Automated testing is crucial for ensuring high quality, bug-free iOS apps. However, building an effective test automation strategy can be challenging. This complete guide to iOS UI test automation will walk you through everything you need to know.
The Growing Importance of iOS Test Automation
iOS is the second most popular mobile operating system, powering millions of iPhones and iPads around the world. As iOS continues to grow, so does the need for comprehensive test automation.
Here are a few key reasons automated testing is so critical for iOS:
- iOS is very complex under the hood and constantly evolving. New devices, iOS versions, and features lead to more potential issues.
- Users have high expectations for iOS apps. Even minor bugs can frustrate users and hurt adoption.
- There are countless device and OS permutations. Testing them all manually is impossible.
- iOS apps often integrate tightly with hardware like GPS and cameras. Testing device integration manually is time-consuming.
- Automated testing saves time and money compared to manual testing.
In short, automated testing is the only way to keep up with the pace of iOS innovation while meeting user expectations for quality.
Key iOS Test Automation Frameworks
Several popular test automation frameworks are used for iOS UI testing:
Appium: Appium is an open source automation framework that supports native, hybrid, and mobile web apps. It allows writing tests in languages like Java, Python, JavaScript, C#, and Ruby. Appium lacks some features of native frameworks but supports cross-platform testing.
XCUITest: XCUITest is Apple‘s official UI automation framework included with Xcode. It uses the Swift or Objective-C programming languages. XCUITest only supports testing iOS apps but has very tight integration with Xcode and iOS APIs.
EarlGrey: EarlGrey is a native open source framework created by Google. It uses Swift or Objective-C and relies on Apple‘s XCTest framework under the hood. EarlGrey is optimized for speed, stability, and synchronization.
Espresso: Espresso is also created by Google but for Android test automation. It supports some cross-platform mobile testing when combined with Appium.
When choosing a test automation framework, consider factors like language support, speed, stability, integration with iOS and Xcode, and whether cross-platform testing is needed.
Automated iOS Testing with BrowserStack
While it‘s possible to run automated iOS tests on physical devices, using a real device cloud platform like BrowserStack is faster, more reliable, and cost-effective.
BrowserStack offers everything needed for mobile test automation:
4000+ Real iOS Devices: Choose from the largest collection of real iOS devices on the market – including the latest iPhones and iPads running every iOS version.
Integration with Frameworks: BrowserStack integrates seamlessly with Appium, Espresso, EarlGrey, and XCUITest.
Advanced Device Management: Every real device runs in BrowserStack‘s secure, highly available data centers. They offer remote access and advanced management features.
Smart Analytics: View detailed test reports on factors like network traffic, logs, device vitals, errors, crashes, etc. Identify issues quickly.
Speed and Reliability: BrowserStack‘s real device cloud runs tests 50% faster than physical devices while offering 95% uptime.
Secure Environment: Enterprise measures like SOC-2 compliance, end-to-end encryption, and strict access controls keep data safe.
In short, BrowserStack combines all devices, frameworks, and tools needed for comprehensive iOS test automation.
A Step-by-Step Guide to iOS UI Testing
Below is an end-to-end walkthrough of setting up automated iOS UI tests with BrowserStack using Appium and Java.
Step 1 – Sign Up for BrowserStack
Go to www.browserstack.com and click "Get Started Free" to create a trial account. Subscribe to the plan with the devices needed.
Step 2 – Set Up Local Development Environment
Download and install Java 8+ and an IDE like IntelliJ or Eclipse on your local machine. Install Appium and configure it for iOS testing.
Step 3 – Configure Test Capabilities
When initializing the Appium driver, set desired capabilities like device, OS version, app URL/local path, and other parameters.
Sample Code
DesiredCapabilities caps = new DesiredCapabilities();
caps.setCapability("device", "iPhone 12");
caps.setCapability("os_version", "14");
caps.setCapability("project", "My iOS Project");
caps.setCapability("build", "iOS UI Tests");
caps.setCapability("name", "Add product to cart test");
URL url = new URL("https://username:[email protected]/wd/hub");
AppiumDriver driver = new IOSDriver(url, caps);Step 4 – Write Test Cases
Use Selenium or Appium APIs to write test cases that simulate user flows in the iOS app UI.
