iOS Tech Interviews Don't Have To Be Hard
The iOS Interview Guide. 2nd Edition.
This book helped thousands of developer prep for and ace their iOS interviews
No one likes interviews. It's hard to prepare and you never know what they'll ask you. It always feels like there's so much to learn and you're nowhere near the level you need to be at. Sounds familiar?
This guide will help you prepare for you next interview by systematizing the learning, helping you refresh what you already know, and giving you answers to common iOS interview questions.
Second Edition!!!
It's been 7 years since I wrote the first edition of the book. A lot has changed, I've gain experience, and hopefully wisdom since then. It's time to update it!
This is the 2nd edition of the book. Work updating it is still in progress.
I will share progress, chapter updates, and any other thoughts I’ll have on the mobile development along the way on my substack here:
If you'd like to just get the updates about the book progress than sign up in the form below 👇
Want to only get updates on the book progress?
Want to only get updates on the book progress? Sign up here.
What's Inside?
The original first edition of the book had the following:
- 10 chapters over 193 pages covering topics ranging from Swift, fundamentals, resumes, and UI to Networking, Storage and Design Patterns
- 72+ interview questions and answers
- red flags, i.e. what not to say answering some of the questions
- Big Picture overview of what there is to know on iOS platform
- Chapter on UI questions
- Chapter on Networking questions
- Chapter on Storage questions
- Chapter on Design Patterns and Architecture questions
- Chapter on Resumes, Github, and general "marketing" of yourself that you need to do to get interviews for better jobs
- A package of Swift Playgrounds with code samples in the book
All of these (with some exceptions) will still be in the 2nd edition of the book. I'm working on updating each chapter and adding new ones.
A tentative list of the new chapters is:
- Prep for Algorithms
- Go Reactive with SwiftUI
- Parallelize with Async Work
- Broaden Horizons with Mobile System Design
How's the 2nd edition update going? What's updated?
I'll try to work in public and be as transparent as possible about the book's work progress as I can.
I'm working through each chapter, revising, updating, and adding new things. Plus taking notes and writing drafts of what will go into the brand new chapters in the 2nd edition.
Here's the list of what was updated so for and the status of each chapter
- [LEGACY] Intro
- [LEGACY] Step One: Figure Out what the Big Picture Is
- [LEGACY] Step Two: The Interview Game
- [LEGACY] Step Three: Learn the fundamentals
- [NEW, WILL ADD] Prep for Algorithms
- [LEGACY] Step Six: Go crazy responsive with UI layouts
- [NEW, WILL ADD] Go Reactive with SwiftUI
- [LEGACY] Step Four: Get Productive with Networking
- [LEGACY] Step Five: Learn How to Store Data
- [NEW, WILL ADD] Parallelize with Async Work
- [LEGACY] Step Seven: Beyond MVC. Design Pattens, Architecture, FRP, and Dependencies Management.
- [NEW, WILL ADD] Broaden Horizons with Mobile System Design
- [LEGACY] Bonus Chapter: Storage Evolution (AKA You Don’t Always Need Core Data!).
- [LEGACY] Outro
In the above list:
- [Updated] is what was already updated
- [LEGACY] is what still needs revision
- [NEW, WILL ADD] is a NEW chapter that will be added
- [NEW, Added] is a NEW chapter that was added
- [REMOVE] is what will be removed or content folded into another chapter/s
FAQs
-
Q: Is the book ready?
- A: Not yet, it's still work in progress. If you'd like to follow along please sign up above ☝️
-
Q: What if I'm interviewing now? Can I get it?
- A: If you're really in a crunch and need to prep today than you can purchase the 1st edition of the book here.
-
Q: What if I already bought the first edition, do I have to pay again?
- A: Yes, but you'd get a deep discount on the 2nd edition. (details to be announced later)
-
Q: When can I pre-order?
- A: As I go through some meaningful amount of chapters and revise them I'll open up the 2nd edition for pre-order. (also with a discount but not as big as for current customers who bought the 1st edition book)
-
Q: Will the book be updated to the latest Swift version?
- A: Yes. I'm updating every example to be written in Swift 5.10/6.0
-
Q: Will the book be updated to the latest iOS version?
- A: Yes. I'm updating every example to be working with the APIs of iOS 17/18
-
Q: Will there be a printed version this time?
- A: Yes. I'm planning to have a print this time. But it will be a separate purchase via Amazon. And after the main e-book version is finished.
Who am I?
My name is Alex Bush. I'm an iOS consultant and architect. I've been developing for iOS for 14+ years and built apps ranging from small MVPs to large scale enterprise applications. Prominent companies I worked at are Wanelo, ThoughtWorks, Uber, Wayfair. Currently I'm an engineering manager at UpKeep.
I also host Inside iOS Dev YouTube channel.
Testimonials
This is a great book for iOS developers junior to senior! Here are some testimonials:
Alex Bush's book, "The iOS Interview Guide" is a very helpful resource for a variety of reasons. It helps the experienced developer prepare for their next career move by identifying concepts, and areas that technology companies will ask about during the application, and interview process. The book is an excellent resource because it's not simply a checklist of topics, and concepts, to study, but also discusses these concepts as well, and identifies potential pitfalls that the unsuspecting applicant may fall into during the interview process. This book is also a valuable resource for the junior developer who is trying to get an understanding as to what skills are expected from someone who is senior. This book helps chart a course for the junior developer in better improving their skills, and identifying those key areas which are important, thus allowing the junior developer to plan out their career development more efficiently. This book is indeed a valuable resource for developers in all stages of their careers. Thanks Alex for doing such a wonderful job!
- Fayyazuddin Syed, Senior iOS Developer
"Alex has hit a home-run with the iOS interview guide. It has been my go to reference while looking for a job in this field. I can't thank him enough for sharing his insight into what it takes to be prepared for an interview at any level of your career!"
- Paul DeFilippi, iOS Developer
"An excellent guide to help self-starter iOS programmers land their dream jobs. This book can be your ultimate guide for your iOS development study as well as getting your first job as an iOS developer."
- Jon Lu, Freelance iOS Developer
"As a junior developer, I just want to say that the information you’re sharing is top notch and extremely eye-opening to the naive approaches that I have taken. Thank you so much for doing this."
- Jovanny Espinal, Software Engineer at Blue Apron
"I am glad to inform you that your book on Swift Interview question helped me a lot , I have two current jobs under process for next rounds. All of the question I have answered the same way as you wrote in Expected Answer. It is really worth buying it ."
- Ramkrishna Baddi, iOS Developer
To all my iOS devs out there...If you have an interview coming up you need to check out this iOS Interview Guide https://t.co/JrBoQTSTwA @alex_v_bush https://t.co/d3oohtahVc
— Kevin Curry (@kcurryl2g) January 22, 2018
Hey everyone! If you're learning iOS and want a guide to help you in interviews or just with iOS development in general, I just purchased a great book by @alex_v_bush. It's called 'The iOS Interview Guide' and it's really worth they buy. Seriously, buy it. https://t.co/aPi7OIJLH3
— 👾Joe Hill 🐙 (@vintagejoehill) November 29, 2017
"in software development only one thing remains constant, and that thing is change", @alex_v_bush #iosinterviewguide
— Hubert-Jan Hubeek (@hjhubeek) August 30, 2017
- Yusuke Kawanabe, Lead iOS Engineer at Nima Labs
- Will Lundy, iOS Developer at Wells Fargo
Looking for free interview prep resources?
Check out these articles I wrote:
Have questions?
Email: alex.bush@smartcloud.io
Twitter: @alex_v_bush
LinkedIn: alexvbush