August 24, 2025
Apple has recently accused a former member of its Apple Watch development team of misappropriating trade secrets related to sensor technology and transferring them to the Chinese brand OPPO.
According to Apple’s lawsuit, Chen Shi, who served as an Apple Watch Sensor System Architect from January 2020 until his departure in June 2025, played a pivotal role in the design and integration of key components, including optical sensors, body temperature monitors, and advanced health-tracking features such as electrocardiogram (ECG) technology.
Apple alleges that Chen began seeking new employment opportunities as early as April 2025 and had already initiated contact with OPPO. However, when explaining his resignation, he cited “returning home to care for his elderly parents” and insisted he had no plans to join another company. In reality, Apple contends, Chen not only arranged multiple private meetings with Apple Watch team members to inquire about sensitive technical details and development progress but also downloaded 63 confidential documents from protected internal folders, later saving them onto an external USB drive.
The lawsuit further claims that Chen conducted suspicious online searches such as “how to erase data from a MacBook” and “can someone track if I open shared cloud files”, suggesting an intent to conceal his actions. Apple also asserts it has obtained evidence of Chen allegedly sending messages to OPPO stating that he would “collect as much information as possible on health sensor technologies.”
OPPO, in a statement to MacRumors, denied any wrongdoing, stressing that no evidence had been found to suggest the employee misused or transferred Apple’s proprietary information after joining the company. Nevertheless, Apple has named OPPO as a co-defendant in the case, signaling its unwillingness to accept such assurances.
This is not Apple’s first legal confrontation with a former employee over alleged intellectual property theft. Earlier this year, the company sued another former design engineer, accusing him of leaking details of Vision Pro research to his new employer, Snap, underscoring Apple’s heightened vigilance against the leakage of core technologies.
As industries such as wearables and augmented reality emerge as the next battlegrounds for tech giants, proprietary sensor technologies and advanced health-monitoring capabilities are becoming critical differentiators. Apple Watch has long distinguished itself with its precision and comprehensive health-tracking features—developments that demand years of research and substantial financial investment. For Apple, such innovations constitute some of its most valuable assets, and any suspicion of trade secret misappropriation directly threatens both product development and the broader competitive landscape.
