Depreciation end of July 2025

Swift Playgrounds is an app for iPad and Mac computers that helps teach people to code in the Swift language using interactive 'books'.


The most recent Swift Playground app update in April 2025 has demonstrated that Swift Playgrounds has evolved. The latest release of the Playground app will now only work on iPadOS 17.0 or later and macOS 14.0 or later. 


In early 2018, support for third-party subscriptions was added to the Swift Playgrounds app. This advancement enabled us to create a Swift Playground 'interactive' book called "Intro to the BBC micro:bit", which provided a way for iPad users, in particular, to learn the fundamentals of coding while having fun with their micro:bit.  Further changes in the Swift Playgrounds app since the release of our original 'interactive' book have led us to notice that usage of our book is now very low. As a result, we have taken the difficult decision to stop maintaining the 'interactive' book as of the end of July 2025. 


You may still use the book in its current format, but please note that no support will be available after July 31, 2025.


The following instructions on how to download the app, load the 'book', prepare your micro:bit, and use the latest Swift Playground app have been updated accordingly. 


How can I still use the Swift Playground 'interactive' book on an iPad or macOS?


The 'interactive' book can still be accessed with the latest release of the Swift Playground app (version 4.6.4), but we cannot guarantee that future updates of the Swift Playground app will continue to support the book (format). 


Since the original release of our Swift Playground 'interactive' book, we have also developed and released a dedicated micro:bit iOS app (compatible with iPhone and iPad running iOS 13.0 or later). 

For more information on the micro:bit iOS app, please visit https://microbit.org/get-started/user-guide/mobile.


The use of the micro:bit iOS app is now the preferred method to teach coding on an iPad or iPhone. 


How to download the app from the App Store

If you are running iPadOS 17.0 or later and do not have the Swift Playground app installed, use the following link to install the iPadOS Swift Playground app. This app is available only on the App Store for iPad.


If you are running macOS 14 or later and do not have the app installed, use the following link to download and install the macOS Swift Playground app.  The link will redirect you to the Mac App Store, where you can download the app on your macOS device.


How to get the 'Interactive' book onto your iPad or macOS

The steps to install the Swift Playground 'interactive' book entitled 'Intro to the micro:bit' are the same for iPadOS or macOS:

You can download a copy of the "Intro to the BBC micro:bit" Swift Playground book by clicking on the following link; this will prompt you to save a zipped file to your local file storage.


Open the Files app, and locate the 'intro.playground.zip' file from which you want to extract the contents.

Tap the ZIP file. A folder is created containing the files. 

If you wish to change the folder name, touch the folder, then tap "Rename". We suggest renaming the folder to 'microbit swift playbook'. 


How to load the 'Intro to the BBC micro:bit' book in the Swift Playground app

Go to the Swift Playground app, tap the 'File' menu, select 'Open':



Navigate to the folder where the extracted zip file is located:



Select the playbook, and click 'Open':



A message box will appear; click 'Open' to confirm that you want to open the Playbook.


There may be a slight pause before you see the opening paragraphs of the book displayed:




Before you start coding, it is essential to prepare your micro:bit for use with the Playbook.


Prepare your micro:bit

The micro:bit will communicate with the iPad wirelessly using Bluetooth. As a result, you will need to download a 'hex' file and drag it onto your micro:bit (this is referred to as 'flashing'). To complete this task, you will need to connect the micro:bit to a computer via a USB port:
  1. Connect your micro:bit to your computer using a USB cable.
  3. Drag and drop the file onto your micro:bit to copy it.
  4. Your micro:bit is now ready to be used for Swift Playgrounds.


Using the Playground

The app contains all the instructions you need to get coding. Once you've downloaded the book and have prepared your micro:bit, open the micro:bit book and tap 'Let's Start Coding'. Tap 'Pair micro:bit' to begin pairing your micro:bit with your iPad.



When you click the 'Let's Start Coding!' button, a message box will appear, asking if you wish to connect via Bluetooth.

Click OK.


The right-hand page will update, and you will see two buttons, 'Pair micro:bit' and 'Connect micro:bit', on the top right-hand side of the app window. 

At this point, is it a good idea to ensure the micro:bit has the battery pack connected?

Click the 'Pair micro:bit' button to start the Bluetooth pairing process and follow the instructions on screen:




Once the pairing process is complete, click 'Connect micro:bit'.

Start your 'interactive' coding journey on the left-hand page.



For users who are required to use Swift Playground as their preferred method of learning to code with the micro:bit, or for users using the app with a large number of students, please contact support.