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Apple is once again forced to open its coffers after settling a case over a more personalized Siri. Siri is known for getting Apple on the wrong side of a courtroom, but instead of hashing things out, it's said the company has decided to settle for a cool $250 million rather than waste anyone else's time or legal fees.
While Apple again looks like a company on the rise thanks to John Ternus' appointment as the new CEO, and hype building around the rumored iPhone Fold in 2026, it's a good job it recorded a record net $112 billion in its 2025 fiscal year.
Even though the latest legal wrangling isn't set to cost Apple as much as 2020's colossal $500 million payout over 'batterygate', $250 million isn't exactly pocket change when President Trump's tariffs have forced the company to invest a whopping $600 billion in US manufacturing.
At the core of the case is Apple's promise of a personalized Siri alongside the iPhone 16's release in 2024. You might remember the iPhone 16 launch was bogged down by all that Apple Intelligence drama, with this supposedly next-gen technology being caught in all sorts of delays. These delays are set to hit Apple hard in the pocket, with the company infamously pulling its adverts that starred The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey and touted a personal Siri.
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Plaintiffs claimed that people paid more for the iPhone 15 and 16 just to get this souped-up Siri, but jump forward nearly two years, and there's still no sign. Unfortunately, with Apple agreeing to a settlement, it means those who have the iPhone 17 aren't eligible to make a claim.
After a federal court gave preliminary approval to the settlement, Apple released a statement saying that it "resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users."
You could be in for a tasty windfall, especially if you have more than one device or if the family decided to update everyone's phones at once back in 2024. The number of eligible devices extends to the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, but they need to have been bought in the USA between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025.
As PC Mag notes, the amount paid out to customers depends on how many people claim.
Law firm Clarkson and Co. suggests that owners will be able to claim "in a few weeks," with a link to the settlement administrator website expected to go live. After lawyer fees and other expenses are deducted, eligible customers can expect to receive $25 for each device. This is where the uncertainty comes in, with the firm noting this "may decrease or increase up to $95 per device, depending on claim volume and other factors.”
It's thought that there are around 36 million devices that qualify in the US, and crunching the numbers, that would equate to just $7 per person. Then again, it’s better than a slap in the face.
In terms of that long-awaited Siri overhaul, Apple is still teasing that it's on the way in 2026, with more information expected to be revealed at June 8's WWDC keynote.
