Hello developers, i have a project for SSC that includes metal shader code. The project runs fine when I build and run it in Xcode, but it does not run in the Swift Playground app. The reason is that Swift Playgrounds doesn’t compile/build source files with the .metal extension the same way Xcode does (so the shader never gets built/loaded in Playgrounds). The requirements say: “Your app playground must be built with and run on Swift Playgrounds 4.6 or Xcode 26, or later.” Since it says “or” (not “and”), does that mean it’s acceptable if the project only builds/runs in Xcode?

With ios 26 the chapter images are not updating anymore. At first I thought this is carlay related but it also occures when the phone is connected only through USB or bluetooth to play a podcast. I tried Apple podcasts and other apps like Pocketcast or audible. Same problem. The phone shows the correct chapter image while my car shows the inital image all the time. Even tried a different car :-) I checked focus and settings but found nothing related. With ios18 everything works fine. Any ideas?

I've paid - and have the confirmation of subscription email. But when I try to enroll both on my iphone and macbook air - I get errors. on the iphone said could not complete enrollment. on the macbook it said "not available in your area" I am in australia and it should work. Does anyone know how to fix the enrollment bugs?

Hello Everyone, I reviewed many previous year's submissions posted on swift's student's challenge distinguished winners section and noticed that most of them or all of them were designed and implemented for iOS devices only so is it a valid option to design our playground apps solely to run and function on macOS only?

Title says it all, so I get to 5 minutes left, and then the error message 'failed to prepare update' appears. I've done this for about a week now and the same thing happens. Does anyone have any insight to this problem?

I’m looking for iOS and Apple Watch users to help beta test ChoreFit, a fitness app that transforms everyday chores into measurable workouts using NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) science. What it does: • Tracks chores like vacuuming, mopping, and laundry as real workouts • Syncs with Apple Health for steps, heart rate, and calories • Lets you start or pause chores right from your Apple Watch • Adjusts effort based on body weight and optional weighted vests What I need from testers: • Install via TestFlight (link provided once approved) • Use the app during normal household tasks • Share feedback on usability, Apple Watch sync, and calorie accuracy If you’re interested in movement tracking, fitness analytics, or wearable integration, I’d love your help validating and refining this app before public release.

Guideline 2.3.1 - Performance The app contains hidden features. Specifically, we still noticed that your app includes code which causes it to behave differently during the review process regarding web game presentation and payment. It would be appropriate to ensure that all features and functions in the app are visible and fully accessible during review. Guideline 3.1.1 - Business - Payments - In-App Purchase The app allows users to purchase digital content natively or via a web view in the app using payment mechanisms other than in-app purchase. Apps cannot include in-app payment mechanisms other than in-app purchase. Apps on the United States storefront may also include buttons, external links, or other calls to action to direct users to payment mechanisms other than in-app purchase. We have been rejected three times due to hidden functions and issues with web payment and web games. However, in the last package we submitted for review, it was confirmed that the code related to web games was removed, and the code related to web interaction JS bridging payment calls was also removed Dear experts, we sincerely invite you to offer your valuable suggestions. If you have any experience of meeting us, please share with us. We would be extremely grateful

We made a purchase to join the Apple Developer Program, but we have been waiting for 5 days and have not received any response such as an approval or rejection. Are you experiencing the same issue as well?

Hello everyone, on August 31st, all the apps in my personal developer account were suddenly expired and deleted, I have not received any response from Apple. My apps are in compliance with Apple's policies. I then uploaded a new version and sent it to the review team, but I received the following error "There was an error processing your request. Please try again later." I have contacted Apple via Email and Phone but no one cares about my problem. Has anyone had the same situation as me, I am really worried.

When I try to create a post in Apple Support Community, it forces me to create a new account (for some supersmart reason because my apple account is apparently not enough). In this process, I am required to pick a new username and choose my communications preferences. The next screen? 403 Forbidden Error page.

I'm suddenly receiving zero products from SKProductsRequest, even though this setup previously worked without issues. The debugger shows that both of my product identifiers are now being returned under invalidIdentifiers, and response.products is empty. I’ve confirmed the following: There are no pending agreements in App Store Connect. The subscription is active and configured correctly. The product identifiers match exactly with what’s defined in App Store Connect. Here is the delegate method I'm using (unchanged from when it previously worked): extension UpgradeViewModelProvider: SKProductsRequestDelegate { func productsRequest(_ request: SKProductsRequest, didReceive response: SKProductsResponse) { if response.products.count > 0 { delegate.send(.onProduct(response.products)) } } } Since everything was functioning before, I’m trying to understand what may have caused the identifiers to suddenly be marked as invalid. Any guidance or suggestions on what to check next would be greatly appreciated.

