Monday, March 12, 2012, 04:15 pm

Class action lawsuit claims Siri doesn't work as advertised

By Mikey Campbell

A New York man is suing Apple over falsely advertising its Siri voice assistant, alleging that the company's ads convey a "misleading and deceptive message" about the iPhone 4S-only service.

The suit filed on Monday by Frank M. Fazio, who is seeking damages as an individual and on behalf of similarly vexed iPhone 4S users, claims that Siri is far less responsive and accurate than Apple's commercials depict, reports the Wall Street Journal

From the lawsuit filed in federal court in California:

[I]n 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 assistance of the iPhone 4S’s Siri feature, a represented functionality contrary to the actual operating results and performance of Siri.

Fazio claims that the real-world performance of Apple's voice-recognition service is spotty at best, and unusable at worst. He gives the example of using the virtual assistant as a navigational aid, saying that when asked for directions to a certain location, "Siri either did not understand what Plaintiff was asking, or, after a very long wait time, responded with the wrong answer.”

Going further, the law firm representing Fazio and the class, Robbins Geller, said that Siri is “at best, a work-in-progress.”


Although Apple failed to respond to questions regarding the suit, the company's website clearly notes that Siri is a beta product, meaning that it is not finalized and polished.

The suit also does not make mention of the fact that in its latest commercial focusing on Siri, Apple issues a disclaimer stating that the service's sequences were shortened for advertising purposes.

Full copy of the filed complaint: