Siri Lawsuit: Apple Being Sued For 'Misleading' Siri Commercials (VIDEO)

Siri, do you know of a good defense lawyer in Manhattan?

The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog reports that Apple is being sued by a man in New York over its Siri commercials, claiming that the ads are examples of "intentional misrepresentation" and "negligent misrepresentation" of the Voice Assistant's capabilities.

The class action lawsuit complains that "[t]hrough an extensive and comprehensive nationwide marketing campaign, [Apple] has conveyed the misleading and deceptive message that the iPhone 4S's Siri feature, a so-called voice-activated assistant, performs useful functions and otherwise works as advertised."

The complaint continues thus:

In many of Apple's television advertisements, individuals are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, and even learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs or how to tie a tie. In the commercials, all of these tasks are done with ease with the assistant of the iPhone 4S's Siri feature, a represented functionality contrary to the actual operating results and performance of Siri.

You can read the entire complaint over at the WSJ.

The effectiveness of Siri has indeed been a hot topic of debate ever since the phone came out. Apple released Siri in Beta, a fact it makes clear on its website; this designation did not appease everyone, however. A well-distributed rant by Gizmodo's Mat Honan, titled "Siri Is Apple's Broken Promise," reamed the company for releasing and promoting a feature that, in his mind, was "a half-baked voice-control system."

Honan also felt that the ads were deceiving, noting that when he tried out a command to start playing music that was shown off in an early iPhone 4S commercial -- "Play some Coltrane!" -- Siri apologized that she couldn't find any "coal train."

"[I]n its Siri ads," Honan concludes, "[Apple] promises far more than what it actually delivers."

Whether this is grounds for litigation is questionable. Apple sold over 37 million new iPhones in the first three months following the release of the iPhone 4S in October; for what it's worth, a survey by Loopt found that a 45 percent majority of those buying an iPhone 4S in the first days after its release were doing so because of Siri.

Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. In the meantime, we can report that Siri was, indeed, able to find us a list of defense lawyers in Manhattan, ranked by average rating on Yelp, on its first try; we'll also let you know if Siri is named as a witness for the prosecution, and if so, whether or not she pleads the fifth.

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Comments

[karen lyons kalmenson]

05:40 AM on 07/06/2012

shirley, you can't be siri-ous;-D

[Travopia]

02:37 AM on 04/27/2012

How Voice (Siri) is going to transform Travel Industry -

http://www.travopia.com/2012/04/how-voice-siri-is-going-to-transform.html

[Shawn Nolan]

12:46 PM on 03/30/2012

look if you can't speak english into an American made phone, then buy a phone from the f'n country your from. and i think the suing people for false advertisement is the biggest scam ever! even more than the ad being labeled "false". i can't even finish this story because all i can read is negative things about something. how about just f'n being positive for once about a product that is pretty cool. if you can make one work better then do it, otherwise shut your cake hole's!!! give me a break man, everyone these days just wants to complain about something, get over it!

[tylerjaecob]

03:29 PM on 03/19/2012

I don't see why so many tech websites (even ones based here in America) are trashing Siri. My phone's Siri system works near-flawlessly, and that's good enough for me considering it IS in Beta, as clearly stated on Apple.com. 99% of the time, Siri does exactly what I want it to. The other 1% isn't because the system can't understand me or is flawed, but because of connection issues and me trying out commands I know very well that Siri is not intended to perform. I love Siri and use it daily. Also, the thing about Googling information is faster? Not when you have to take your iPhone out of your pocket, unlock it, open Safari, wait for it to load, type in your Google query, wait for THAT to load, then click the appropriate link and wait for THAT to load, when you can ask Siri without having to unlock your phone AND she most likely will give you the answer right then and there. Even if it has to Google it for you, it still skips THREE steps of unlocking, opening/waiting for Safari, then typing in your query. Siri is revolutionary and I'm not just saying that because Apple says so. I'm saying that because I use Siri daily AND IT WORKS.

