if someone applies for the Apple Card will it be a hard inquiry on your credit or soft?

Yes, it is a “hard” inquiry. After all it is a credit card. I can confirm this because after my application was accepted and the Apple Card issued I logged into my Credit Karma account to find it was listed as a hard inquiry by TransUnion from Goldman Sachs. According to Credit Karma hard inquiries have a minor negative impact on your credit rating. The more hard inquiries you have in a year the more it has a negative effect.

Applying does nothing, accepting causes a hard inquiry.