2026 Swift Student Challenge winners to be announced on March 26

The winners of the 2026 Swift Student Challenge will be announced on March 26, with the best among them set to receive a trip to Apple Park.

Every year, Apple holds the Swift Student Challenge. The event encourages up-and-coming student developers to practice their craft and lets them win various prizes.

In an announcement on Monday, the iPhone maker described the annual event as a program meant to "uplift the next generation of entrepreneurs, coders, and designers." The company added that winners will be notified on Thursday, March 26.

The top prize is an all-inclusive three-day trip to Apple Park. Of the 350 winners, 50 will be recognized as "Distinguished Winners," whose submissions will have to demonstrate outstanding creativity and excellence, among other things.

Still, all 350 challenge winners will receive a free one-year membership to the Apple Developer program, an opportunity to take the Swift certification exam, as well as a personalized certificate from Apple.

Winners of the Swift Student Challenge will also get a special gift from the company. In 2025, for instance, winners were rewarded with AirPods Max, while previous prizes have included jackets and pins.

Apple evaluates the submitted app playground scenes based on set criteria, including creativity, social impact, and inclusivity.

Those participating in the Swift Student Challenge typically have to submit an interactive app playground scene that can be experienced within a three-minute timeframe. The submission must function without an internet connection and cannot be larger than 25MB.

Participants also need to meet certain eligibility requirements. They must be over 13, enrolled in an academic institution or homeschool equivalent, and not employed as full-time developers.

The submission window for the 2026 Swift Student Challenge opened on February 6. The challenge itself debuted in 2020. Apple often profiles some of the winners, as was the case in 2024 and 2025.

Winners of the 2026 Swift Student Challenge will be announced on March 26, while Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) will start on June 8 with a keynote video.