My swift student challenge submission is an iPad app built in Xcode and I'm planning on selecting the Xcode 26 option for testing in the dropdown provided in the application. Just have to confirm that the run destination for the playground in Xcode will be an iPad simulator right? Recently I have seen many participants post their submission screenshot for iPhone renders so just wanted to confirm the run destination. Thank you👾

Hi, I have a question regarding the Swift Student Challenge submission requirements. I’m planning to use the glassEffect API introduced in iOS 26 and build my .swiftpm app to support iOS 26 only. Is it acceptable to submit a project that runs exclusively on iOS 26? Currently, I am developing and building the project in Xcode. However, it seems that the current Swift Playgrounds app does not provide a preview or runtime environment for iOS 26 yet. I would like to confirm whether this could cause any issues during the review process, especially if reviewers are using Swift Playgrounds for evaluation. Thank you for your clarification.

Hello! Because the compilers used by different versions of Xcode 26 may be different, and I find that my app may not be able to ensure that all versions of Xcode 26 are successfully compiled. For example, my app can run on Xcode26.3 but will report an error at 26.4 (I have fixed it now). So I want to confirm which version of Xcode the jury uses to run my app, whether it is a known version or the latest version in the future. Thanks!

Hello. I'm building my Swift Student Challenge Project. But I noticed that the FoundationModels Framework isn't supported in Swift Playgrounds. My app uses ARKit, so it definitely should be tested on real device. So, is it possible to somehow implement a foundation models to my Swift Playgrounds app? Or is it possible to ask judges to test the app on real device launching it from xcode. Your answer is really important for because the functionality of my app directly depends on Foundation Models availability. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I’m currently developing my submission for the Swift Student Challenge. My app idea heavily relies on CLLocationManager to track the user's movement (recording coordinates, altitude, and calculating distances) to provide a localized, real-world experience. I have a few questions regarding how this will be evaluated during the judging process: Testing Environment: Since the rules mention that Xcode app playgrounds are run in the Simulator, but submissions optimized for iPad are run on real devices, will the judges physically test an app that requires real-world walking/movement? Location Permissions: Will the judges accept the iOS location permission prompts to experience the app, or should I build a "Simulation Mode" with mock GPS data to ensure they can evaluate the core logic without leaving their desk? Judging Criteria: Does a location-dependent app fit well within the "Technical Accomplishment" and "Creativity" criteria, or is it too risky if the judges cannot test the physical movement aspect easily?

I am building my app for iPhone users generally, and realized that maybe I should have had the iPad in mind since I read somewhere that the submissions will be judged on iPad. Should I be testing and tweaking on iPad now or can it be somehow ran on iPhone?

Hi, I was wondering if there’s a way to ensure my submission is tested on an iPad simulator in Xcode as some UI elements were designed with a large display in mind ?

I have a question about the full-time employment eligibility requirement for the Swift Student Challenge 2026. The rules state that applicants cannot be "employed full time as a developer" at the time of submission. My situation is a bit nuanced: I work as a software engineer at a company, but my contract explicitly distinguishes between summer and school year employment. During the summer I work full-time, but during the school year my hours are part-time and flexible, and therefore not a fixed schedule. Since the submission deadline is February 28th, I would be submitting during the school year, at which point I am not working full-time. My question: Does the eligibility rule apply strictly to full-time hours at the time of submission, or does being employed in a developer role at all (even part-time during the school year) disqualify me?

Announcing the Swift Student Challenge 2026 Every year, Apple’s Swift Student Challenge celebrates the creativity and ingenuity of student developers from around the world, inviting them to use Swift and Xcode to solve real-world problems in their own communities and beyond. Learn more → https://developer.apple.com/swift-student-challenge/ Submissions for the 2026 challenge will open February 6 for three weeks, and students can prepare with new Develop in Swift tutorials and Meet with Apple code-along sessions. The Apple Developer team is here is to help you along the way - from idea to app, post your questions at any stage of your development here in this forum board or be sure to add the Swift Student Challenge tag to your technology-specific forum question. Your designs. Your apps. Your moment.

Can I use agentic coding entirely for my app development?

