Hey, I am looking to participate in the upcoming SSC 2026. I am confused whether I am allowed to submit an idea which is for watchOS. I know the fact that submission would be xcode project and playground correct me if I am wrong but as far as I know, we can develop prototypes for watch on playground. If anyone of you knows about this, please let me know!

Sorry if this is a dumb question. I’m still a beginner. I created an Xcode Playground app with Microphone and Speech Recognition capabilities enabled, along with a backup Info.plist. However, when running the app on Mac Catalyst, a real device, or the iOS and iPadOS simulators, it crashes right after the Speech Recognition permission popup and again after the Microphone permission popup. For extra context, the app initially worked fine in the Swift Playgrounds app, but that environment uses an outdated SDK, so it no longer supports some of the features I’ve implemented. I’m also struggling to find clear, beginner-friendly documentation that explains how AVAudioEngine works, which is making it hard to understand what’s going wrong and how to debug it.

Hi everyone, I'm currently working on a Swift Playgrounds project where I need to incorporate a Metal shader file. However, when I tried to include my shader file (PincushionShader.metal), I encountered the following error: Is it possible to use Metal shader files within Swift Playgrounds, it is really important for my swift student challenge scene? If not, are there any workarounds or recommended approaches for testing Metal shaders in a similar environment? Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

What OS will a Swift Student Challenge submission run on? I want to use iOS 26 features but the version history for Swift Playground doesn’t show it being updated past the iOS 17.5 SDK. So, can I still use features from the iOS 26 SDK?

I'm preparing my submission for the Swift Student Challenge, and I have a couple of questions regarding the development environment. Is it allowed to use Xcode to program my scene, or do I have to use Swift Playgrounds? Can I use iPadOS 18 for development? I noticed that Swift Playgrounds currently only supports up to iPadOS 17.5, but I would like to use RealityView, which is only available starting from iPadOS 18. I appreciate any clarification on this. Thanks in advance!

Hello! I’m building my Swift Student Challenge project in Swift Playgrounds, and I’ve run into an issue with app orientation. Since this is a game, the layout and interactions only work correctly in landscape, but Playgrounds doesn’t offer the usual orientation settings you’d configure in Xcode. Is there a recommended way to force a landscape-only experience in Swift Playgrounds using SwiftUI? Any workarounds or guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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.

I was wondering wether you have to create your full app as an Xcode app and then translate it into playgrounds? Because some of the submissions I have seen on YouTube are running on Xcode iPad emulators.

I’m having issues enrolling in the Apple Developer Program. My original Apple ID was unable to enroll due to an internal restriction, and after multiple calls with Support (including L2), I was advised to create a new Apple ID and use the same enrollment code I was awarded for being selected as a Swift Student Challenge 2025 winner. However, when I attempt to redeem the code with the new account, I receive an error stating that the code has already been redeemed. I have never successfully enrolled with the original account, so the code should not be marked as used. I’ve tried working through Support several times, but I’m still stuck. Could someone please review this issue or issue a new code so I can complete my enrollment? Thank you in advance for your help.

Hey everyone, I'm beyond excited to share that I've been selected as a Distinguished Winner in this year's Swift Student Challenge! 🎉 It all started last summer, in the middle of a Western Culture class. I was zoning out , and my attention drifted to the Apple Pencil in my hand. And then ,it hit me — this thing is literally a next-level game controller. Think about it: pixel-perfect precision, haptic feedback, multiple built-in sensors... Why aren't we using this for gaming? And that got me thinking — why have we spent the last 500 years treating the "pencil" as just a tool for creation, and not for play? Since graphite pencils were invented in 1564, we've had this incredibly natural way to interact with 2D and 3D space... and nobody's fully tapped into it for games. So, I did something about it. I built a game that's 100% controlled by the Apple Pencil yep, just the Pencil. I know what you're thinking: "How does that even work??" And honestly, I'd love to tell you... but I'm in the final stages of getting it onto the App Store, and it should be live within the next couple of weeks. So for now... 🤐😄 In the meantime, I've set up a Discord server for anyone who's curious about the gameplay, the design, or just wants to brainstorm ideas with me. If you're into creative controls, game design, or just want to hang — come join the conversation! [Join the Discord here!] https://discord.gg/5Rm8WKbekf Can't wait to share more soon!

Please help me! I don't know how to write this.I tried many times, and I think it's right, but it always wrong.PLEASE!!

Hi, I have a question related to eligibility. If we consider the eligibility rules and the submission window doesn't change for next year and if the challenge is still happening, would I be eligible in the following scenario - I graduated from an American University for my undergraduate in December 2025, and the submission is in February 2026, according to "Be enrolled in, or have graduated within the last 90 days from, an accredited academic institution or official homeschool equivalent, or an Apple Developer Academy", am I eligible. I am not sure if it applies to university or just high school. If you don't want to answer the hypothetical answer for next year. Take this scanerio, would I have been eligible for this year's challenge if I had graduated from university in December 2024. Thank you

It's Thursday, March 27th 2025 and I'm living in the UK, I have completed my project and submitted it before February 23rd and got the confirmation email and on March 27th, it says results are out but even after I wait for a long time, I still get the same message: We’ve received your submission. We'll send you an email when results are posted. Even after I come back 16 hours into the day which is 4PM GMT, so I want to know where to see the results anywhere else or if it's just a delay.

Hello! i developed an app for the Swift Student Challenge and submitted it, can I publish it to the app store before it is judged.

Hello ! I submitted my project for the Swift Student Challenge at 22 of February, but I never received a confirmation email. I also checked my Apple Developer account, but there is no information about my submission. I used only one Apple ID to submit. I checked all folders on my Gmail.com and didn't find any message about confirmation. What should I do ?

Hi, is there any way to use front camera to do the motion capture? I want recognize if the user raised there hands up with the front camera on iPhone. I was able to do it with the back camera, not the front. Also, if there is any sample code, or document, I would be super happy. Waiting for your reply!!

I developed my app on xcode, and it builds fine for xcode on simulator. However, when I transferred the swiftpm file to my ipad, the playground failed to build with only the error message "Build failed", while preview on playgrounds works fine. I am not sure what the cause of the error is, if anyone has any tips that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi! I have a concern for the SSC: I worked on the Playground app, but on MacOS. My app has been developped to be firstly used on a mac, as the playground app let you directly download your app on you mac and act as a real one. When i wanted to submit, I noticed there is nowhere to specify whether your app should be tested on iPad or on MacBook. I saw Playground apps would be tested on an iPad, does it mean I have to refactor my app to work on one, or i can mention on a comment that it is a MacOS app, and should therefore be tested on a mac? Thanks for your help on this

Hey everyone! I’m currently working on my Swift Student Challenge app and exploring ways to enhance its visuals. I was wondering—does anyone know if images generated by Apple Intelligence Image Playground can be used in the app?

Hello. I've made a shape in the app which looks like the hello sign on apple products at startup. Is this considered plagiarism, or is it acceptable to use it in an app? P.s: i've used Path for it and drawed it with curves