Apple Software Engineer candidates describe a recruiter or manager screen, resume-heavy technical conversations, and coding rounds that range from easy to hard. Content varies by team, from Swift and UIKit to C++ and embedded topics.
$171K
Avg. Base Comp
$310K
Avg. Total Comp
2-8 rounds
Typical Rounds
4-5 weeks
Process Length
Apple Software Engineer interviews appear to depend heavily on the team. Candidates describe a recruiter or hiring-manager screen first, then technical conversations that dig into the resume. Several report being pushed to defend project decisions, such as why they switched libraries, so be ready to justify every project and tool on your resume.
Coding questions range widely. Some candidates report medium LeetCode-style problems, while others describe easy questions or a harder graph DFS problem. Examples include reverse integer, binary search, a streaming count of 1s over the last 60 seconds, string cleanup and live debugging. Practice explaining your approach out loud, since a few candidates mention screen-sharing and talking through their reasoning.
Team-specific depth is the other recurring theme. Reports mention Swift concurrency, UIKit and SwiftUI on iOS-oriented teams. Others mention C pointer arithmetic and bit manipulation, low-level C++ threading, SQL and APIs, or front-end accessibility. One candidate expected a system design round and never got one, while others report designs such as a URL shortener or a ratings system. Review the stack named in your job posting rather than preparing only for generic algorithms.
Behavioral questions appear alongside the technical work, including your proudest project, a past bug and why you want to join Apple. The reports here are mostly rejections, and the loop length ranges from two interviews to a back-to-back virtual panel of five.
Synthesized from 174 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Featured question at Apple
Select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Prime to N | |
| Upsell Transactions | |
| Find the Missing Number | |
| Recurring Character | |
| Retailer Data Warehouse | |
| Equivalent Index | |
| Twenty Variants | |
| Completed Shipments | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Detecting ECG Tachycardia Runs | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| Paired Products | |
| Google Maps Improvement | |
| Four Person Elevator | |
| Nearest Common Ancestor | |
| Groups of Anagrams | |
| Cyclic Detection | |
| Exam Scores | |
| Cumulative Sales Since Last Restocking | |
| Radix Addition | |
| Hurdles In Data Projects | |
| Swapping Nodes | |
| Real-Time Hashtag Partitioning | |
| Swiping App Design | |
| Transformer Encoder Layer | |
| Matrix Rotation | |
| RAG Strict Source Control | |
| Walking Robot |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report starting with a recruiter call or a hiring-manager conversation about background, motivation and the team. Technical questions are typically light at this stage, though some managers go deep into the resume, projects and past bugs. Prepare a concise walkthrough of your work and why Apple.
Candidates describe one or two screens that mix a coding problem with technical discussion. Reports include binary search, reverse integer, string transformation, live debugging and a LeetCode-medium problem. Some mention talking through the solution while sharing a screen. Difficulty is reported as easy to moderate, though it varies by interviewer.
Candidates report questions tied to the team's stack, which may include Swift concurrency, UIKit and SwiftUI, low-level C or C++ topics, SQL and APIs, or front-end HTML, CSS and accessibility. Expect follow-up questions on your own projects. Check the job posting to guess which areas may apply, since the exact focus differs between reports.
Some candidates describe a virtual loop of around five interviews in a day, combining coding, debugging, a manager round and a resume-focused round. System design appears in some reports, such as a URL shortener, and was absent in at least one. Other candidates describe only two interviews in total, so the final stage may differ by team.
Behavioral prompts reported include your proudest project, your biggest regret, a product you would change and your leadership ability. Candidates on this page mostly report no offer, and one reports a quick response of about three days. Prepare structured stories and be ready for follow-up questions on your answers.
