Step 1:

I submitted the application online. The recruiter contacted me a few weeks later. We had a phone call, and they asked a few general questions.

Within one week, there was an arrangement for an interview. The process was smooth and efficient.

Step 2:

The actual interview:

There were two one-hour-each, back-to-back interview sessions for the first round. The first interviewer seemed to have an arrogant attitude, and the way they spoke was, at best, condescending. They didn't really listen to your answer until the end, for open-ended questions. Then, they asked a few algorithm questions. That's where I tripped. To be fair, the questions were simple. But the interviewer constantly made condescending comments in a scolding tone while I was trying to come up with a brute-force approach. Chill, dude. Candidates are already under interview pressure. It doesn't help them think clearly if you are being unfriendly and judgmental while they code.

The second session went a bit better. But I don't think I would pass this round.

My View:

To me, interviewers should work together with the candidates to come up with a solution rather than judging them constantly during the interviews. Unless, Apple's culture is about judging your coworkers constantly (in a bad, unproductive way) just to put them down, which I hope not.

General Rant:

And also, I hate the fact that interviewers didn't let the candidates think themselves silently for maybe one minute. They expect the candidate to immediately start talking aloud once the question has been explained. But obviously, programmers are not known for talking aloud what they are thinking while coding.

I have had more pleasant interviews with better interviewers from far less famous, non-FAANG companies. So, I was expecting a somewhat positive experience from Apple, but, well, it is what it is.

If you have an upcoming Apple interview, I wish you not to have the same interviewer that I had. You will generally be fine other than that.

TL;DR:

Smooth process, (relatively) easy coding questions, arrogant/unfriendly interviewer.

Some LeetCode-style easy or low-medium level questions.