Blind 75 vs LeetCode patterns: Effective for Apple interviews

Working for the company behind the iPhone is a dream for many engineers. Apple sets a high bar, and its coding interviews are no exception. Whether a new grad or a senior engineer, you’re expected to go beyond solving problems and demonstrate depth, creativity, and precision.

The process tests more than just algorithms. You’ll be asked to apply core concepts to unfamiliar, often ambiguous scenarios, and reason through them under pressure.

To prepare, most candidates turn to Blind 75 or LeetCode patterns. Both offer structure and are widely used. But which one aligns with Apple’s interview style?

In this blog, I’ll compare Blind 75 and Apple Top 75 against the 28 coding patterns featured in the “Grokking the Coding Interview Patterns” course. Based on real interview debriefs and personal experience, I’ll explain what works when you’re aiming for Apple.

Recap: Blind 75, Apple Top 75, and LeetCode Patterns#

Blind 75 is a focused list of 75 essential coding problems, valued for its simplicity and coverage of common topics like arrays, trees, and dynamic programming. It’s a popular starting point, but it doesn’t always highlight the reasoning or strategies needed for unfamiliar problems, which Apple interviews often demand.

Apple Top 75 is a curated list of the 75 LeetCode questions most frequently reported by candidates in recent Apple interviews. This set gives you direct insight into the current trends and the kinds of coding challenges being asked at Apple, making it a valuable resource for targeted preparation.

LeetCode patterns organizes interview questions by 28 key problem-solving techniques. Instead of memorizing individual solutions, this approach trains you to recognize and apply core patterns. This mindset aligns well with Apple’s tendency to dig deeper, ask follow-up questions, and explore multiple solutions.

Does Blind 75 alone meet Apple’s coding interview expectations?#

Apple’s technical interviews are different from most other big tech companies. Rather than running through a series of disconnected questions, they often focus on a single challenge, asking you to refine, optimize, and clearly explain your approach step by step. For example, after solving a problem, you might be asked, “What if the input data is too large?” or “Can you make this faster?” Sometimes, you’ll need to discuss trade-offs between different approaches or explain how your solution would perform in production.

This style creates a more collaborative and conversational interview experience. It’s designed to mimic how Apple engineers work together daily by solving real problems, iterating on ideas, and communicating clearly. For candidates, this means that simply memorizing solutions is rarely enough.

Why patterns matter in Apple coding interviews#

As Apple’s interview process is collaborative and iterative, you must understand the reasoning behind each solution, adapt your thinking as the problem evolves, and explain your approach clearly at every step.

By focusing on LeetCode patterns, you train to recognize underlying techniques, explore alternative strategies, and respond thoughtfully to follow-up questions. This flexible, problem-solving mindset is exactly what Apple’s interviewers are looking for.

An overview of patterns for Apple coding interviews#

A total of 28 coding patterns frequently appear in technical interviews, including those at Apple. To help you navigate your preparation, I’ve grouped these patterns into four categories:

Let’s see what each category means:

• Must-know patterns: These foundational techniques come up repeatedly at Apple and form the backbone of many technical screens.

• Very common patterns: These are also highly likely to appear, as the main challenge or as a follow-up question.

• Solid but situational patterns: These come up less often, but when they do, recognizing them quickly can be the difference between a pass and a fail.

• Finishing-line helpers: These patterns are less frequent, but can appear in the final rounds or as part of a particularly tough Apple interview.

While Apple interviews focus on certain coding patterns, the best preparation is to cover all 28.

How to cover the maximum patterns: A strategy that works#

When mastering Apple’s interviews, the goal is to make your prep comprehensive and efficient. Here’s a step-by-step approach to cover the patterns that matter most without getting overwhelmed:

1. Start with the overlap: Work through problems and patterns that show up in both Blind 75 and Apple Top 75. This guarantees you build a solid foundation in the fundamentals Apple frequently tests.

2. Focus on Apple-relevant patterns: Next, tackle the patterns and problem types that are particularly important for Apple, but might not get enough attention in Blind 75. 

3. Complete the remaining Blind 75 problems: After that, work through any Blind 75 problems that aren’t covered yet. These round out your prep and ensure you’re not missing any basics.

4. Fill in any pattern gaps: Once you’ve gone through both sets, identify if there are any coding patterns left that you haven’t practiced. Spend time on these “finishing-line” helpers to prepare you for even the less common challenges.

At this stage, remember the rubric I outlined earlier in the series: aim to solve one easy, two medium, and one hard problem for every pattern. Keep this rubric in mind as you move through each prep phase. 

This approach ensures you don’t waste time on duplicate material, keeps your fundamentals strong, and directly targets Apple’s unique twists. By filling in every gap, you enter your interview ready for classic questions and unexpected curveballs.

Here’s a quick visual to show how this approach ensures you’re prepared for what Apple asks or can ask.

How does starting with the overlap set you up for success?#

Beginning your Apple interview prep with the problems that overlap between Blind 75 and Apple Top 75 is smart and efficient. These shared questions cover the core data structures and algorithms that Apple and other top tech companies consistently test. You get immediate exposure to the problem types that will most likely come up at Apple, giving you a strong foundation before moving on to more Apple-specific challenges.

To comprehensively understand these preparation strategies’ overlap and unique aspects, let’s compare both lists side-by-side.

When you compare Blind 75 and the core pattern list, you’ll see that 27 out of 75 problems, about 36%, appear on both lists. This is a huge advantage, because starting with these shared problems means tackling questions that build your core fundamentals while aligning with what Apple interviews are likely to focus on. In other words, you’re not just practicing the basics but also getting early exposure to the challenges Apple cares about most, all in one step.

