iPhone 16 "Phantom AI" Lawsuit: Did Apple Deceive Buyers?

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit alleges Apple deceived customers into buying the iPhone 16 by falsely advertising advanced "Apple Intelligence" features that never materialized.

Consumers Affected: U.S. consumers who purchased an iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Apple is facing a new class action lawsuit alleging it tricked customers into buying the iPhone 16 by falsely advertising advanced artificial intelligence features that never materialized. 

The complaint accuses the tech giant of promoting its so-called “Apple Intelligence” tools, especially a souped-up Siri virtual assistant, as available at launch, when in reality, key features remain missing even months after release.

Plaintiff Christian Varbanovski says he dropped more than $1,400 on an iPhone 16 Pro in New York after being led to believe the phone would come equipped with the game-changing AI tools Apple touted all summer. Instead, he received what he claims is a virtually indistinguishable model from previous versions without the futuristic features that convinced him to upgrade in the first place.

Apple charged consumers for an iPhone they would not have purchased, or at least not at its premium price, had the advertising not relied on falsehoods, the lawsuit states.

Apple Under Fire for Alleged False AI Promises

Varbanovski says he was swayed by Apple’s repeated promises that the iPhone 16 was “built for Apple Intelligence.” The company heavily marketed new AI-powered capabilities, including a “Conversational Siri” that could understand context, process cross-app data, and complete complex tasks, like finding a podcast a friend had mentioned in a text.

Instead, Varbanovski received a device that lacked those features entirely. According to the lawsuit, Apple only acknowledged months later, in March 2025, that the hyped Siri upgrades wouldn't arrive for months, and some experts say it won't be until at least 2027 with iOS 20—three years after his purchase, according to the lawsuit.

Had he known, the complaint argues, Varbanovski either wouldn’t have bought the phone or would’ve waited for a future model with the actual AI capabilities included.

Buyers Say Key "Apple Intelligence" Features Absent

Apple made a major splash at its June 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, where senior exec Craig Federighi introduced Apple Intelligence as “the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right at the core of your iPhone,” the lawsuit explains. 

Demos and promotional videos showcased features like writing assistance, summarizing emails, and context-aware Siri commands that could search across apps and personal data.

But according to the lawsuit, those features weren’t available when the iPhone 16 launched—and still aren’t. The complaint claims Apple quietly scrubbed some marketing language and product pages after the phone’s release, but never publicly acknowledged its failure to deliver on its headline promise.

Meanwhile, competitors like Samsung and Google have already launched phones with real generative AI tools, putting Apple further behind in the race to dominate mobile AI.

Lawsuit Details Disappointment Over Missing Capabilities

This isn’t Apple’s only courtroom drama. Just this month, the company was hit with a separate class action in Washington state, alleging it hides legally required information about iPhone repair costs and warranty coverage—violating consumer protection laws.

Other ongoing cases accuse Apple of including harmful chemicals in its watch bands, hosting scam crypto apps on the App Store, and secretly recording users via Siri. A major antitrust trial over the App Store is also set for 2026.

In his lawsuit against the company, Varbanovski wants to represent anyone in the US who bought an iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Varbanovski v. Apple Inc.
• Case Number: 5:25-cv-03517
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California 

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Laurence D. King, Matthew B. George, and Clarissa R. Olivares (Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP)

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