Apple has filed a lawsuit against Chinese smartphone maker Oppo, accusing the company of recruiting one of its former engineers to obtain sensitive information about health sensors and custom chip development. The case, filed in the Northern District of California, highlights the increasing tension between Apple and Chinese competitors in the global technology market.
Allegations Against Former Apple Engineer
The complaint names Dr. Cheng Shi, a former Apple engineer who worked at the company between January 2020 and June 2025, as the individual at the center of the dispute. Apple claims Shi had access to confidential materials related to the development of health sensors for the Apple Watch, including technical specifications for electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors and temperature-monitoring features. These technologies are central to Apple’s strategy of positioning the Apple Watch as both a consumer device and a health-tracking tool.
According to the lawsuit, Shi allegedly downloaded 63 confidential files from Apple’s internal shared drive to a USB device three days before leaving the company. The documents reportedly contained information on unreleased products and the integration of hardware and software in Apple’s sensor ecosystem. Apple also says Shi’s search history indicated that he researched how to erase traces of file access before transferring the documents.
Apple further accuses Shi of taking confidential knowledge from its silicon engineering team. Apple has invested heavily in designing its own custom processors for devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and more recently has been working on chips optimized for artificial intelligence. The company argues that this information could give Oppo and its California-based affiliate, Innopeak, a competitive advantage.
Oppo’s Role and Market Competition
After leaving Apple, Shi joined Oppo, where he now leads a U.S.-based team focused on developing sensor technologies. Apple alleges that Shi’s work at Oppo directly overlaps with the projects he was involved in at Apple, raising concerns that proprietary information has been used to accelerate Oppo’s research. The company’s Silicon Valley research center, which operates under both the Oppo and Innopeak names, is cited in the lawsuit as a key location where this work is being carried out.
Oppo is well established in Asian markets, particularly China, where it competes directly with Apple. While its smartphones do not match Apple’s iPhones in overall global sales, Oppo has eroded Apple’s market share in China alongside rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi. By 2024, Apple temporarily dropped out of the top five smartphone vendors in the country, though more recent sales figures show a recovery for the iPhone, including a return to the top sales spot in May 2025, according to Reuters.
The dispute also references Oppo’s history of producing devices that critics have described as close imitations of Apple products. In 2020, the company faced scrutiny for releasing a smartwatch that strongly resembled the Apple Watch. Apple argues that the alleged theft of trade secrets would represent a continuation of this competitive strategy, but with higher stakes because it involves proprietary chip and sensor technology.
Evidence Presented and Apple’s Legal Demands
Apple’s lawsuit includes excerpts from what it describes as Shi’s communications with Oppo leadership in the months leading up to his departure. The company claims messages retrieved from Shi’s work-issued phone indicate that he was preparing to leave Apple while simultaneously collecting internal information to share with his new employer. One message cited in the complaint allegedly shows Shi writing that he was conducting one-on-one meetings to gather as much information as possible before resigning.
The company also points to an unusual increase in Shi’s internal meetings during his final weeks at Apple. According to the filing, he scheduled 33 such meetings in the month before leaving, compared with an average of seven per month in the previous year. Apple says these meetings involved projects outside of his assigned responsibilities, suggesting that he was deliberately seeking information unrelated to his work.
Apple is asking the court to issue an injunction preventing Oppo from using any of the alleged trade secrets. In addition, the company is seeking damages and restitution in an amount to be determined at trial. Oppo has not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit.