Oh? That's Why?
Interactive physics learning app using CoreMotion & SpriteKit, transforming concepts into real world experiences through device sensors. that lets middle schoolers feel physics through touch .
Swift
SSC'26 App Winner
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
3 weeks
team
Me
platform
iOS Application
The Kid I Was Building For
I was 12 when I learned about Newton's laws. i understood the equations. I passed the tests [ barely ]. But I never had that moment of Oh, That's Why. I never once felt a force. I just read about them.
Apple devices already have a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a gravity sensor. It just needed the right app.
Finding the Fix
so i made Oh, That's Why! using CoreMotion, SpriteKit, and the sensors already inside your device to turn abstract physics concepts into something you can physically experience. every activity ends with an explanation, a reflection, and a badge earned. that Oh, That's Why moment.
Who is it for?
Oh, That's Why! is for kids at that same stage, curious enough to want to understand the world, but not yet served well by the way it's taught. No prior knowledge needed. You just pick it up and start moving, and the physics explains itself.
Decisions I Made for Accessibility
I have a -8 eye prescription, so I know what it feels like to use something that wasn't built with you in mind. Everything tappable is a real button so VoiceOver works properly. Colour is never the only way information is shown, in Hit 1G, the needle, progress bar, and label all change, not just the colour.
Using AI During Development
I used Github Copilot for Xcode at various points, m.ainly to look up SwiftUI syntax, debug CoreMotion issues, implement physics simulations like ball boundary collision, and double-check formulas like the pendulum period equation. Coming from a design college, coding isn't my primary background, and it helped me move faster when I hit technical walls. The concept, structure, and design of the app is entirely mine, every activity, the learning flow, the visual language, and the decision to make physics something you feel rather than read.
The WWDC Moment
I first heard about the Swift Student Challenge at a Swift Mumbai workshop at ISDI Mumbai. I walked in not really knowing what to expect, and honestly felt a little out of place being a designer in a room full of developers.
Around 350 apps get selected worldwide. I submitted anyway.
When Oh, That's Why! won, it meant more than recognition. It confirmed something I'd been quietly testing: that the gap between designer and developer is smaller than it looks. You don't have to wait until you're "technical enough." You just have to start, and be willing to understand what you build.
Comment
Poojan Sahil - Learning Innovations | Mathematics, AI, Curriculum & EdTech Specialist
This is amazing Kush!
1
Comment
Katie Levedahl - WW Product Marketing at Apple
congratulations!
1
Comment
Nishant Desai - iOS Engineer at Nutrient (formerly PSPDFKit GmbH)
Hey Kush, congratulations (again) on this! That playground is absolutely amazing. Love the story behind it too. Wish I had something like this back when I was in school. It was a pleasure to have you at our workshop. Can't wait to see all the things you go on to build next.
1
