Apple faces second class-action lawsuit over Siri

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014


A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple over its Siri voice recognition feature of the iPhone 4S with allegations that the company is falsely representing the service's capabilities.



iPhone 4S owner David Jones filed suit against the Cupertino, Calif., company on Tuesday, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The new lawsuit echoes a similar complaint filed by a consumer in New York earlier this month.



"Through its nationwide multimedia marketing campaign, Apple disseminates false and deceptive representations regarding the functionality of the Siri feature," the report noted the suit as claiming. "For example, in many of Apple's television commercials, consumers are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, and even to learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs. In its advertisements, Apple depicts these tasks as easily accomplished "just by asking" Siri."



The complaint went on to characterize Apple's commercials as a"deceptive" because they "diverge greatly" from real world use of the feature by the plaintiff and "fellow consumers."



For Jones specifically, "Siri would either not understand what Plaintiff asked, or, after a long wait, provided the wrong answer," the suit read. He purchased the smartphone in December and is seeking "relief and damages" for himself and other iPhone 4S buyers.



Most of Apple's advertising efforts for the iPhone 4S have focused on Siri. The first commercial for the company's latest handset showcased the range of tasks that Siri is capable of performing. Subsequent TV spots took a more narrative approach and showed iPhone 4S users relying on Siri for a cross-country trip and starting a rock band.







A recent study found that 87 percent of iPhone 4S owners use Siri at least monthly. Some respondents called the functionality the "best thing since the invention of toast," while others described it as "very disappointing."



Scattered reports have emerged of users, especially those with accents not specifically accommodated by Apple, having trouble operating Siri. Despite the fact that Apple has actively promoted Siri, the software remains in beta.



Siri currently understands French, German, Japanese and Australian, British and American English. Apple has promised to teach Siri Mandarin, Italian, Korean and Spanish later this year.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 80
    alienzedalienzed Posts: 393member
    Just bring the damn phone back for a refund. God.
  • Reply 2 of 80
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    "Your honor, it's a beta."



    *BANG* "Case dismissed. Pay Apple's court costs, you idiots."



    And so it was, the first class action lawsuit in history where everyone involved received a BILL for $3.45.
  • Reply 3 of 80
    There is a reason apple is keeping SIRI as a beta product.

    These idiots should be made to pay the legal fee when the case is dismissed.
  • Reply 4 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by alienzed View Post


    Just bring the damn phone back for a refund. God.



    I agree. What a total loser.
  • Reply 5 of 80
    tylerk36tylerk36 Posts: 1,037member
    Beta! Get a grip people. I have used SIRI to make appointments and send text messages. I have also asked SIRI to look up information for me without looking at the screen while I was driving. SIRI isn't the main reason to buy an iPhone. In comparing SIRI to a windows phone or an android phone, SIRI is far better. I can't wait for the actual non beta version to be released.



    I wonder if this person who is filing this law suit is actually being used by some other company to try and discredit Apple.
  • Reply 6 of 80
    Why do so many Americans think they have a right to be paid a profit just because something doesn't live up to their personal expectations? Talk about gaming the system!



    If the Siri ads are "misleading", every single soap, cosemtics, food and appliance ad in the entire world is misleading.



    They obviously aren't aware of the legal concept of "advertiser's puff"....
  • Reply 7 of 80
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    This song has been, and seemingly always will be, appropriate:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKIca...e_gdata_player
  • Reply 8 of 80
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ..."best thing since the invention of toast,"...







    Shouldn't that be "The greatest thing since sliced bread"?



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliced_bread



    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_gr...e_sliced_bread
  • Reply 9 of 80
    Let's just say they get past it's still in beta, how are hey going to prove damages?



    "It took longer to get to Sana Cruz so we wasted gas."



    "I paid too much for my guitar!"
  • Reply 10 of 80
    Gee, I bought something last month, I didn't like it, so I returned it. Go slip on a banana peel in a supermarket and sue them. What a J****!
  • Reply 11 of 80
    When someone buys a 4s they are undoubtedly aware of Siri and it may have been part of the decision to make that purchase and therefore has a value in their own mind attached to the total cost.

    If Siri has not lived up to expectations, it could therefore been seen that the purchase is no longer as valuable to the buyer.

    The buyer then takes a view as to whether they wish to return the product free of charge and get a refund - Apple are happy to give a refund within what most would consider to be a reasonable period.



