Apple Agrees To $ 319 Million Settlement Over AI Siri Claims.

San Francisco; May 2026: MNC Giant Apple today (06th May 2026) have agreed to pay US$ 250 million (S$319 million) to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of misleading millions of iPhone buyers by falsely touting artificial intelligence capabilities for its Siri voice assistant in late 2024.

Plaintiffs accused the California tech giant of having “promoted AI capabilities that did not exist at the time, do not exist now, and will not exist for two or more years” in order to boost iPhone sales. The Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division, the US advertising watchdog, had also concluded that Apple falsely suggested the new AI-powered Siri was “available now”.

The settlement filed on May 5 for court approval, which included no admission of wrongdoing by Apple, covers roughly 36 million eligible devices, the iPhone 16, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, those which were purchased in the United States between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025.

Each class member could receive US$25 per device, a sum that could reach US$95 depending on the number of approved claimants. “We resolved this matter to stay focused on what we do best: delivering the most innovative products and services to our users”, Apple told the reporters.

A Morgan Stanley survey cited in the complaint indicated that “enhanced Siri” was the feature that potential iPhone buyers most anticipated. Apple had launched a major advertising campaign in 2024 to promote these capabilities, before confirming their indefinite delay and pulling its ads. The settlement must still be approved by Judge Noel Wise of the federal district court for the Northern District of California at a hearing set for June 17, 2026.

It was on 25th March this year (2026), vide a much hyped press release, Apple had informed that they are testing a standalone app for its Siri voice assistant alongside a new “Ask Siri” feature that will work across the company’s software, part of a broader artificial intelligence overhaul. Apple has also said of modernising Siri by giving it a fresh look and chatbot-like experience. The new Siri is slated to be unveiled on June 8 at the iPhone maker’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) as part of the iOS 27 and macOS 27 operating systems, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.

After struggling to gain traction with Apple Intelligence, the company has been working to rebuild the AI platform around the new version of Siri. The goal is to transform the technology from a traditional voice assistant into a systemwide AI agent with deep integration across applications. Apple announced the schedule for WWDC on March 23 and vowed to highlight “AI advancements”, but the company hasn’t publicly discussed what it plans to present.

The updated Siri, code-named Campo, is designed to better control features within iPhones and Macs and tap into personal data, like messages, notes and e-mails to fulfil requests. It will also be able to complete tasks within apps, access news content, and search the open web using Apple-built interfaces and models.

The most significant change is the ability to interact with users in a conversational, chat-like format – through text and voice. The move represents a clear break from the current Siri experience, which lacks conversational capabilities, and marks a strategic shift for the company. Software engineering head Craig Federighi, who now oversees AI efforts, told Tom’s Guide in 2025 that Apple didn’t want to send users “off into some chat experience in order to get things done”.

But the rapid adoption of services like ChatGPT has made that stance increasingly difficult to maintain. Even so, Apple is unlikely to characterise its new technology as a chatbot.

Siri app – As part of the shift toward this approach, Apple is testing a dedicated Siri app for the iPhone, iPad and Mac later in 2026. It rivals outside AI tools while also giving users a central place to access their past interactions. The app’s main interface will display prior conversations in either a list or a grid of rounded rectangles with text previews. Users can pin favorite chats, save older conversations, search across interactions and start new chats via a prominent plus button.

The conversation view resembles a thread in Apple’s Messages app, with chat bubbles and a text entry field. It also includes a toggle for switching in and out of voice mode and an option to upload attachments, such as documents and photos for analysis. These features have already become standard in modern chatbot interfaces.

When starting a new conversation, Siri will offer suggested prompts based on prior usage. The interface adapts to light and dark modes, with a white background and dark text or the inverse.

New Siri and search interface – Users will still be able to trigger Siri via the power button or voice command, but Apple is testing a redesigned interface that replaces the glowing edges effect introduced in iOS 18. One new design in testing places Siri at the top of the screen within the Dynamic Island, the mini-interface that Apple introduced in 2022. After it’s activated, Siri will prompt the user to “Search or Ask”.

When processing a request, a pill-shaped indicator labelled “Searching” appears, alongside a glowing Siri icon. Once results are ready, the interface expands into a larger translucent panel with Apple’s Liquid Glass design. Users can pull the menu down further to begin conversing back and forth.

The final design could change, and Apple’s human interface team typically tests a number of different options. Apple is also working to replace its existing on-device search system, Spotlight, with Siri. The new unified interface helps users find local content or submit broader queries in one place.

The search interface also will keep showing “Siri Suggestions” – the apps, upcoming appointments or setting changes suggested by AI. But it will be able to root through more types of user data than the current version of iOS Spotlight Search, leveraging a feature called Personal Context that was delayed from 2025.

The updated Siri will also provide more detailed responses sourced from the web, including summaries, bullet points and images – an attempt to compete more directly with AI-driven search tools like Google Gemini and Perplexity. The software can also generate deeper summaries of daily news using content from Apple News.

Ask Siri and Write with Siri – Apple is also testing the idea of integrating the assistant more deeply across its operating systems with new entry points.

A systemwide “Ask Siri” toggle will appear in menus across built-in apps, allowing users to send selected content into a new Siri conversation. For example, they could request more information about highlighted text or pull up related e-mails. The toggle is similar to what exists in the ChatGPT iPhone app today.

A “Write with Siri” option at the top of the keyboard is also in testing. It will surface the Writing Tools menu for generating and editing text. That existing feature, core to the marketing of Apple Intelligence the past two years, can be difficult to find in the current version of iOS.

Delayed features and Gemini – The new Siri builds on an overhaul first unveiled at WWDC in 2024 but never released. Apple initially announced that it would debut in spring 2025. The features were then delayed until this month and again till later in 2026.

Many involved in the effort believe the majority of the already-announced changes including access to personal data and on-screen awareness for answering questions, won’t be ready until Fall 2026. The latest internal versions of iOS 27 being tested by employees include the features.

Another already-announced upgrade, an expansion of the App Intents software, remains in the works. It allows Siri to more precisely control functions within both Apple applications and third-party apps.

Over time, the company plans to extend this system further, partly by enabling users to navigate app interfaces, such as scrolling through menus, via voice. Many of the new features are powered by updated versions of the company’s in-house models, known as Apple Foundation Models, developed alongside technology from Google Gemini.

Team Maverick.