Apple’s AI Promises Lead to $900B Legal Nightmare
While Apple has long positioned itself as a tech innovator, the company now faces a damaging class action lawsuit alleging false advertising and unfair competition related to its much-hyped “Apple Intelligence” features. The legal storm centers on claims that Apple marketed sophisticated AI capabilities for iPhone 16, iPad, and MacBook Pro devices that weren’t actually delivered – or even in beta testing – as of 2025.
Talk about overpromising and underdelivering. The lawsuit alleges Apple indefinitely delayed promised AI upgrades to Siri that were announced with great fanfare on March 7, 2025. Meanwhile, the tech giant apparently knew about technical difficulties long before coming clean to consumers and investors. Classic.
Apple hypes AI miracles, then quietly buries the launch while hiding technical failures from everyone who trusted them.
The financial impact has been brutal. Apple’s stock plummeted nearly 25% from its $259.02 peak after the AI delays were announced, wiping approximately $900 billion from the company’s market cap. Ouch.
Morgan Stanley didn’t help matters when they slashed Apple’s price target from $275 to $252, citing concerns about interrupted iPhone upgrade cycles. With global AI growth projected at 40% annually, Apple’s missteps could prove especially costly.
Legal firms Schall Law Firm and DiCello Levitt are spearheading the charge, arguing that Apple violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with materially false statements about its AI rollout timeline. They’re not buying Apple’s excuses, and neither are consumers.
About half of iPhone users who decided not to upgrade pointed directly to the AI delays as their reason. That’s a lot of disappointed customers holding onto their money.
This isn’t Apple’s first AI-related legal rodeo, either. A separate class action from 2021 focused on Siri allegedly recording conversations without consent recently settled for $95 million. Apple denied wrongdoing but improved Siri’s privacy protections anyway. How convenient.
The current investor litigation targets a class period from June 2024 to March 2025, covering the entire AI hype cycle and subsequent crash. Affected investors are being urged to join the lawsuit, with significant momentum building.
For a company that built its reputation on “it just works,” Apple’s AI promises have done anything but. The tech titan now faces the uncomfortable position of explaining why its grand vision failed to materialize while its stock value cratered.
Sometimes even the biggest tech companies bite off more than they can chew. Turns out AI is harder than making a nice phone case. Consumers who purchased devices based on these unfulfilled promises paid premium prices for features that remain unavailable.
Investors must now decide whether to sell due to short-term legal risks or buy the dip with Apple’s strong cash position of $240 billion and healthy profit margins.