    So is it reasonable to suggest that being aware of this a group of dissatisfied consumers were just unable to make their minds up within this period and needed longer to make this decision.



    Given that it is not an inconsiderable financial commitment to purchase the 4s either on contract or off, you might think that anyone with even a smallest amount of common sense would take the time over the return period to determine whether their inability to use this service satisfactorily and return the product within that timescale.



    On the other-hand you might just think this is a bunch of greedy bastards being led into this by a 'professional' greedy ambulance chasing chances looking to make a fast buck rather than earn an honest living.



    What a waste of everyones time clogging up the legal system but at least it gives us a chance to laugh at those who would rather sponge off of anybody else rather than getting on with their life.



    F*** em, F*** the F***ing lot of em!
  • Reply 12 of 80
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    If when it's out of beta stage that doesn't mean that every thing every person says will be comprehendible. It's not reading your mind.



    Think about the text-based comments we get on this forum. I'm not talking about voice recognition software or a server trying to parse your meaning, I'm talking another human being typing words that are read by another human being. Yet way too often their meaning is unclear or batshit crazy. If that's happening on an internet forum what chance does Siri have in understanding everyone, every time?
  • Reply 13 of 80
    Seriously, David Jones and co should live where commercials aren't 30 seconds long and instead, sitting down watching ads between TV shows (for example) where the steps not shortened to show how those actors really use Siri to achieve those particular results. See how they like sitting 2 hours to finish a 20 minutes sitcoms when all ads have to be as in real life, eh! I imagine it take longer for him since clearly he is clueless of how the world works. Or the advertising works I should say.
  • Reply 14 of 80
    IT'S IN F******G BETA YOU MORONS!



    Case dismissed. These class-action @$$hats need to get a life.
  • Reply 15 of 80
    zozmanzozman Posts: 393member
    The guy is a fuck chop, natural selection will take him from this earth soon...





    People don't have common sense anymore.
  • Reply 16 of 80
    He's also suing McDonald's for making the McRib appear more delicious than the lump of BBQ flavored soylent brown they actually serve.
  • Reply 17 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by alienzed View Post


    Just bring the damn phone back for a refund. God.



    The guy is just bitter because Siri wouldn't call him 'rock god' from now on.
  • Reply 18 of 80
    lightknightlightknight Posts: 2,312member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    "Your honor, it's a beta."



    *BANG* "Case dismissed. Pay Apple's court costs, you idiots."



    And so it was, the first class action lawsuit in history where everyone involved received a BILL for $3.45.



    My Mom and Pop are not "Tallest Skill"-savvy. They basically think beta is like "betacam" or a nice greek letter. When they see huge advertisement saying "hey, Siri is super cool, it is magical, and it's only on the iPhone 4S", they don't understand it as "Hey, Siri is a test product that may or may not work". Actually, nobody would buy it if it was advertised as such.



    Disclaimer: I skipped on the 4S, waiting for next generation (the "new iPhone" I guess? or maybe iPhone "Galaxy", or iPhone 777, who the hell knows )



    My point: APPLE DOES MASS CONSUMER PRODUCTS. Their ads are not supposed be understandable only by geeks like you and I, but also by completely useless (IT-wise) people like my beloved mommy, my dear pop, my sisters who haven't yet found how to operate Facetime (yeah... I know... can't help it), my artist friends who haven't ever updated their macs because the machine talks to them in windows they don't understand, so they click "cancel"... This is, really,the real world.



    So, "you idiots" is Apple's consumers, for 90% of their sales... I hope my point is clear?
  • Reply 19 of 80
    lightknightlightknight Posts: 2,312member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    He's also suing McDonald's for making the McRib appear more delicious than the lump of BBQ flavored soylent brown they actually serve.



    Well, then I'm going in with him... McDonald's (and Burger King, etc) have been falsely representing their products for years. Worse is, anytime I fall for it, I swear I won't ever, and once in a while I still do it again. I hate myself when that happens



    http://www.alphaila.com/articles/fai...ng-vs-reality/



    Note the reference to the "Apple unboxing experience". Someone knows what he's talking about there
  • Reply 20 of 80
    For complex cutting edge tech like Siri there is no amount of in-house lab testing that can simulate the millions of different real world scenarios Siri will encounter during the post marketing experience. That's why this stuff is released as a beta because it's still in dev. And to prevent clas-action trigger happy idiots from stopping progress for the rest of us.
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