(Image credit: Future)

Apple is set to pay out a collective US$250m (approx. £184m / €213m / AU$345m) to some iPhone users. The settlement is designed to settle a class action lawsuit, which accused the company of misleading people about its new artificial intelligence features.

That surrounds the brand's Apple Intelligence offering, which was first unveiled at WWDC 2024 in June of that year. That included the promise of an enhanced, AI-powered Siri, some thirteen years after it was first showcased.

The trouble is, that's still not here. Recent reports from trusted industry insiders suggest that the feature will be launched at WWDC this summer, some two years after it was first unveiled.

According to a report from the BBC, Apple did not admit any wrongdoing when agreeing the settlement deal, which will pay between US$25 (approx. £18 / €21 / AU$34.50) and US$95 (approx. £70 / €80 / AU$131) to users. The settlement specifically appeases those in the USA who bought an iPhone 15 and an iPhone 16 between June 2024 and March 2025.

That's only a very small pool in the grand scheme of things, but it represents the demographic who filed the action in this case. Still, it's not hard to see why the brand would want to put this to bed quickly.

2026 looks set to be a landmark year for the brand, with long-term CEO, Tim Cook, moving into a new role and opening the door for fresh blood in the form of John Ternus. In the same year, the brand looks set to launch its first ever foldable phone, expected to be called the iPhone Ultra.

That's said to be part of a new wave of 'Ultra' products, including a MacBook Ultra and AirPods Ultra. And that's before we get to 2027, where the 20th anniversary of the iPhone looks set to bring about a revised design.