If you bought one of the newer iPhones in the U.S. between June 2024 and March 2025, a few minutes this week could put money back in your pocket.
Your Daily Dad Joke
When I was growing up I wanted to be a monk...
but I never got the chants.
The phone in your pocket
I’m still carrying the iPhone 15 Pro Max I bought. It works fine. But there’s a new one out that folds in half, and I’ll admit I’ve been looking at it.
You know how that goes. The new one shows up, and the one in your hand starts to feel old even though nothing about it changed.
That’s why I wanted to pass this along before anybody, me included, buys anything.
You may have seen a headline about Apple paying $250 million to settle a lawsuit over Siri. The people who sued said Apple sold the iPhone 16 and some iPhone 15 models on the promise of a smarter, AI-powered Siri that didn’t show up. Apple denies doing anything wrong and settled anyway.
If you’ve been subscribed to my videos and this email, we already talked about the money Apple was going to owe you. That’s why you should subscribe for free right now.
Your first question is probably: does my phone count?
Here’s who’s in, according to the settlement details Engadget laid out. You bought a new iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model (the 16, 16e, 16 Plus, 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max) in the U.S. between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025. And you were the original buyer.
Here’s the part the headline left out. A plain iPhone 15 doesn’t count, and neither does a 15 Plus. Only the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max from that year are in. If you bought the phone used, or somebody else bought it and handed it to you, it isn’t your claim.
The payment is per phone, so if you bought three eligible phones, you file for three. Engadget puts the estimate at about $25 a phone. It can go up or down depending on how many people file, with a top of $95. And nobody gets paid until the judge gives the settlement final approval, so this is money that shows up later, not this week.
I know. Twenty-five dollars won’t change your life. But it’s your money, and it takes a few minutes.
So here’s the one thing I’d do. If your phone is on that list, open Settings, then General, then About, and copy down the serial number. Then file at SmartphoneAISettlement.com by December 21. You don’t need anybody’s help to do it, and I wouldn’t pay anybody to do it for you.
I filed mine this morning. It was easy and painless, and honestly it took me less than two minutes. You can pick to be paid by PayPal or Venmo, and a paper check is always an option.
And if you’re shopping for a new phone like I am, here’s the test I’m using on myself. The people who sued said they paid for features that hadn’t arrived yet. The phone I’ve been eyeing, the iPhone Duo, arrives in stores Friday, and Apple’s own announcement says it starts at $1,999, or $83.29 a month for 24 months. The same announcement says Apple Pencil support comes “later this year.”
So I’m pricing it on what it does the day I’d buy it. If a feature is “coming later,” I’m treating it like it isn’t coming at all. If it shows up, that’s a bonus. And $83.29 a month for two years is still about $1,999 for a phone. It just doesn’t feel like it.
Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before the holidays eat December. It’s a short form, and the deadline is easy to forget.
What’s one thing you bought for a feature that never quite showed up? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.
The phone you have is probably doing more for you than the ad for the next one says. Whatever you decide, deciding it on purpose is the good part. I’ll see you tomorrow.
— Steve
Also on the site since yesterday: what to do when a debt collector keeps calling about someone else’s debt, the myth that you can just wait out the IRS’s 10-year clock, Instacart’s $5 million settlement, which is about job applicants, not shopper pay, Damon Day’s night of DoorDash math, and a second robocall lawsuit against American Debt Protection.
A longer video from me: The Fastest Way Out of Debt Nobody Recommends. Everyone has a list of ways out of debt, and bankruptcy usually comes last, if anyone mentions it at all. I walk through each option, what it really costs you, and why the one nobody recommends is often the fastest way out.
SEE A SCAM? SAY SOMETHING. If one has landed on you or someone you love, tell me at tips@getoutofdebt.org. The ones that can warn other people may show up here. Leave out account numbers and passwords.
If any of this was new to you, somebody you know hasn’t heard it either. It’s free at yourmoneyactually.com, and I don’t sell the list. The places I actually use for my own money, and what I get out of telling you, are on one page where they’ll always be.
This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.