Apple sues ex-employee: Apple watch business secrets given to Oppo?

Again trouble due to the glow of Apple: After several lawsuits due to leaks to journalists, the iPhone manufacturer is now prosecuting an ex-employee who is said to have supposedly betray internal information about the Apple Watch to Chinese competitor Oppo. According to one Macrumors report the legal dispute was submitted on Friday in front of the United States District Court for the northern district of California (Case No. 5: 25-CV-7105). Chen S. therefore worked as a “highly paid sensor system architect” on the sensors of the computer clock. He stayed in Cupertino from January 2020 to June 2025, but then went to Oppo in China. S. had access to “valuable business secret”, including Apple watch design, developer documents, internal specifications and a product-road map, according to Apple.

Supposedly data and searched for extinguishing tips

According to the lawsuit, which is directed against S. Personal, Oppo and the Innopeak Technology company, the employee is said to have stated that he had to take care of his old parents in his former home in China. Then, without information to the group, he accepted the new position at Oppo. Before his departure, S. is said to have collected “sensitive Apple watch documents” and had “dozens of” individual meetings with the technical Apple watch team in order to “get to know” current projects in the field of research and development. Three days before his end of work, S. then downloaded 63 files from Apple’s protected box folder and transferred it to a USB device.

According to Apple, he is said to have been looking for how he could extinguish his MacBook. He also wanted to find out if it is possible that someone could see if they opened a file on a shared drive. S. is also said to have written to his new Oppo bosses that he will collect “as much information as possible” in order to share them with them. It was particularly about heart rate sensors. At Oppo, S. is now leading the development team for new sensors.

Oppo sees “no evidence”, wants to work in the process

Apple would like to use the lawsuit that neither Oppo nor S. may use or betray the Apple business secrets. In addition, gathering is required by S., compensation, penalty payments and legal fees. Oppo stated to Macrumors that the lawsuit in California was aware of and “carefully studied” the allegations. There was “no evidence that provides a connection between these allegations and the behavior of the employee during his employment at Oppo”.

Oppo respect business secrets “of all companies, including those of Apple”. Business secrets were not used abusive and “actively cooperate with this legal procedure” and “correct the facts”. Oppo was founded almost 20 years ago and is based in Shenzhen. Smartphones have been offered the “Find” model series since 2011.