Recently, Apple filed a formal complaint in federal court against Oppo, alleging that the latter had stolen trade secrets from the company. The accusations of corporate espionage weren’t just baseless, either: as Apple provided damning evidence of Oppo’s skulduggery regarding the stolen technologies.
Oppo has responded with a statement sent our way and, as expected, claimed that Apple’s claims are bogus. The Chinese tech giant has also said that the ex-Apple employee accused of stealing the technologies — Chen Shi — is innocent.
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. 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.
— Oppo, August 2025
In its complaint, Apple had said that Shi had accessed confidential information late at night, three days before he would go on to leave the company. Additionally, Shi had transferred these files to a USB drive one day before his departure from the company.
Till now, this seems like it could be going anywhere. Apple has claimed wrongdoing, but Shi could be innocent as well, right? No, no, I don’t think so.
Chen Shi stole health-tracking technology for an Apple Watch competitor. | Image credit — PhoneArena
See, Apple actually provided a lot of evidence against Shi and Oppo. It’s not just the company’s word that people are going to have to take here: Apple has receipts.
First, it was revealed that Chen Shi told his colleagues at Apple that he was going back to China to attend to his aging parents. That’s not true: Shi simply moved to an Oppo location in the U.S. But there’s more too.
Apple also provided the court with evidence that Shi had, in fact, been in contact with Oppo’s vice president of health. One message, sent by Shi in Chinese, says it all.
[I’ve been] reviewing various internal materials and doing a lot of 1:1 meetings in an effort to collect as much information as possible — will share with you all later.
And we’re still not done. Oppo’s vice president of health responded to Shi’s message positively, with an “alright” and an emoji. Though minimal, the intent of this response is not mistaken: at least this one higher up at Oppo was aware of what Shi was up to.
Do you think Oppo is telling the truth here?
Yes, I believe Oppo
24.56%
Obviously not
59.65%
I'm unsure
15.79%
To me, it sounds like Oppo just got caught with its hand in the cookie jar. The case will likely lead to many more juicy bits of information coming out over the next few months, and is a clear example of just how cutthroat the corporate world can be.
Unlimited plans for $15/mo at Mint!
$180
$360
$180 off (50%)
Mint Mobile is also offering an incredible bargain for those seeking unlimited data! The carrier's latest deal lets you grab any unlimited plan for just $15/mo, bringing the 12-month Unlimited plan to $180 instead of $360.
Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: