Apple Claims An Ex-employee Stole Apple Watch Trade Secrets For Oppo

Apple is going aft different 1 of its erstwhile labor for allegedly sharing waste and acquisition secrets pinch a caller employer. Apple's lawsuit listed Chen Shi, a erstwhile worker who worked connected nan Apple Watch team, on pinch Oppo, arsenic defendants, claiming they "conspired to bargain Apple’s waste and acquisition secrets."

According to nan lawsuit, Shi worked arsenic a Sensor System Architect for nan Apple Watch from January 2020 to June 2025, but was seeking employment pinch Oppo arsenic early arsenic April 2025. Apple claimed that its erstwhile worker didn't disclose that he was leaving to subordinate Oppo and alternatively said he was going backmost to China to look aft his aged parents and didn't person immoderate plans to find a caller job. However, nan suit said that Shi "set up and attended dozens of one-on-one meetings" pinch Apple Watch squad members to study astir their activity connected "optical sensors, somesthesia sensors, and ECG sensors."

In nan lawsuit, Shi allegedly downloaded 63 files from 1 of Apple's protected folders and transferred nan worldly to a USB thrust earlier searching nan net for "how to swipe retired [a] macbook" and "can personification spot if I’ve opened a record connected a shared drive?” Along pinch these claims, Apple said successful nan suit that Shi sent a connection to his early Oppo employers that he would "collect arsenic overmuch accusation arsenic possible" astir Apple's health-sensing technologies.

Oppo has since provided a connection to MacRumors astir Apple's lawsuit, claiming that it has "found nary grounds establishing immoderate relationship betwixt these allegations and nan employee's behaviour during his employment astatine OPPO." The institution connection besides said that OPPO has not "misappropriated Apple's waste and acquisition secrets."

It's not nan first clip that Apple has taken ineligible action against 1 of its erstwhile employees. Earlier this summer, nan institution sued a creation engineer, alleging that he stole waste and acquisition secrets astir nan Vision Pro and shared them pinch his caller employer, Snap.