Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices. The proposed settlement filed Tuesday would resolve a lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade. If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of last year could file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device,

Apple on Monday charged into the artificial intelligence craze with a new iPhone lineup that marks the company's latest attempt to latch on a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon. The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with a special chip needed to power an AI suite that Apple is hoping will reverse a recent slump sales. Among other things, Apple's AI features are designed to turn its often-blundering virtual assistant Siri into a smarter and more versatile sidekick. But the changes won't be available when the new iPhones hit the store September 20. Instead, they will come out in December as part of a free software update.

Apple jumped into the race to bring generative artificial intelligence to the masses during its World Wide Developers Conference Monday that spotlighted an onslaught of features designed to soup up the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Even as it tried to put its own stamp on the hottest area of technology, Apple tacitly acknowledged it needed help to catch up with companies like Microsoft and Google, who have emerged as the early leaders in the AI field. Apple is leaning on ChatGPT, made by the San Francisco startup OpenAI, to help make its often-bumbling virtual assistant Siri smarter and more helpful.