Hi everyone, I have a question about showcasing my Swift Student Challenge submission. My app includes layouts optimized for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and I’d like to highlight that it works well across all three device sizes. Would it be acceptable to upload one combined screenshot that shows the same screen displayed on iPhone, iPad, and Mac side-by-side, to demonstrate the responsive design? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi everyone, I have two questions that I hope someone from the community (or Apple team) could help clarify: Use of real Apple Executives in a creative scene In a short introductory scene of my app playground, I included the names and emojis representing Apple executives in a respectful and creative way. There are: No official logos No copyrighted assets No branding elements It is purely fictional and made for storytelling purposes. Would this be acceptable under the submission guidelines, or should all characters be entirely unrelated to real individuals? Submission file concern After submitting my application, I realized I may have accidentally uploaded the wrong ZIP file (I mean I'm not sure tbh). Is there any way to review the exact file that was submitted? Would it be possible to withdraw and resubmit again? If so, would that count as multiple submissions (since only one submission is allowed)? I’d really appreciate any clarification from those who may have experienced something similar or from the Apple team. Many thanks!

Can I use external Swift Package Dependencies for the challenge, or will my app just not run as the testing environment is offline? I have a couple dependencies which are crucial to the running of my submission

I was working on my challenge submission but when I created a iOS swift playground through Xcode, the playground generated get's defaulted to iOS 18, and I can't use latest features like the new glass design seemlessely without using #if available macro's everywhere so I manually changed iOS 18.0 to iOS 26.0 in the package.swift file. So far there have been no problems but as the package.swift file recommends not to change it manually so am I in any problem can someone give me advice of whether it's a legit option ??

I'm working on my Swift Student Challenge 2026 submission and have a question about the evaluation environment. My app targets iOS 26 (I had to configure this on the Package.swift file directly) and uses the Speech framework for on-device speech recognition. I've selected Swift Playgrounds as my evaluation path (rather than Xcode) with the intention of having it run on a physical iPad rather than Simulator. My question: What version of iPadOS will the evaluation iPads be running? The reason I ask is practical, as my app's minimum deployment target is iOS 26. If the evaluation device is running an earlier version of iPadOS, the app won't launch at all. I've searched the eligibility and terms pages but couldn't find this documented anywhere.

Is anybody using Airbnb's Lottie-ios dependency inside your swift student challenge project? If yes can u please discuss about how did u approach using it ? Actually I wanted to use it so I downloaded the official repo maintained by Airbnb from GitHub but the package had too large size so I deleted many part's leaving just src files and some other files as it is and even modified it's package.swift file and finally deleted the .git folder which had been taking way too much space. And now I have been using it as local dependency which I can include it in my .zip submission ( as that's the rule I guess to include the packages our project depends on in our .zip submission file ). So far there have been no problems, I wanna know am I doing anything wrong here? Can someone advise me ?

Hello I was building my submission for contest and I noticed that my app built and ran fine on Xcode but didn't even build on swift playground, so should I be concerned about this, and where do the judges finally run and test our submitted playground is it in swift playground app or Xcode ??

Hello!! I wasn't able to find a feedback form anywhere so I'm hoping this could reach the team that made the submission form for the challenge. I was really hoping the form could save our progress. Working on the longer response questions does take time, and it's incredibly frustrating when the site tends to reload, losing all progress and causing me to copy everything over again.

Recently, applications for the Swift Student Challenge opened up. I noticed, that when selected "where to run your app" (mine was developed in Xcode 26), and you select Xcode26, there is a note underneath it that basically says all Xcode projects will be run on the simulator. What if my project is dependent on AR? How would I let the judges test my submission?

I am currently developing my submission for the Swift Student Challenge 2026. My project focuses on financial literacy for children ("Canteen Hero"), and I want to ensure it runs flawlessly during the judging process. I have two specific questions regarding the environment: Which iOS/iPadOS version do judges typically use for testing? Should I assume they will be using the latest stable release (e.g., iOS 19/iPadOS 19) or a specific beta version? Device Compatibility: Is it a requirement to design the app for all previous iOS versions (backward compatibility), or is it acceptable to target only the latest APIs (iOS 18/19+) to utilize modern features like SwiftData and the latest SwiftUI animations? Thank you for your guidance!