Photo = Yonhap news

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Apple is facing a lawsuit in the United States after delaying the rollout of key artificial intelligence (AI) features on its devices, including the iPhone. The lawsuit accuses Apple of false advertising by promoting AI functions that were not yet available.


According to U.S. media outlets such as Axios on Sunday, iPhone users filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, alleging that Apple engaged in false advertising and unfair competition by promoting its AI system, "Apple Intelligence."


The lawsuit, filed by law firm Clarkson on behalf of the users, claims that "Apple’s widely disseminated advertisements on the internet, TV, and other media created a clear and reasonable expectation among consumers that groundbreaking features would be available at the time of the iPhone’s release." It further argues that "contrary to Apple’s claims, these products either had severely limited Apple Intelligence features or lacked them entirely, misleading consumers about the actual usefulness and performance of the devices."


The plaintiffs also noted that while Apple recently removed the advertisements from YouTube, "the company has taken no steps to provide appropriate remedies to consumers who were harmed by its widespread deception."


Apple first introduced Apple Intelligence, including an AI-powered version of its voice assistant Siri, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2023. The AI features were designed to assist with email summarization, message sending, and image generation through voice interactions. Although these features were not included in the iPhone 16 series launched in September, Apple suggested they would be available through a software update.


While Apple never specified an exact release date for its "more personalized" AI features, they were expected to be included in the iOS 18.4 update next month. However, on March 7 (local time), Apple announced that the launch of Siri's core AI features would be delayed until next year.


Apple, which has long been criticized for lagging behind competitors in AI technology, is now facing concerns that this delay could impact sales of iPhones and other devices. Although Apple has not disclosed the reason for the delay, Bloomberg reported that the company’s AI team is struggling with leadership and engineering challenges.


Following Apple’s announcement, consumer complaints also surfaced in South Korea. On March 13, Seoul YMCA’s consumer advocacy group issued a statement accusing Apple of false and misleading advertising regarding its AI features and demanded compensation measures.

 

 

 

 

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