Apple Sues Former Engineer Over Alleged Theft of Confidential Vision Pro Files
Apple has filed a lawsuit against former senior engineer Di Liu, accusing him of stealing sensitive company files before joining Snap, the parent company of Snapchat and a competitor in the augmented reality (AR) hardware space. The lawsuit was filed in California on June 24, 2025.
Liu, who worked at Apple from 2017 to 2024, served as a system product design engineer on Apple’s Vision Pro headset—a flagship device in its spatial computing lineup. According to Apple, in the days leading up to his resignation, Liu downloaded thousands of confidential documents to his personal cloud storage while still using his company-issued laptop and credentials.
The company claims the stolen files included hardware design schematics, technology architecture, project codenames, and supply chain details—all central to Apple’s Vision Pro initiative. Crucially, Liu did not inform Apple during his exit process that he was joining Snap, which also develops AR devices, including Spectacles.
Because of this omission, Liu retained his system access for two weeks after resigning. Apple alleges that during this period, he used his still-active credentials to exfiltrate files from Apple’s secure systems.
In its legal filing, Apple described Liu’s actions as “deceitful and damaging,” pointing to forensic reviews of his laptop that showed large-scale data transfers. The company also highlighted the overlap between Liu’s work on Vision Pro and Snap’s AR products, implying that Liu may apply Apple’s proprietary knowledge in his new role as a product design engineer at Snap.
Though Snap is not named as a defendant, Apple subtly frames the company within the narrative of competitive threat due to the direct product similarities.
This lawsuit continues Apple’s broader legal strategy to vigorously protect its intellectual property. In 2022, Apple settled with former employee Simon Lancaster, accused of leaking information to a journalist. In 2024, it filed a suit against Andrew Aude over alleged leaks—later dropped after he apologized.
The case underscores Apple’s ongoing concerns about employee data breaches, especially as it accelerates efforts in next-generation computing platforms like mixed and augmented reality.
