Apple To Pay $95 Million To Settle Privacy Lawsuit, Other Products Shine And Sink

The new year came with some good news for Apple users.

The one that garnered the most interest was Apple’s move to offer users a free weekend of Apple TV+ (from January 3-5, 2025).

This deal is available worldwide and open to all users and can be used across any device. All one needs is an Apple ID and the Apple TV+ application.

This exclusive New Year treat provides users with the opportunity to watch TV shows and movies such as Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Severance, Fly Me to the Moon, and more.

While this move has thrilled Apple users, the company is also addressing another concern that has irked its users over a long span of time.

$95 Million Privacy Settlement

As per a proposed settlement filed on December 31, 2024 (Tuesday) in a federal court in Oakland, California, Apple has agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a lawsuit that alleges Apple’s Siri violated users’ privacy.

Pending approval by US District Judge Jeffrey White, the settlement would conclude a 5-year-old proposed class-action lawsuit that included allegations against Apple that its voice-activated assistant was recording conversations and forwarding such recordings to third parties including advertisers.

As per the lawsuit, the assistant’s services were activated even when a user didn’t explicitly use the trigger word (Hey, Siri.), where sometimes they would say something that sounded like the magic phrase.

As such, some users reported seeing ads for products such as Air Jordans and restaurants such as Olive Garden soon after they were mentioned in conversations with other people.

One plaintiff also said he got ads for surgical treatment after a (what he thought was private) discussion with his doctor.

The class period of the lawsuit runs from Siri’s incorporation, September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024.

This means that tens of millions of class members could receive $20 per Siri-enabled device, spanning iPhones and Apple watches. Yet, estimates in court documents show that only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims.

While Apple denied any wrongdoing in its settlement proposal, it didn’t provide a comment on the matter.

The lawyers of the plaintiffs also did not provide comments. However, it’s believed they may request up to $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million for expenses from the settlement fund.

iPhone Discounts In China

To add to Apple’s misery, the company is undergoing a crisis in the largest smartphone market by both volume and value—China.

For the fourth month, the shipment of foreign-made smartphones in the Chinese market was down, falling by 47.4% in November as compared to the previous year. This includes Apple among other brands and follows October’s 44.25% year-on-year drop.


Apple’s biggest challenges come in the form of a slowing economy in China, an unenthusiastic response to its Apple Intelligence, and stiff competition from Huawei.

As such, Apple resorted to offering several iPhone models at discounts to customers in China, spread across a four-day promotion from January 4 to 7, 2025, and will be available using specific payment methods.

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will offer a discount of 500 yuan ($68.50) and the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will come with a 400 yuan ($54.66) discount.

Apple Vision Pro

Yet, discounted products are better than discontinued products, which was unfortunately the fate of one of Apple’s once most anticipated devices—the Apple Vision Pro.

Apple’s coveted mixed reality headset is believed to be out of production after witnessing weak demand from customers.

In fact, many customers chose to return the product “after experiencing headaches, vision issues, neck pain, and motion sickness” as per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Furthermore, customers who kept the device aren’t using it as much as Apple expected.

This, along with a “super-high” price tag and a lack of effective games and applications resulted in a dwindling demand for the device.

However, this move doesn’t come as a surprise, considering the company revealed plans to wind up manufacturing, while some of its suppliers stopped producing components as early as May 2024.

iPhone Driver's License

On the bright side, Apple is bringing users of 7 new states in the US the option of adding their driver's license or state ID to its Wallet app.

This will provide them with a convenient way of displaying proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, as well as some other applications.

In addition to the current states, which include Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, Hawaii, California, Iowa, and New Mexico, Apple plans to bring the feature to Montana, West Virginia, Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah in the near future.

Participating airports include Los Angeles International (LAX), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Denver International Airport (DEN), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and others.

What do you think about the latest Apple developments, discounts, and discontinuations? Do you think Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market is under threat?

Let us know in the comments below!