What is AWS Device Farm? - AWS Device Farm

What is AWS Device Farm?

Device Farm is an app testing service that you can use to test and interact with your Android, iOS, and web apps on real, physical phones and tablets that are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

There are two main ways to use Device Farm:

  • Automated testing of apps using a variety of testing frameworks.

  • Remote access of devices onto which you can load, run, and interact with apps in real time.

Note

Device Farm is only available in the us-west-2 (Oregon) region.

Automated app testing

Device Farm allows you to upload your own tests or use built-in, script-free compatibility tests. Because testing is performed in parallel, tests on multiple devices begin in minutes.

As tests are completed, a test report that contains high-level results, low-level logs, pixel-to-pixel screenshots, and performance data is updated.

Device Farm supports testing of native and hybrid Android and iOS apps, including those created with PhoneGap, Titanium, Xamarin, Unity, and other frameworks. It supports remote access of Android and iOS apps for interactive testing. For more information about supported test types, see Working with test types in AWS Device Farm.

Remote access interaction

Remote access allows you to swipe, gesture, and interact with a device through your web browser in real time. There are a number of situations where real-time interaction with a device is useful. For example, customer service representatives can guide customers through the use or setup of their device. They can also walk customers through the use of apps running on a specific device. You can install apps on a device running in a remote access session and then reproduce customer problems or reported bugs.

During a remote access session, Device Farm collects details about actions that take place as you interact with the device. Logs with these details and a video capture of the session are produced at the end of the session.

Terminology

Device Farm introduces the following terms that define the way information is organized:

device pool

A collection of devices that typically share similar characteristics, such as platform, manufacturer, or model.

job

A request for Device Farm to test a single app against a single device. A job contains one or more suites.

metering

Refers to billing for devices. You might see references to metered devices or unmetered devices in the documentation and API reference. For more information about pricing, see AWS Device Farm Pricing.

project

A logical workspace that contains runs, one run for each test of a single app against one or more devices. You can use projects to organize workspaces in whatever way you choose. For example, you can have one project per app title or one project per platform. You can create as many projects as you need.

report

Contains information about a run, which is a request for Device Farm to test a single app against one or more devices. For more information, see Reports in AWS Device Farm.

run

A specific build of your app, with a specific set of tests, to be run on a specific set of devices. A run produces a report of the results. A run contains one or more jobs. For more information, see Runs.

session

A real-time interaction with an actual, physical device through your web browser. For more information, see Sessions.

suite

The hierarchical organization of tests in a test package. A suite contains one or more tests.

test

An individual test case in a test package.

For more information about Device Farm, see Concepts.

Setting up

To use Device Farm, see Setting up.