Let’s examine the patterns this problem set covers and their alignment with our rubric and scores. In the bar chart below, each bar represents a pattern. The length of the bar shows what percent of the full 15 points you’ve earned for that pattern, while the label highlights how many easy, medium, and hard problems went into that score.

Solving problems common to Blind 75 and Apple Top 75 covers 17 out of 28 patterns, about 61% coverage, right from the start. Most patterns are missing a mix of single mediums and hards. Stacks, In-place Manipulation of a Linked List, and Greedy Techniques are just starting, so those should be a focus.

Which patterns are most prevalent in Apple’s interview set?#

Once you’re comfortable with the mix of classic and Apple-specific questions, move on to the problems that appear only in the Apple Top 75. Let’s look at the additional patterns you’ll unlock with this set.

The data above highlights that you’ll unlock 7 new patterns that weren’t included before, bringing your total to 24 out of 28 patterns, which is about 86% coverage.

Now, let’s see how many new questions are introduced for patterns we’ve already covered, and how well each new pattern aligns with our 1–2–1 rubric and the scoring method. In the bar chart below, you’ll see the newly covered patterns highlighted in green on the y-axis.

The chart above shows you’ve already completely knocked out a couple of patterns. Credit goes to adding more questions to the patterns you’ve already started covering by working through the overlapping set.

A few patterns are just one more medium and one hard away from being done. Several patterns hover at 53% (with two mediums solved), so you can quickly progress by adding a hard or an easy one. The rest are still in the red zone and will need more focused practice, especially Backtracking and Fast and Slow Pointers, which are just getting started.

The good news is that you know clearly which patterns need more attention, helping you focus your efforts and strengthen your Apple interview prep.

Does solving every Blind 75 problem make a difference?#

You’re almost there. Now it’s time to strengthen your prep by tackling the remaining Blind 75 questions. The goal is to ensure you cover any patterns not addressed in the previous problem sets. Let’s see which new patterns you’ll unlock with this final set.

As per the data above, just like with the previous set, you’ll solve additional questions for patterns you’ve already covered while unlocking 3 new patterns. This brings your total to 27 out of 28 patterns, which is about 96% coverage. So, let’s take a look at how well each one contributes to our rubric.

This chart highlights some real wins. A good number of patterns are all fully covered, with Sliding Window, Topological Sort, and Trie just a single step away at 93%. A cluster of patterns in the partial (yellow) range can be pushed into the green with one or two well-placed questions. The red bars representing patterns like Union Find, Graphs, Cyclic Sort, and a couple of others stand out as clear next priorities, with most just needing a mix of mediums and hards.

The upside is that you’re gaining exposure to new patterns that could appear in your Apple interview.

Are there any patterns that still need attention?#

After working through the overlap, the Apple Top 75, and the remaining Blind 75 problems, it’s important to check for any remaining gaps. Even with a thorough approach, you might find that a few patterns aren’t fully mapped to the 1–2–1 rubric or are represented by only one or two problems.

The following bar chart gives you a quick, visual breakdown of how much you’ve covered for each of the 28 patterns with this focused study plan and points out exactly where your next effort will pay off the most.

This chart highlights that the only pattern that still needs your attention is Sort and Search. Here are a few problems you can practice to fully cover the Sort and Search pattern as per our 1-2-1 rubric:

Filling this final gap ensures you have a truly comprehensive preparation, and won’t be surprised if an Apple interviewer decides to test your ability with this pattern.

Pattern coverage recap#

Most of the patterns, over 60%, come from common problems across all lists. Another 25% are unique to Apple’s set, with Blind-only patterns making up about 11%. What stands out is that only a tiny fraction, just under 4%, of patterns remain uncovered. But with this smart study plan, you could pinpoint that missing pattern: Sort and Search. By focusing on closing that last small gap, you’ll check off every pattern in your prep plan.

How close are you to the 420-point target?#

The following chart gives you a clear look at your progress toward the 420-point prep milestone. So far, you’ve earned 242 points, with Apple-only questions giving your total a solid boost and the Common and Blind 75-only sets adding steady gains. You can see exactly what’s left. Just 178 points to close the gap.

You’re well past the halfway mark now, so keep up the momentum and stick with this smart study plan to reach full coverage soon. Now that you know exactly which patterns and which easy, medium, or hard problems still need attention, closing the gap is more straightforward than ever.

Final thoughts#

Preparing for Apple’s coding interviews is about more than grinding through endless problems or memorizing specific solutions. True readiness comes from understanding the core patterns that underlie almost every question, and then deliberately filling in any gaps with focused practice.

Ultimately, this intentional, pattern-driven approach, rather than brute-force repetition, gives you the adaptability and clarity Apple interviewers value. Approach your prep strategically, focus on real understanding, and you’ll walk into your Apple interview ready for anything.

If you found this helpful, check out Blind 75 vs LeetCode patterns for Amazon interviews for further FAANG prep.

Wishing you focus, confidence, and success as you take on the challenge!

Recommended resources to level up your interview prep#

While this blog gives you a data-driven way to measure and close your prep gaps, the right learning tools can accelerate your progress even further. Here are two highly effective resources to complement your study plan:

• Educative’s Personalized Interview Prep: It’s your tailored prep companion that adapts to your skill level and focuses on the 28 essential LeetCode patterns we’ve been talking about. You can work on the patterns that need the most attention, track progress with clear metrics, and know exactly what to tackle next. Whether it’s adding an easy problem to build confidence or a hard one to push for mastery, you’ll always be working on the right problems at the right time.

• Educative’s Mock Interviews: Practicing is not just about solving problems. It is also about handling real interview pressure. Educative’s AI mock interviews let you simulate actual interview conditions, get actionable feedback, and improve in areas like problem-solving speed. This way, you are not only technically prepared but also confident and ready to perform under time constraints.