Apple's 2024 Swift Student Challenge Now Live
Apple today began accepting submissions for its 2024 Swift Student Challenge. Apple's annual challenges ask students to create an innovative coding project using the Swift Playgrounds app.
Apple first announced plans for an early 2024 launch in November 2023, giving students plenty of time to prepare for this year's event.
Apple will select 350 winners for this year's challenge, and there will be a category that recognizes a total of 50 Distinguished Winners for standout submissions. The Distinguished Winners will be invited to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, where they will be able to connect with their peers and the Apple team, and all 350 winners will be granted a free one-year membership in the Apple Developer program, a complimentary voucher to take an App Development with Swift certification exam, and a special gift from Apple.
Apple has been holding an annual Swift Student Challenge for several years now, but it is typically announced when Apple provides dates the Worldwide Developers Conference. Past winners have been invited to attend WWDC, and Apple says that this year's 50 Distinguished Winners will be invited to Cupertino "next summer," so the planned invite could again be tied to WWDC.
Students will have three weeks to submit their app playgrounds to Apple, and applications must be submitted by February 25. Apple judges entries on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and content of written responses explaining the project.
Eligible students include those enrolled in an accredited academic institution (or an official homeschool equivalent), a STEM organization's educational curriculum, or an Apple Developer Academy. Apple also accepts applications from developers who have graduated from high school or the equivalent in the past six months and are awaiting acceptance to an accredited academic institution.
Popular Stories
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process.
From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you plan to skip...
The foldable smartphone market has stalled with customer interest in foldables waning, but that could change when Apple debuts a foldable iPhone, according to display analyst Ross Young.
In a report on the current foldable smartphone market, Young says that Apple is expected to "enter the foldable market" in the second half of 2026. Apple's "dominant position in flagship smartphones" could...
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
