Here at TestingBot, we've been providing automated mobile app testing on both emulators/simulators and physical mobile devices.
Up until now, the only way to run automated mobile app tests were through Appium, which is a framework built to do automated testing on iOS and Android devices.
With the launch of Espresso testing, TestingBot now provides users the possibility to run Android Espresso tests on a wide variety of Android physical devices, and Android emulators.
What is Espresso testing and why should I use it?
Android Espresso is a UI test framework, created and maintained by Google (it is part of the Android Support Repository).
It was built to provide easy automated testing, with a couple of nice features included:
- You can write clear and concise tests
- It runs on any Android version, from 4.4 up to the latest version
- You can test both native Android views, as well as hybrid web-views
- You can use it to run black-box tests
- The tests can be written in Java or Kotlin
- Android Espresso is optimised for speed and stability
There are alternatives you can use to run tests on Android, such as Robolectric, Kaspresso, Barista and BusyBee as well. These are not yet supported on TestingBot.
Why you should use TestingBot for your Espresso testing
The advantages of using TestingBot for Android Espresso testing include:
- Access to a grid of different physical Android devices. Our collection consists of devices from multiple vendors, with different OS versions for maximum test coverage
- No need to purchase, setup and maintain your own pool of devices
- Available 24/7, from anywhere. The TestingBot device grid is optimised for speed and reliability
- Test analytics, video and screenshots are included with every Espresso test
To get started with Android Espresso testing, please take a look at our Android Espresso documentation.
You will need an Android app, bundled as a .apk file. The tests need to be bundled in a .apk file as well.
Next, you'll upload these files to TestingBot storage, through cURL or any other HTTP client you prefer.
Once uploaded, you can specify the devices the tests should run on.
Once the tests finish, you will see the results in the TestingBot dashboard. The results will contain an overview of each Espresso test, together with logs, a video and possible screenshots generated during the tests.
Some additional features are provided for TestingBot users, including:
Ready to try it out? Sign up for a free trial to get started!
