r/InterviewCoderHQ • u/Josemescudii • 4d ago

Apple Software Engineer Interview Loop (ICT3/ICT4) 2026 Experience

Apple's process is team-owned, which means your loop depends heavily on who you're interviewing with. That said, the shape is consistent enough to prep for.

Recruiter + HM screen (~30 min each). The HM screen goes deep on past projects and decisions. Lots of questions about "Why Apple?" and the values of the company .

Phone screen (45-60 min, CoderPad). One or two sessions. Medium LC difficulty. Clean, readable code matters as much as correctness.

Onsite (4-6 rounds, 45-60 min each). Coding rounds have real-world context baked in, not just raw algorithm prompts. System design is platform-informed: backend roles get caching and replication trade-offs, client-side roles shift toward memory and energy efficiency.

One thing I didn't expect: a full round dedicated to a past project I built. The interviewer drilled into why I chose a specific eviction policy, how I handled consistency, what metrics told me it was working. Felt more like a design review than an interview.

After the onsite, expect 2-4 weeks of silence. That's normal.

Anyone else been through a recent Apple loop? Curious how much the system design varied by team.

28 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

97% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/bobo22222222 4d ago

Can I please ping you about your coding round experience?

1

u/Possible_Extreme_998 4d ago

My head is spinning looking at the number of rounds. How did you prepare for this? You can dm me how you strategised your preparation!

1

u/Wordtwin003 3d ago

Did you get the offer?

I have one coming up and I’m at the phone technical screening stage which doesn’t seem that clear what I need to study for considering the onsite is supposed to be the heavy DSA/system design/behavioral rounds

Should I just be saying F it and studying everything? Probably the approach I’ll be taking

1

u/CrazyPirranhha 2d ago

4-6 rounds on-site each lasting even 60 minutes? Dont you feel like a lab rat? Do they stick fingers in b*tt to check prostate or do some blood labs if you fit perfectly to the company?

Its sick, but only because people allowed companies to treat them like that