Apple has filed a lawsuit against former engineer Di Liu, accusing him of stealing confidential information related to the design and development of the Apple Vision Pro headset. This complaint was submitted on June 24, 2025, in Santa Clara County Superior Court, suggesting that Liu misappropriated trade secrets during his last days at Apple. Liu, who served as a senior product design engineer for seven years, allegedly downloaded thousands of internal files to his personal cloud storage shortly before resigning. According to the lawsuit, he claimed that his departure was motivated by health reasons and a desire to spend more time with his family.
However, Apple contends that Liu had already accepted a job offer from Snap Inc., which is in competition with Apple in the augmented reality sector. The lawsuit asserts that he failed to inform Apple about his new position, which allowed him to retain access to internal systems that would have otherwise been revoked under company policy. Apple’s allegations reveal that during his final days, Liu purportedly accessed and copied a large volume of confidential documents from his work laptop, including product design files, supply chain strategies, and unreleased features of the Vision Pro. Forensic analysis of Liu’s company-issued device indicated that he manually selected and transferred specific folders to his personal account while also deleting files in an effort to hide the extent of his actions.
Although Snap is not named as a defendant and is not accused of wrongdoing, Apple highlights the connection between the retained materials and Liu’s new role. In response to inquiries, Snap denied any links to the lawsuit. Apple seeks a court order for Liu to return the stolen materials and allow inspections to ensure no confidential information remains, alongside pursuing unspecified financial damages for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.
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