Apple has filed a lawsuit in Northern California against former employee Chen Shi, accusing him of stealing confidential information about Apple Watch technology before joining Chinese smartphone maker Oppo. The company alleges Shi stole trade secrets tied to the Apple Watch Series 10, a product set to play a central role in its upcoming lineup.
Trade Secret Theft
Shi worked at Apple as a Sensor System Architect from 2020 until June 2025. According to Apple, he had access to proprietary documents, design roadmaps, and technical specifications for Apple Watch health sensors. In the weeks before his resignation, Shi allegedly met with Apple engineers to gather details on research projects and downloaded 63 confidential files to his work MacBook before transferring them to a USB drive.
Court filings show Shi told Apple he was leaving to care for elderly parents in China, concealing that he had already accepted a position at Oppo. Investigators found that Shi searched online for ways to erase evidence of file downloads and to check if shared-drive activity could be tracked. Apple argues these actions were deliberate steps to cover up data transfers.
Oppo’s Role
The lawsuit claims Oppo’s leadership, including its Vice President of Health, encouraged Shi to collect Apple’s internal research. In one June 2025 message, Shi told Oppo executives he was “collecting as much information as possible” from Apple to share with them. Rather than discouraging him, an Oppo executive responded with approval.
Apple is seeking an injunction to block Shi and Oppo from using or disclosing its trade secrets. The company is also asking for restitution, damages, punitive damages, and legal fees. In its filing, Apple said allowing such behavior to go unchecked would undermine its investment in innovation and give competitors an unfair edge.
