This is a shocking lawsuit that involves two big names in the smart wearable industry. Apple has accused one of its former engineers of stealing confidential sensor technology and sharing it with rival wearable manufacturer Oppo. The accusation, which has led the Cupertino-based technology giant to file a lawsuit against the ex-engineer, might pull Oppo and its sister brands into trouble if the ruling finds the accusations to be true.
The filing, which is lodged with the Northern District of California, alleges that the ex-engineer from the Apple Watch division, Chen Shi, collected sensitive trade secrets just before leaving his position to join Oppo’s US research subsidiary, InnoPeak Technology.
Apple files lawsuit against Oppo engineer
According to Apple’s court filing, which was sourced by Macrumors.com, Shi served as a Sensor System Architect from 2020 to 2025. He spent his final weeks with the company downloading and copying 63 confidential files to a USB drive. The stolen information reportedly included proprietary health technologies for the Apple Watch, such as photoplethysmography (PPG), electrocardiogram (ECG) features, and temperature sensing methods.
The files also contained crucial chip engineering documents and future product roadmaps. This kind of data, if used by Oppo, gives the company free homework to avoid years of costly research and development. It also allows Oppo to plan other products in advance to counter Apple’s offering.
Apple provides evidence too
Apple, however, did not just make claims. As part of the supporting evidence, Apple provided internal messages where Shi told an Oppo executive he was “collecting as much information as possible” from Apple to share later, to which Oppo’s executive replied ‘OK’. The lawsuit also talks about Shi’s alleged attempts to cover his tracks, including online searches for ‘how to wipe a MacBook’ and ‘how to avoid detection on a shared drive’.
He is also accused of lying to colleagues about his departure, claiming he was leaving to care for elderly parents.
The lawsuit highlights the role of health sensors in Apple’s wearable strategy. Apple has spent years improving the hardware and algorithms that provide industry-leading wrist-based health readings. The company’s legal action aims to prevent Oppo from gaining an unfair advantage from this stolen intellectual property.
Oppo, on the other hand, is yet to respond to the matter.
