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 ?

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!

There is a week left for end of the Swift Student Challange submissions. I've built an app which uses FoundationModels but unfortunately there is no support for it in the Swift Playground. Is there any chance it might be coming up in the following days?

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👾

Hello everyone, I’m looking for some clarity from the community regarding eligibility for the Swift Student Challenge 2026, particularly for students taking a gap year in India. I graduated from high school (Class XII, CBSE – India) in May 2025. After graduating, I chose to take a gap year to prepare for competitive entrance examinations in India, with the goal of pursuing Computer Science / Engineering. I’ll be applying to accredited universities for programs starting in mid-2026, and I’m not currently enrolled in a college. My question: The eligibility guidelines state that high school graduates must have graduated within the past 6 months and must be awaiting acceptance or have received acceptance to an accredited institution. Since the submission deadline is February 28, 2026, my graduation would be about 9 months prior, which puts me in a gray area. Has anyone here participated in, or seen others participate in, the Swift Student Challenge while taking a gap year and preparing for university entrance exams? Is there any known flexibility or precedent for students in this situation? I’ve been following the Swift Student Challenge since 2023 and would really love to participate if I’m eligible. Any insights or experiences would be greatly appreciated. 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 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?

I am preparing for Swift Student Challenge, but it seems like the iPad Playground app still not support the latest SDK. I can't use frameworks like FoundationModel, etc., directly in playground app My playground for this year would require iPad environment since it uses PencilKit, ARKit, etc., and I also want to use the latest tech + the liquid glass UI Right now, I develop the project as a normal Xcode project, and I am wondering how do I post it? As Xcode playground, it must run on macOS As Swift Playground project, the iPad version of Playground does not support latest APIs and it can't compile

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!

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 ?

I'm building an app which runs around the Foundation model framework. My expected output is generated when testing on a real device or in preview in Xcode but it throws Foundation Model error when I try running it on the simulator. I'm using a Macbook M1 air and have apple intelligence turned on and my simulator run destination is also an iPad Pro M5 (26.0). Any solution for this as this is my submission for the SSC so I need to make it work on the simulator iPad. Thank you👾

Following is an error I encounter when trying to run a foundation model function in simulator. Error Domain=FoundationModels.LanguageModelSession.GenerationError Code=-1 "(null)" UserInfo={NSMultipleUnderlyingErrorsKey=( "Error Domain=ModelManagerServices.ModelManagerError Code=1026 "(null)" UserInfo={NSMultipleUnderlyingErrorsKey=(\n)}" )} Its a swift playground I'm building in xcode and works fine in the preview and on a real device too but since it's my submission for the swift student challenge I need it to run on the simulator. I have updated my macOS to latest version of Tahoe(26.3) and Xcode is also on latest version. The simulator I run the playground is also on ios and iPadOS 26. I have set my region to US and have turned on Apple Intelligence on my mac too. Any suggestions on how to fix the issue?👾

Hello everyone, I am a participant in this year's Swift Student Challenge. My project requires the use of the front-facing camera to detect the user's body movements (supporting connection via iPhone to a Mac or other devices capable of running Xcode/Swift Playgrounds). I would like to ask if this is permitted under the competition rules? Please note that this feature functions entirely offline and does not require an internet connection.

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 ??