Following a lawsuit in the U.S., Canadians are going after Apple over the company’s alleged misrepresentations of the capabilities of Apple Intelligence.
A notice of a class-action lawsuit filed in B.C. against Apple Inc. and Apple Canada alleged the company launched a “pervasive marketing campaign” that highlighted the “groundbreaking ‘Apple Intelligence’ suite of features.” However, the notice alleges that Apple “knew none of it was true.”
Apple Intelligence is Apple’s branding for features powered by artificial intelligence (AI) destined for the iPhone and other products. Some of the Apple Intelligence features have launched, including a spot removal tool for the Photos app, various writing and summary tools, notification summaries (which have their own share of issues), and intelligent Do Not Disturb modes.
However, some of Apple’s loftier promises, like a full AI Siri upgrade, haven’t materialized yet. In early March, Apple officially delayed the feature and later deleted an advertisement about the Siri enhancements.
The notice also claims that in early March 2025, “Apple was forced to admit and acknowledge that the heralded Apple Intelligence features, including the Siri AI-driven enhancements that fueled consumer excitement, did not exist then and do not exist now.”
Elsewhere, the notice alleges that Apple knew the advertised features were still in early development and wouldn’t be available on the iPhone 16 series at launch. The notice also claims Apple admitted the AI features might not arrive until 2027.
Further, the notice alleges that Apple was behind competitors in the AI race and announced its own features, even though they weren’t ready, in order to compete.
Notice of Civil Claim – Proposed Lawsuit over Apple Intelligence by jon on Scribd
The notice highlights several claims Apple made in ads and press releases about the AI features, including that the iPhone 16 series is “built for Apple Intelligence.” In a Dec. 11 release, the company said, “Apple Intelligence capabilities will be available in the months to come.”
Travis Paivarinta, the lawsuit’s representative plaintiff, purchased an iPhone 16 Pro Max for $1,799 in March 2025. According to the notice, Paivarinta made the purchase decision based on Apple’s advertisements about AI and expected the phone to have the advertised features and the notice says they would not have made the purchase (or wouldn’t have paid as much) if they had known the Apple Intelligence features weren’t available.
The lawsuit seeks to represent all Canadians who purchased and/or owned an iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max and/or 16e between Sept. 13, 2024 and March 7, 2025.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Moreover, the class action must be certified by a B.C. judge before it can continue.
MobileSyrup reached out to Apple Canada for comment on the proposed lawsuit but did not hear back in time for publication.
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