Hey everyone, I am wondering whether for the swift student challenge I should use mock data (e.g. achievements, tracking data etc.) or real data considering that one of the requirements states that I'll submit a playground with an interactive scene that can be experienced within 3 minutes. Thanks in advance!

Last year's submission form says that if you select (Run on Xcode) the app will be in the simulator not on an iPad. Has that changed this year, as I don't see it in the terms? (My app has imported local package dependencies for Reality Composer Pro that I am not certain would work on playgrounds for iOS. And it needs the iPad camera for AR functionality.)

I am currently a student pursuing bachelor in computer engineering and in addition to that, I work as a product designer. I wanted to confirm if this would affect my eligibility for the challenge.

Hi everyone, I'm working on my submission for the Swift Student Challenge and wanted to clarify something—does the application need to be fully functional in every aspect to be eligible for submission? Or is it acceptable if some features aren't fully implemented, as long as the overall experience showcases my coding skills and creativity? Would appreciate any insights from past participants or anyone familiar with the guidelines! Thanks!

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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?

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

i am trying to build some projects please check out my project

So, I'm new to Swift, but I'm trying to get my app idea off the ground and am trying to find a way to create the main module of the app - two users see in real time, where the other one touches their screen. So, each of them see a red dot light up on their screen wherever the other one touched it. Ideally dot should change in diameter based on the pressure of the touch.

Hi there! I was planning on using a data set of summer college programs for my swift app submission and I'm currently working to get the best data possible, but its proving rather difficult. I was wondering if its acceptable to use mock data or just a smaller set of around 150 entries if i cant get a large enough quality data set in time. Also, i figure it is, but im not sure if its acceptable to use a python web scraper even though its a swift challenge. Thanks!

Hello, I was wondering what simulator device is the Xcode Playground tested on? Is it better to support all screen sizes (e.g. IPads, IPhones..etc) and different orientations? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am currently developing an app for my Swift Student Challenge submission. One of the key features of my app is visualizing user progress over time using SwiftData and Swift Charts. I have a concern regarding the first-time experience for the reviewer. Since the app relies on accumulated data to display meaningful trends, the dashboard/charts will appear empty on the very first launch, which might not fully showcase the visualization logic I’ve implemented. To ensure the reviewer can immediately grasp the app's potential within their limited review window, I am considering generating pre-populated sample data (mock data) only on the initial launch. Does Apple generally recommend including sample data in a challenge submission to better demonstrate UI/UX and data visualization capabilities? Or is it strictly preferred to present a "fresh" empty state, as a real first-time user would see it? I want to make sure I am following the best practices for the challenge while highlighting my technical implementation of the SwiftData and Charts frameworks. Thank you in advance for your advice!

My app uses Foundation Models and Apple Pencil. The app runs great through Xcode; however, due to Apple Pencil support, it has to be run on a physical device. However, Swift Playgrounds on iPad doesn't support iOS 26. I was just wondering if this is something that can be mentioned in submission notes. eg. The app needs to be compiled in Xcode but run on a physical device.” Or should we expect iPadOS 26 support for Swift Playgrounds by the time of submission? Thank you!

Hi, I was looking at the SSC website and registered for the "Get ready for the Swift Student Challenge" online session taking place on the 15th of January. I am unsure what this session entails and is wondering if anybody could clarify what it is about? Thanks

Hello all! My name is Luke, and I'm a 14 year old with a idea for SSC. This is my first SSC submission ever. I would like some feedback concerning a question. My app is an AI powered academic planner that helps you and your life. It uses a mini on-device LLM to help organize assignments. This is a real business I am building, and I put inside of my app simulated features such as the app saying "scanning your Google Classroom..", would this go against any terms and make the app less likely to win? I also have my app fully polished, and feels like an actual app and finished product, with demo assignments pre-loaded, and most stuff is placeholders. Should the app be more like a guided simulator? Such as "click here to see how this will be simulated in a final release" or again should it be polished? I just want some feedback, since I only have 3 minutes, and the app needs to be offline, I just want to improvise. You can check out the basis of my app at my website. https://whiteb0x.me Hopefully I can get some feedback from the community, and/or ex winners! Thanks all! - Luke

I am building an app playground for SSC'25 where I want to use Multipeer Connectivity framework that would allow me to send and receive data to and from stranger devices. I also want to use some other open-source packages for some of the features. I just wanted to know if we are allowed to use or not?

Good day, I want to make an application to use which will need a second person. he plays an important role and affects the operation of the application Will such an app be eligible for Swift Student Challenge. Am I correct in understanding that if yes, I need to mention it in the application?

The app I am developing required me to do a bit of research to train my AI if I am explicitly using something from an article, for example lets say I used a quote about climate change from a news website, is that allowed, and would I have to site it either in my documentation or somewhere in the app?

I intend to participate in the Swift Student Challenge 25. I see Rules, It is mentioned that Playgrounds works should be a work that can be experienced in three minutes. However, my work does not meet this requirement. Create an interactive scene in an app playground that can be experienced within three minutes. Initially, my work was not intended for the Challenge but for the App Store. However, I decided to submit it to the Challenge, and my work and I met the requirements of the Challenge. Therefore, my work is a complete application, which makes it impossible for the judges to experience it within three minutes. It may take more time. Does this have any impact?

Swift Playgrounds 4.5.1 does not support Swift 6. I used Xcode 16 to develop my Swift Playgrounds, and I had to use @available(iOS 18.0, *) in a lot of cases. Will this void my application?