I am building my app for iPhone users generally, and realized that maybe I should have had the iPad in mind since I read somewhere that the submissions will be judged on iPad. Should I be testing and tweaking on iPad now or can it be somehow ran on iPhone?

Dear Apple Developer team, dear Apple Developer community, I’m posting this publicly because I honestly don’t know how else to get a response. Timeline: December 3rd: I applied for the Apple Developer Program and received the confirmation email: “Your program enrollment has been received.” After that: complete silence for weeks – no status updates, no emails, nothing. End of December: Only after I opened a support ticket myself did I receive a response asking me to upload additional documents. January 12th: I uploaded all requested documents in full. Since then: silence again. Last Monday, I sent a follow-up email → no reply. Today (January 26th), I opened a new ticket, referencing the existing case number. Honestly, I have to ask: Where is the professionalism in this process? For comparison: The Google Play Developer account verification (including identity and company checks) took around 24 hours. Apple is one of the most valuable technology companies in the world. Why does a basic developer enrollment take over two months, without transparent communication or even a simple status update? At this point, I would really appreciate: a clear status update, or at least a realistic timeline for when this process will be completed Right now, this experience feels neither professional nor developer-friendly. Thank you for reading, and I sincerely hope for a timely response.

Hello, In my App.xcdatamodeld I have an entity called File. When I am building the project with Xcode, file FileEntity+CoreDataProperties.swift is generated. After upgrading Xcode to version 26.0 (17A324), I am getting the warning: Public import of 'CoreData' was not used in public declarations or inlinable code Any idea how to get rid of this warning since it's a generated file and I can't see any option to change it?

👋Hi, I want to ask what equipment the auditors in SSC will use to evaluate students' playground, whether it is iPad pro and mac with camera, or something else. And what system will they use, iPadOS/macOS 26 or something else? Looking forward to your reply. Thank you

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. I won't give too much away, but I believe it's a really helpful concept. It uses a mini on-device LLM (built with simple if this word typed then do this logic) 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. Hopefully I can get some feedback from the community, and/or ex-winners! Thanks all! And good luck! :) - Luke

Recently, applications for the Swift Student Challenge opened up. I noticed, that when selected "where to run your app" (mine was developed in Xcode 26), and you select Xcode26, there is a note underneath it that basically says all Xcode projects will be run on the simulator. What if my project is dependent on AR? How would I let the judges test my submission?

I’m building a Swift Playgrounds app (.swiftpm) in Xcode 26.2 and I consistently see this warning, even on brand-new Swift Playgrounds apps created from the default template: “Skipping duplicate build file in Compile Sources build phase: /Users/.../.swiftpm/Media.xcassets” Everything builds and runs normally and all images/assets appear correctly, so it seems like it’s just an annoying warning. I’ve checked for duplicates and don’t see the asset catalog listed twice, but the warning still appears whenever I add an asset catalog to any playground project in Xcode. Is this warning safe to ignore for submission, and it won’t affect Swift Student Challenge eligibility?

My playground may require that the device has downloaded some resources in advance, such as Apple's advanced voice, translation language... But this is not necessary. It is just an incidental function. If it is not downloaded, the app will prompt that this function is not available and most of the other functions can continue to be used. But I want to know whether the judge's device will download these things in advance, and if not, will the judges think that there is a problem with my app that can't be used normally, which will cause my work to be rejected directly? Because my app uses the API of iOS 26, it needs to run in Xcode, and the competition allows the Apple intelligent function, but it is stipulated that if it runs with Xcode, the app will be tested on the simulator. However, my app involves image playground and cannot run on the simulator. Does anyone have a good solution? Thank you!

I am writing to report an issue encountered while testing the iOS 26 beta. It appears that adding VPN configurations is currently not possible in this version. Specifically, attempts to add a new VPN configuration through the Settings app or via programmatic configuration profiles are unresponsive. As VPN functionality is essential for a number of development and enterprise use cases, I would appreciate it if your team could confirm whether this is a known issue, or provide guidance on any changes to VPN configuration handling in iOS 26. Please let me know if additional diagnostic information or logs would be helpful. Thank you for your support and for providing access to the iOS 26 beta. Best regards, Majid