--- title: Maestro Physical Device Testing | TestingBot Blog description: Maestro testing in parallel on physical Android and iOS devices. source_url: html: https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-physical-device-testing md: https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-physical-device-testing.md --- # Run Maestro tests in parallel on physical devices Maestro testing in parallel on physical Android and iOS devices. By [Jochen D.](https://testingbot.com/about/jochen-d)2026-01-19 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Post on Reddit Share link When we first introduced [Maestro Cloud Testing on TestingBot](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-cloud-testing), we focused on providing a reliable service for running Maestro cloud tests on emulators/simulators, as well as physical Android devices. The integration at that time only allowed uploading and starting Maestro flows through API calls. Today we're expanding Maestro support with some big improvements: - **Physical iOS device support:** Run Maestro tests on real, physical iOS devices (iPhones and iPads). - [TestingBot CLI](https://github.com/testingbot/testingbotctl): a new command-line interface to make cloud runs feel as simple as local Maestro test runs. - **Parallel execution:** Maestro flows will now run in parallel (across devices and configurations), delivering even faster feedback. ## New: TestingBot CLI for Maestro We built a dedicated CLI so running Maestro on TestingBot feels as close as possible to local Maestro. The CLI lives at [github.com/testingbot/testingbotctl](https://github.com/testingbot/testingbotctl) and is designed for CI pipelines and developer workflows. ```bash # Install npm install -g @testingbot/cli # Authenticate (or set env vars in CI) testingbot login # Run Maestro flows on TestingBot testingbot maestro [options] ``` The CLI handles app upload, flow packaging, device selection, starting the run, streaming logs and retrieving results. It's intentionally automation-friendly: you can integrate it into CI and have it return proper exit codes for pass/fail. Here's a quick walkthrough of running Maestro flows on TestingBot: https://www.youtube.com/embed/MMWCkBgXFOU ## New: Run Maestro on physical iOS devices Another big new capability: **TestingBot now supports Maestro on real iPhones and iPads**. This is especially important when you need confidence beyond simulators. Real device offer performance, hardware behavior and edge cases that emulators/simulators can not fully replicate. ### Why real-device iOS matters - **True performance characteristics:** CPU/GPU constraints and animation timing behave differently on real devices. - **Hardware-specific behavior:** Sensors, camera flows, notifications and device-specific quirks. - **Higher confidence releases:** Validate your app on the same class of devices your users run. ## Faster than Maestro Cloud and DeviceCloud Speed matters when Maestro is part of your PR checks. TestingBot is optimized for fast mobile execution and quick turnaround: **flows start quickly** , run on **high-performance infrastructure** and now execute **in parallel** across devices. ### TestingBot - Real iOS devices + simulators - Android real devices + emulators - **Parallel flow execution** - Artifacts: video, logs, screenshots ### Maestro Cloud / DeviceCloud - Typically iOS simulators only (no real iOS devices) - Emulator-first execution models - Parallelism may be limited or plan-dependent - Less flexibility in device coverage ## Why Maestro for mobile app testing? Maestro has become a favorite for QA and developers because it's fast to write, easy to review and stable in practice. Flows are defined as human-readable YAML that models real user journeys (sign in, checkout, onboarding) and Maestro's built-in synchronization reduces flakiness by default. - **Readable flows:** YAML-based test cases that are easy to code-review. - **Quick iteration:** Easy to add coverage as features evolve. - **Practical stability:** Designed to wait for UI elements and tolerate timing differences. - **CI-friendly:** Great fit for pipelines where you need reliable pass/fail signals. ## Parallel flows: reduce suite time dramatically In real projects, you don't run one flow, instead you run a suite. TestingBot's upgraded execution engine runs flows **in parallel** across devices and configurations, so you can shrink end-to-end runtime and ship faster. - **PR feedback faster:** Parallel runs keep pipelines tight. - **More coverage:** Run the same flow across multiple devices/OS versions at once. - **Scales with your team:** Concurrency increases with your plan. ## Documentation and options If you want to learn more, please see the documentation: - [Maestro on TestingBot: quickstart + workflow](https://testingbot.com/support/app-automate/maestro) - [Maestro options: devices, OS versions and advanced flags](https://testingbot.com/support/app-automate/maestro/options) - [Maestro feature page](https://testingbot.com/features/automation/maestro) ### Start running Maestro tests at scale If you already use Maestro locally, moving to TestingBot is straightforward: keep your flows, run them on real devices, and scale out with parallel execution. [Get the CLI](https://github.com/testingbot/testingbotctl) [Learn more](https://testingbot.com/features/automation/maestro) [← Previous post tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) [Next post → Selenium vs Playwright 2026](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-vs-playwright) ## Sidebar ### TestingBot Cloud Testing Run automated, manual and visual tests on remote browsers and devices. Sign up for a free trial. [Free Trial](https://testingbot.com/users/sign_up) ### Latest articles [![Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/ai-insights.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) #### Announcing AI Test Insights Use AI Insights to quickly discover why an automated test... [Read: Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) [![Selenium vs Playwright 2026](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/selenium-vs-playwright-2026.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-vs-playwright) #### Selenium vs Playwright 2026 Comparing Selenium vs Playwright - which is the best test... [Read: Selenium vs Playwright 2026](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-vs-playwright) [![Maestro Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/maestro-physical.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-physical-device-testing) #### Maestro Physical Device Testing Maestro testing in parallel on physical Android and iOS d... [Read: Maestro Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-physical-device-testing) ## Related Articles [![Selenium vs Playwright 2026](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/selenium-vs-playwright-2026.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-vs-playwright "Selenium vs Playwright 2026") ### [Selenium vs Playwright 2026](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-vs-playwright) Comparing Selenium vs Playwright - which is the best test framework for your usecase? [Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-vs-playwright) [![Maestro testing in the cloud with TestingBot](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2025/maestro.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-cloud-testing "Maestro testing in the cloud with TestingBot") ### [Maestro testing in the cloud with TestingBot](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-cloud-testing) Run Maestro tests in the cloud with TestingBot. [Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-cloud-testing) [![Selenium 20th birthday](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2024/selenium20.webp)](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-20-years "Selenium 20th birthday") ### [Selenium 20th birthday](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-20-years) Celebrate Selenium's 20th birthday. An overview of the years. [Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/selenium-20-years) [![tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2025/appletv.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing "tvOS Physical Device Testing") ### [tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) Run automated tvOS tests on physical AppleTV devices. [Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) ## More by Jochen D. [![Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/ai-insights.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights "Announcing AI Test Insights") ### [Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) Use AI Insights to quickly discover why an automated test failed. [![tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2025/appletv.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing "tvOS Physical Device Testing") ### [tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) Run automated tvOS tests on physical AppleTV devices. [![MacOS Tahoe Cloud Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2025/tahoe.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/macos-tahoe-beta-testing "MacOS Tahoe Cloud Testing") ### [MacOS Tahoe Cloud Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/macos-tahoe-beta-testing) Test your websites and apps on Apple's upcoming macOS Tahoe (macOS 26). [See all posts by Jochen D. →](https://testingbot.com/about/jochen-d) ## Ready to start testing? [Start a free trial](https://testingbot.com/users/sign_up)