[Lee Yarbrough]

10:43 PM on 03/14/2012

This law suit is not a surprise. That has become the American way of life. Lawsuit Lottery! What part of Beta did this person not understand?

[ActaNonVerbaNow]

02:31 PM on 03/14/2012

Why is Apple messing with Tom Cruise's daughter?

[Ed Baker]

11:58 AM on 03/14/2012

Another bottom feeding lawyer files a lawsuit against a successful company.

*shrug*

[GOP Lie Detector]

07:06 AM on 03/14/2012

Apple had to shim something into that phone to make it a viable option to roughly the exact same phone before it. So becomes Siri. $300 for a cheesy gimmick.

[Jovanvaldeze]

05:21 AM on 03/14/2012

I think that too, Siri was displayed in the ads as if it is a walking robot he;ping people out. But rather it looks a bit of mess.

http://www.socialcubix.com

[johnsonb2005]

12:11 AM on 03/14/2012

so yes it sucks, but a law suit? really?

[ZimboDude]

02:17 AM on 03/14/2012

It's called selling under false pretenses. It's illegal.

[Ron Phillips]

09:18 PM on 03/13/2012

Its a civil suit. There is no "prosecution" to be a witness for, its a plaintiff. Sheesh

[nightfly4257]

08:22 PM on 03/13/2012

Don't have an iPhone 4s, just a regular iPhone 4, so no Siri. This is one frivolous law suit. Yes Apple has lots of money, yes Apple is an easy target , but this greedy p***k should not get one red cent because of Siri . Unless you live under a rock this a beta version and most technology will improve overtime. I love my iPhone, but It not perfect, Siri is a feature that does not interest me even if it work correctly.

[cliveklg]

02:17 PM on 03/13/2012

If you are looking at yelp ratings for defense lawyers, you've already failed, plea guilty.

[Wuud52]

02:10 PM on 03/13/2012

I have an iPhone for work and an Android phone of my own. The Android web commercials use their Voice Commands in real time, so you know what you are getting. Yes, Apple is misleading.

While Siri has programmed in some cute replies, I use the Google Voice Commands far more.

What I do like about Siri is the ability to do phone related tasks like set alarms, etc. Google has not done this yet, but I am sure they will soon.

[sculptingman]

01:17 PM on 03/13/2012

Apple made it clear in their ads that Siri was in Beta... some folks are just too busy drooling over the new phone to read or listen.

Perhaps, tho, I am just not as stupid as the average user. I think what Siri Can do is pretty amazing, considering no phone could pull off even that much voice functionality before.
( I was using Siri when it was still a downloadable app on the App Store... before Apple bought the technology )

People suing over this is like some moron suing over his dial up modem speed in 1990...
Already bitching that something he only just was able to do isn't doing it well enough.

Sheesh... LOOOK at the AMAZING thing you have IN YOUR POCKET!!!
All the things it can do that NEVER USED TO BE.

And you're whining that one, brand new feature isn't good enough?

Just WAIT a few months.... like everything else in your life, smarter, harder working and better paid people who actually understand technology are working tirelessly to make it embarrassingly easy for lazy twerps to be even more lazy.

[J0E1]

02:24 PM on 03/13/2012

I think what Siri Can do is pretty amazing, considering no phone could pull off even that much voice functionality before.


Except of course every Android phone...

[sculptingman]

02:40 PM on 03/13/2012

um- nope.
I had Siri nearly 3 years ago.
It was an app before apple decided to incorporate it into the iOS...
and I have tried Androids voice features... they left me unimpressed.

... the Whole android "everything" is a copy of what the iPhone was first...
Their adding a feature here, or bigger screen there, is really beside the point.

As time goes on, all of these 'features' will improve, or be found to be a fad and disappear... and only the most functional features will persist and be perfected.

The whole point was that emerging technology is always going to be immature.

And those who don't Create that technology really have no right to bitch about that technology not being more than they imagined it should be.