at least they're making right by it, but kind of paying out some people that were affected by it. But let me know in the comment down below what you think. We'll probably have a follow-up video when the claim website comes up so you guys have a walk to know exactly how to do it. But comment down below. Are you one of the people that bought an iPhone 16 for Apple Intelligence? Are you going to be putting a claim in when you do receive the email notification? cuz it is a free $25 to $95, which at the end of the day, we'll take. But let me know if you guys did make it to the end, leave a little dolphin in the comments down below.

[00:06:25]Sorry the lighting keeps getting brighter and darker. The sun is going in and out of clouds. But if you guys made it to the end, leave a little dolphin.

[00:06:31]And if you guys want to watch more videos like this one, check out one of these videos right here. Until next time, I'm Fernando.

[00:06:37]Peace.