Former Apple Engineer Allegedly Leaked Apple Watch Trade Secrets To Oppo

Apple Watch illustration (photo; x @NovaPovNP)

JAKARTA The drama between Apple and Oppo is getting hotter. A former Apple Watch engineer named Chen Shi was accused of stealing the trading secrets of the Cupertino company and leaking it to Chinese electronics giant Oppo.

In a recent court document filed with the US District Court in Northern California, Apple revealed new details about the case. This document, although partly censored for containing trade secrets, shows that Chen prepared an internal presentation for Oppo which allegedly contained Apple's confidential sensor information.

Apple accused Chen of making a presentation titled Oppo Talk on August 1, 2025, which was promoted with a striking heading: Former Apple Technical Director Reveals: Apple's Sensor Hardware Development Philosophy and Methodology. In the presentation, Chen allegedly used 63 confidential files that he downloaded over the past weeks working at Apple.

Oppo strongly denied the allegations and insisted on not finding evidence of data theft by Chen during his tenure at subsidiary Inno Peak Technology. However, Apple assessed Oppo's attitude of being "uncooperative" in legal proceedings, including failing to submit the requested documents and forensic reports. Apple also accused Chen of removing files from Oppo servers after the lawsuit was filed, which could mean important evidence had been deleted.

Apple is now asking the court to ban Chen from spreading further information, stopping Oppo from developing products that use Apple technology, and eliminating employees involved from competitive projects.

Oppo rejected the request, claiming Chen's presentation only discussed general engineering principles, not Apple's specific technology. The company also confirmed it had carried out a thorough search of the internal system and found no confidential files.

Meanwhile, Chen, who was willing to undergo a legal examination (deposition), asked for a delay for health reasons. He admitted that he had just been diagnosed with medical conditions that could worsen if he underwent a long and stressful legal process.

The court gave Oppo a deadline until October 31 to submit all documents requested by Apple. If the number of documents is large, Oppo must send it in stages starting October 28.

This case has not resulted in a legal decision, but is a big test for Apple and Oppo's relationship as well as opening up a new chapter in the competition of the global technology industry, where every bit of sensor data could be worth billions of dollars.