Hardware Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Apple with 4 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 73.1% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Apple (Cupertino, CA)
Interview
Had 2 technical phone interviews before getting flown out to Cupertino. Had 10 30-minute interviews lasting the whole day with mostly generic EE related technical questions. There was nothing tricky or behavioral that they asked. mainly just cut and dry solve this problem type. Although it was for a purely hardware job, I was still interviewed by the software manager with programming related questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Come up with an interview question and answer it yourself. (talk about a lazy interviewer lol)
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Apple (Cupertino, CA) in Feb 2012
Interview
I've interviewed on two separate occasions for hardware positions with Apple. Most (but not all) of the interviewers are nice enough. First interview had circuit design questions, the second did not. Both interviews were divided into several 1 on 1 interviews, 30 minutes each. If you're not selected (which I wasn't) they just leave you hanging. At first I thought it was just an lazy recruiter, but the second time it happened I realized that it must be a policy to not contact you or respond in any way if you are not chosen. Not a way to leave a good impression; after wasting time with them on the phone multiple times and taking time off to interview in person with them I don't think it is too much to ask for a form email letter to let you know you weren't selected (if their competitors can do it, I think Apple can as well). I doubt I will bother to interview with them again.
I applied through other source. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Apple in Jul 2010
Interview
Difficult interview process. Must know mid to advanced analog hardware. Fundamentals are key. Will be asked to draw circuits, explain operation, and solve simple analog hardware questions. Expect multiple people on interview panel.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain the operation of the wind-noise rejection filter. You may design as either a digital signal processing hw block, or as an analog hw component. Either method must include schematic with poles / zeros identified.