So you are saying nvidia, a multibillion dollar company, didnt know they would have legal trouble until just today? Lol, ok buddy, maybe you should apply for a marketing position.
What does it even mean to be misled. If you dont watch any reviews how would you freaking know how the 16gb version performs? If you dont know how the 16gb version performs how and why would you assume it performs similar to the 12gb? And what is similar even mean if you have no idea how either of them perform?
Im sorry but if you walk into a shop and randomly buy a gpu based on the name, nvidia misleading you should be the least of your concerns.
What happens when some less informed buyers view 4080(16) reviews and then mistakenly run off to their local stores to pick up a 4080(12) prebuilt. Unfortunately not everyone is well-informed with manipulating complex SKU-disparities or the technical know-how to fully recognise what they're buying into. Hence there are consumer regulations in place to keep buyers protected to some degree. Likewise if it didn't require extensive reading (reviews) and some tech-know-how familiarity even I would have been misled with DLS 3.0 performance charts. Thanks to the TPU fam (and others), i can now make a more informed decision by giving DLS-3 a boot in the teeth and focus in areas where raw performance and relative latencies matter. Again, unfortunately for the less informed, those very same charts will be a hoodwinked deciding factor in determining where their hard earned cash is spent.
And this "multibillion dollar company" is no stranger to "class action lawsuits". Big Daddy global brutes naturally serving their busienss interests - it happens, nothing surprising... only it should be met with consumer/reviewer/newsflash criticism to keep damages/consumer manipulation/market turbulence at a minimum.
Also lets not forget the BIG elephant in the room.... 4080-16 with an exaggeratedly embellished asking price of
"$1200". Thats right the XX80 horizon is now set at
twelve hundred dollars. No doubt, they had to justify the XX80-wedge with a massive leap in MSRP in some way, shape or form....
"ah ha! throw the fools a 2-piece 4080 designation with the lesser part for $300 less and we'll be smooth sailing". Even $900 for a lacklustre entry level 80-part is absurd - no thanks!! NVIDIA will make money regardless... so business as usual for them but broader consumer expectations and impending upgrades have been shot 6 feet under so lets not be surprised at the elevated level of criticism.