Apple is now accepting claims in a $250 million class-action settlement after the tech giant was accused of selling iPhones on the promise of AI features that did not exist when customers handed over their money.
Owners of certain iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models can file for at least $25 per device, and potentially up to $95, through an online portal that went live by September 21, 2026. The deadline to submit a claim is December 21, and a judge is scheduled to give the deal final approval at a hearing on February 24, 2027.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit that cut straight to a question millions of consumers were already asking: Did Apple sell them a phone based on features the company had not actually built yet?
California resident Peter Landsheft filed the original class-action suit against Apple in March 2025, roughly six months after the iPhone 16 launched in September 2024. Several other plaintiffs later joined the case. The complaint centered on Apple's marketing of "Apple Intelligence", specifically, a "dramatically enhanced Siri" that the company promoted as the flagship reason to upgrade.
The problem, according to the plaintiffs' amended complaint, was simple. As USA Today reported, the enhanced technology did not exist when the iPhone 16 hit store shelves. Consumers paid hundreds of dollars for hardware sold on capabilities that were, at best, still in development.
The complaint put it bluntly, alleging Apple had:
"deceived millions of consumers into spending hundreds of dollars on a phone they did not need, based on features that do not exist."
That is not a minor marketing dispute. It is an allegation that one of the world's most valuable companies ran a nationwide advertising campaign around a product capability it had not finished building, and banked billions in hardware sales on the strength of that campaign.
The settlement covers an estimated 37 million devices, Breitbart reported, purchased between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025. Seven models qualify: the iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Apple agreed to the $250 million settlement in May 2026. The company denied the allegations and said it had already delivered more than 20 Apple Intelligence features, with additional Siri improvements planned for future software updates.
In a statement, Apple said it resolved the suit in an effort to continue "delivering the most innovative products and services to our users." A fuller version of the company's statement, obtained by Breitbart, added that Apple "reached a settlement to resolve claims related to the availability of two additional features" and wanted to "stay focused on doing what we do best."
That framing, "two additional features", is worth noting. The plaintiffs described a sweeping marketing campaign built around a transformed Siri. Apple characterized the gap as two missing items on a longer checklist. The $250 million price tag suggests the company's lawyers saw enough legal risk to settle rather than let a jury decide which version was closer to the truth.
Filing is the only way to receive money. Eligible owners must submit claims online at aplsconnect.com/smartphoneaisettlement. Each qualifying device requires a separate claim. Claimants confirm they purchased an eligible model within the covered window.
If the court grants final approval, payments will arrive by physical or digital check. The base payout is $25 per device, but that figure could rise to as much as $95 depending on how many claims are ultimately approved. Fewer claims filed means a larger share for each claimant.
The settlement website, smartphoneaisettlement.com, will post updates on the case's progress. Consumers with eligibility questions can also call 1-888-988-8945. The case, Landsheft v. Apple Inc., is filed in California federal court, as the Washington Examiner noted.
The lawsuit did not land in a vacuum. As Fox News reported, the case raises broader concerns about technology companies marketing unfinished AI features to drive hardware sales. Cybersecurity analyst Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson framed the issue plainly:
"When a company sells AI as a reason to upgrade, customers deserve to know what actually works now and what is still coming later."
That standard, tell people what works today versus what might work someday, is basic consumer protection. It applies whether the seller is a used-car lot or a trillion-dollar corporation. Apple spent heavily to position the iPhone 16 as the phone that would bring artificial intelligence into everyday life. Millions of buyers took the company at its word.
Breitbart also noted that the settlement highlights Apple's broader struggle to keep pace with AI competitors like Google and Samsung, companies that have aggressively marketed their own AI-powered features on rival devices. The pressure to match those competitors may help explain why Apple leaned so hard on Siri enhancements it had not yet delivered.
Several details remain unclear. The presiding judge for the February 2027 approval hearing has not been publicly identified in available reporting. The settlement claims administrator running the online portal has not been named. And the mechanism that determines whether payouts climb from $25 toward the $95 ceiling, specifically, what claims-volume threshold triggers the increase, has not been disclosed.
Nor is it clear how many of the estimated 37 million eligible device owners will actually file. Class-action settlements routinely see low participation rates, which in this case would push individual payouts higher but leave millions of affected consumers with nothing.
Apple denied wrongdoing throughout the litigation. But a quarter-billion-dollar check is not the action of a company confident it did nothing wrong. It is the action of a company that calculated the cost of a trial and decided the risk was not worth it.
Consumers who bought an iPhone on the strength of Apple's AI promises now have until December 21 to file. After that, the window closes, and so does the only path to compensation.
When the biggest company on earth sells you a future that does not exist yet, a $25 check is a modest consolation. But at least, for once, somebody had to pay for the broken promise.