Apple General Intern Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 278 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Apple.
Apple
Intern
Intern Difficult Neutral experience No offer 1 round
Interview process
Phone screen
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical
The interview process for the Apple internship was organized and professional. It started with an introduction and a short overview of the role, then moved into questions about my background, projects, and why I’m interested in Apple. The interviewer aimed to understand how I approach problem-solving, my communication skills, and how well I can work in a team. Some of the questions were behavioral, while others focused on my technical knowledge and past experience. Overall, it felt structured, and the interviewer was respectful and engaging the whole time.
Confirmed questions7 questions
- Describe a time when you worked on a difficult project and how you dealt with the obstacles that came up.
- Could you walk me through your background?
- Can you talk about the projects you’ve worked on?
Apple
SoC Power Grid Integrity Intern
Intern Difficult Positive experience No offer 1 round
Interview process
Technical screen
Interview formats
Technical
The interview had 5 technical questions and was strongly focused on core physical design fundamentals. I was asked about the key stages in the PnR flow and how power grid considerations are taken into account during placement and routing. We discussed floorplanning, power grid construction, and how routing resources affect timing and power integrity. For STA, there was one detailed setup slack calculation problem where I had to compute setup slack, and the interviewer wanted clear definitions of launch and capture edges. The emphasis was on correct reasoning rather than just the final number. Two questions were about IR drop and overall power integrity challenges and what causes IR drop in large SoCs. Overall, it was a technical, fundamentals-driven interview, focused on understanding the physical design flow as a whole and being able to reason clearly about timing and power integrity trade-offs. The focus was on conceptual clarity instead of memorization.
Confirmed questions5 questions
- What are the main stages in the PnR flow?
- How do you handle power grid considerations during placement and routing?
- How do you compute STA setup slack, with clear launch and capture edge definitions?
Apple
Intern
Intern Difficult Positive experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Phone screen Technical screen Panel
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical
I interviewed with Apple through a multi-step process that started with a phone screening to go over my background and motivations. After that, I had a technical assessment that tested my problem-solving and technical abilities. In the end, I went through a series of panel interviews with different team members, where I showed my expertise, creativity, and how I fit with Apple’s values of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. The whole process was challenging but inspiring, giving me a glimpse into Apple’s dynamic and high-performance work culture.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Can you tell me about yourself
- How do you see yourself and your career in the next five years
Apple General Intern Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Apple interview reports.
“You’re on a boat floating with a big rock. What happens to the water level when you throw the rock into the water and it sinks?”
Read reports →“How would you write a function that returns the greater of two numbers, or returns 0 if they are equal, and code it so it only uses about 1.5 comparisons?”
Read reports →“Why pick linear regression instead of fancier methods like random forest or decision trees?”
Read reports →“How do you compute STA setup slack, with clear launch and capture edge definitions?”
Read reports →“• How would you design an open-top aluminum box that has very thin walls on each side?”
Read report →“Then they push you to think more, like how can you reduce even more states?”
Read report →“How would you drill a hole in a cylinder? Tell me 5 different methods.”
Read report →“Then they push you to think more, like how can you make it even more low power?”
Read report →“what do you think you’ll be doing in 10 years?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 278 Apple interview reports.