Apple Reveals 'Swift Playgrounds' Educational Coding App for iPad

Monday June 13, 2016 11:53 AM PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Apple today revealed an all-new "Swift Playgrounds" app that aims to introduce users to "a new way to learn to code with Swift on iPad." The app -- which will be a free download -- is aimed for a public release on the App Store when iOS 10 launches this fall.

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The library of Apple-developed programming lessons helps students learn core coding concepts, such as issuing commands, creating functions, performing loops and using conditional code and variables, and allows them to progressively build confidence and skill. Apple will regularly release new standalone challenges so students can continue to refine their coding abilities as their skills and interests grow. Educators and developers can also use Xcode® to create their own unique challenges for the app.
Along with other features, the app has custom "learn to code" lessons from Apple that focus on crafting visual cues around numeric coding data to slowly introduce kids into the world of coding. Multi-touch on the iPad helps coding in the app more straightforward, but Apple also crafted a new coding keyboard to add in new code in just a few keystrokes.

Starting today, Swift Playgrounds is available to Apple Developer Program members, and will additionally be available in the iOS 10 public beta this July. The final version of the app is expected to launch for free on the App Store sometime in the fall. All iPad Air and iPad Pro models will be compatible with the app, as well as iPad mini 2-and-later devices.

Tag: WWDC 2016
49 comments


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Junipr
31 months ago
How silly of me to want new Macs! We should all be coding on iPads!
Rating: 6 Votes
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nutmac
31 months ago
To me, easily one of the highlights. I just wish Apple would bring it to macOS as well.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Spendlove
31 months ago
Hell even I, a total klutz at anything to do with programming might have a go at this. Never too late to learn!
Rating: 3 Votes
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Z400Racer37
31 months ago
So cool. It look like they've done a very good job with this, it's very conceptual. Cant wait to try this out :)
Rating: 3 Votes
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prism
31 months ago
Great so now everyone is going to become a coder and like what digital did to photography: inflation of the wanna be's substantially diluting the beauty and art in true photography, good coding is going to become even harder to come by.
Rating: 2 Votes
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erthquake
31 months ago

This "every cool kid has to code" ******** must stop soon.


There's a lot of value in learning the problem decomposition skills required by programming. Most students are require to take physics, chemistry, and biology classes. Even though they don't go into that field, they're important for learning how the world works. We now live in a time when it's important to learn how our technology works. See the recent court case between Google and Oracle and the trouble the jury had with understanding the issues for proof how important it is to understand coding.
Rating: 2 Votes
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RedWeasel
31 months ago

There was no focus on the new macOS file system, no real mention of Xcode improvements, no real mention of improvements that will help developers. In essence Tim Cook was speaking to a room full of experienced developers and made no compelling case for them, the one time of the year where developers are supposed to be the focus.

You have to consider though that this was only the Keynote. There's usually a state of the union session after it that goes into much more depth and there's a lot of individual sessions on these topics (like the filesystem)
Rating: 1 Votes
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0007776
31 months ago

How silly of me to want new Macs! We should all be coding on iPads!

That's probably Apple's goal. It'll be awhile until even Apple thinks this is good enough, but this is the beginning of the end for macs.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Jimmy James
31 months ago
Swift Playgrounds sounds like an interactive website featuring Taylor Swift. That, or children's play equipment marketed by her.
Rating: 1 Votes
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macduke
31 months ago
I've never messed around with swift, and know just enough Objective C to look at it and tell you what it probably does (this is mostly from experience in other languages). I'm definitely going to be installing this, especially if they get into the more advanced lessons. I think it's a mistake to market it towards kids (in their phrasing, not exactly in what content it may provide looking at some of the other examples on the screen at the time such as the more advanced sorting stuff). This could be huge for people like me who are like 70% designer and 30% coder who want to take things to the next level. I could see myself providing smaller app extensions to things like iMessage, Maps, etc.

My wife and I have committed to teacher our daughter (and soon son) to code when they are old enough. This app is going to be fantastic for us, and much more important than learning a foreign language while in school. There are so many positive benefits when learning to code—even if you don't go into it as a career! Very excited.
Rating: 1 Votes
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