Sample test case
//Navigate to product page
driver.findElement(MobileBy.AccessibilityId("Shop")).click();
//Add product to cart
MobileElement product = (MobileElement) driver.findElement(MobileBy.iOSNsPredicateString("type == ‘XCUIElementTypeStaticText‘ AND name CONTAINS ‘Blue tee‘"));
product.click();
MobileElement addToCartButton = (MobileElement) driver.findElement(MobileBy.iOSNsPredicateString("type ==‘XCUIElementTypeButton‘ AND name CONTAINS ‘Add To Cart‘"));
addToCartButton.click();
//Verify product added
MobileElement cartBadge = (MobileElement) driver.findElement(MobileBy.iOSNsPredicateString("type == ‘XCUIElementTypeStaticText‘ AND name CONTAINS ‘1‘"));
Assert.assertTrue(cartBadge.isDisplayed());Step 5 – Run Tests
Execute tests locally. They will run remotely on the specified BrowserStack devices in parallel.
Step 6 – Reports & Analysis
View test reports, videos, device logs, network traffic, crashes, and other data on the BrowserStack dashboard.
And that covers the end-to-end workflow for automated iOS UI testing with BrowserStack! Adjust the frameworks and languages used based on your needs.
Tips and Best Practices for iOS Test Automation
Here are some key best practices to follow as you build and expand test automation for iOS:
- Leverage page object models – Page objects help reduce code duplication and improve test maintenance.
- Use a cloud testing platform – Avoid flakiness and save time by using a platform like BrowserStack.
- Test on different networks – Simulate slow 3G, WiFi, and offline scenarios during testing.
- Isolate test cases – Each test should validate one specific piece of functionality.
- Perform regression testing – Regression test every time new features are added or code is changed.
- Integrate with CI/CD – Run automated tests in pipelines to catch issues pre-production.
- Generate comprehensive reports – Reports, videos, logs, etc. help debug failures faster.
- Manage test data dynamically – Generate test data on the fly using localized tools like JSON Generator.
Integrating iOS Test Automation into CI/CD
To prevent defects and speed up delivery cycles, automated tests should be integrated into continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows.
Popular CI/CD platforms like Jenkins, CircleCI, GitHub Actions, TravisCI, and TeamCity all integrate smoothly with real device clouds. Configuring a CI/CD job to run iOS tests could involve:
- Triggering the job when code is pushed to a development branch
- Checking out and building the latest code
- Running API contract tests
- Running iOS UI tests in parallel across 30+ BrowserStack devices
- Collecting test reports, logs, videos, etc.
- Sending notifications in case of test failures
- Deploying the build to staging if tests pass
By integrating iOS test automation into CI/CD in this manner, defects can be caught early, quality can be measured via test reporting, and faster release cycles can be achieved through automated deployments.
Troubleshooting Common iOS Test Automation Issues
Here are some common automated testing issues and fixes:
Tests failing randomly: This is usually due to test flakiness caused by factors like test code defects or external dependencies. Relying on a real device cloud platform like BrowserStack reduces flakiness substantially.
Tests running slowly: Using simulators will lead to slow tests. Leverage real devices in parallel for increased speed. Also ensure test cases minimize API calls to avoid network delays.
Element not found errors: Stale element references can lead to these errors. Scroll elements into view and leverage identifiers like accessibility ID to improve element targeting.
App not installed errors: can occur if the app crashes during initialization or gets removed from devices. Opt for Single App Plan on BrowserStack to ensure dedicated, pre-installed instances of app for each test suite.
Videos not recording: On BrowserStack, enable “Record Videos” capability to debug using visual logs. For physical devices, ensure screen recording permissions are enabled on the devices.
This covers some common challenges you may face with iOS test automation. For app-specific issues, the BrowserStack support team is available 24/7 to troubleshoot and provide fixes.
Conclusion
As devices, features, and complexity increases – comprehensive test automation becomes critical for iOS apps. This guide covered the what, why and how behind setting up automated testing for your iOS application UI:
- Discussed the growing importance of automated UI testing for iOS
- Provided an overview of popular iOS test automation frameworks
- Walked through how BrowserStack enables fast, reliable automated testing at scale
- Gave a step-by-step breakdown of scripting and running automated iOS UI tests
- Shared tips and best practices for effective test automation
- Covered integrating tests into CI/CD pipelines
- Listed common test automation issues with troubleshooting tips
I hope this gives you a 360 degree view into creating an effective, comprehensive automated testing strategy for your iOS initiatives! Reach out in the comments with any other topics you would like covered.
