Apple ex-employee who joined OPPO faces legal action for…

Apple says Dr Chen Shi, one of its former employees, gave away Apple Watch tech secrets to her new employer, OPPO.

The intellectual property surrounding the Apple Watch over the last few years has been controversial. First, it was the lawsuit with Masimo wherein Apple was ordered to stop shipping the SpO2 feature on the Apple Watch in the US (redesigned version now back in the US). Now, the Apple Watch intellectual property has again been in the headlines. However, this time, Apple itself has filed a lawsuit against one of its former employees, Chen Shi, who now works for OPPO.

Apple alleges that its tech secrets about the Apple Watch were handed over. (REUTERS)

By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

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Apple, in its lawsuit as spotted by MacRumors, alleges that Chen Shi, also referred to as Dr Shi in the official complaint, engaged in trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract, and claims that she conspired to steal Apple’s trade secrets relating to the Apple Watch and to disclose them to her new employers, OPPO and InnoPeak.

What did Dr Chen Shi do at Apple?

According to Apple, Dr Shi worked as a sensor system architect on the Apple Watch team between January 2020 and June 2025. Apple says that during this period, the company entrusted her with valuable trade secret information about the Apple Watch, including details about its design and development documentation, internal specifications, and the future product roadmap.

Ultimately, in April 2025, Dr Shi looked for employment with OPPO and was recruited. By June 2025, Dr Shi had signed her offer letter to join OPPO, with her last date at Apple set as 27 June 2025. However, Dr Shi did not disclose to Apple that her new employer would be OPPO, instead telling the company that she was returning to China to help her elderly parents.

Apple also alleges that Dr Shi copied sensitive Apple internal documents onto a USB drive, specifically three days prior to leaving Apple. She allegedly downloaded 63 documents from a protected folder and copied them onto a USB drive. Later, she also searched the internet for how to wipe a MacBook and made another query: “Can somebody see if I’ve opened a file on a shared drive?”

OPPO denies claims

“We are aware of the recent lawsuit filed by Apple in California and have carefully reviewed the allegations in Apple's complaint. We have found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee's conduct during his employment at OPPO,” the company was quoted as saying by MacRumors.

OPPO added, “OPPO respects the trade secrets of all companies, including Apple, and OPPO has not misappropriated Apple's trade secrets. OPPO will actively cooperate with the legal process, and we are confident that fair judicial proceedings will clarify the facts.”

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