Apple was named in a proposed class action lawsuit filed by shareholders in a San Francisco federal court, accusing the company of misleading investors about the timeline for integrating advanced AI into its Siri voice assistant.

The complaint alleges that Apple’s actions negatively impacted iPhone sales and its stock price, resulting in significant financial losses for investors, reported Reuters.

The lawsuit, covering shareholders who incurred losses in the year ending 9 June, claims that the company’s announcements at its June 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference suggested that AI advancements would significantly enhance the iPhone 16.

Specifically, the introduction of “Apple Intelligence” was presented to improve Siri’s functionality and user experience.

However, shareholders, led by plaintiff Eric Tucker, allege that the company lacked a working prototype of these AI-driven Siri features and had no reasonable basis to believe they would be ready for the iPhone 16.

According to the complaint, Apple’s challenges became apparent on 7 March when the company announced that certain Siri upgrades would be delayed until 2026.

The lawsuit names CEO Tim Cook, CFO Kevan Parekh, and former CFO Luca Maestri as defendants alongside the company.

Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The case, titled Tucker v. Apple Inc et al, is filed in the US District Court, Northern District of California, under case number 25-05197.

Recently, a Dutch court upheld a 2021 ruling by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) that found Apple abused its dominant position by imposing unfair conditions on dating app providers in its App Store.

The Rotterdam District Court confirmed that dating app providers were mandated to use Apple’s payment system, barred from mentioning external payment options, and required to pay a 30% commission (15% for smaller providers) to Apple.