Ensure perfect app functionality across real devices & browsers
Optimize app front end performance in real world conditions with AI insights
Catch & fix issues before users with 24/7 AI monitoring
Run manual & automated tests at scale over real devices on cloud
Validate apps across every browser-OS combination
Create and maintain end to end tests without coding
AI Agents throughout the entire testing lifecycle
Gen AI Powered Agent for End to End Testing
Transform your Own Devices into a Test Lab for On Premise Testing
In today’s fast-paced development landscape, quality assurance is no longer the sole responsibility of QA teams. Developers and testers are increasingly working together as part of a DevOps-first approach, ensuring that quality is embedded throughout the development lifecycle. Nowhere is this collaboration more critical than in mobile app testing, where continuous iterations demand faster feedback and efficient testing strategies.
To keep pace with this, developers need tools that provide real-time testing capabilities on real devices. This is where cloud-based solutions bridge the gap between development and quality, empowering teams to test and debug seamlessly.
In the world of DevOps, where speed and agility define success, continuous testing is a crucial pillar. App testing in DevOps goes beyond finding bugs; it plays an integral role in ensuring seamless collaboration, faster releases, and enhanced product quality. Here’s an in-depth look at why app testing is indispensable in DevOps.
In DevOps, the objective is to deliver high-quality software quickly and continuously. Testing provides instant feedback on the quality of the code after every change, helping developers address issues early. This prevents defects from compounding and becoming costlier to fix later.
Key Benefits:
Continuous testing forms the backbone of CI/CD pipelines, ensuring that automated tests are executed with every build. This practice ensures that each integration of new code doesn’t break existing functionality.
DevOps encourages a shift-left testing approach where testing is conducted early in the development lifecycle. Additionally, shift-right testing focuses on post-deployment monitoring to gather user feedback and ensure stability in production.
App testing in DevOps accelerates the release cycles by automating repetitive test cases and integrating them into the CI/CD process. Automated tests enable teams to quickly validate code changes and release builds faster.
DevOps fosters a culture of collaboration between development, QA, and operations teams. Automated test reports and dashboards improve visibility, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware of the application’s health.
Manual testing is often limited by time and resources, while automated testing within a DevOps framework ensures comprehensive test coverage. This includes functional, performance, security, and compatibility tests.
One of the goals of DevOps is to minimize post-release issues. Automated testing detects vulnerabilities and inconsistencies in pre-production stages, reducing the risk of defects in live environments.
For mobile app testing, DevOps workflows require testing across different devices, operating systems, and screen sizes. Cloud-based testing platforms ensure that teams can scale their testing efforts without maintaining physical device labs.
In a DevOps environment, testing isn’t limited to functional validation. Performance and load testing are essential to ensure that the application can handle real-world usage patterns and peak traffic.
DevOps is centered around the concept of continuous improvement, and testing plays a key role in gathering insights for refinement. Test results, post-deployment feedback, and analytics help teams fine-tune their processes.
Without continuous testing, DevOps practices cannot achieve their full potential. Here’s why app testing is a critical component in DevOps:
By incorporating robust testing tools and strategies, teams can automate mundane tasks, improve coverage, and release high-quality software faster. Platforms like Pcloudy empower teams by providing cloud-based device access, real-time debugging, and seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines.
Despite advancements in DevOps, mobile app developers continue to face unique challenges when testing apps:
Developers need to test their apps on different device models, screen sizes, and operating system versions to ensure compatibility and performance. However, maintaining an in-house library of physical devices is expensive and difficult to manage due to:
This results in insufficient device coverage, leading to undetected bugs in production when users with different device configurations encounter issues.
2. Need for Robust Debugging Capabilities on Real Devices
Even when organizations provide device clouds, developers often lack the level of control they need for comprehensive debugging. Many platforms only allow basic interactions, such as installing and uninstalling apps, without:
Without robust debugging, identifying the root cause of complex issues becomes time-consuming, impacting development speed and overall productivity.
When an issue is reported in production, developers need access to the exact device model and OS version where the bug occurred. Unfortunately, this is not always feasible due to:
In such cases, developers often resort to inefficient workarounds or face delays in issue resolution, which can affect customer experience and app ratings.
In many workspaces, developers juggle multiple mobile devices connected to their computers via USB cables. This setup often leads to:
These inefficiencies slow down development cycles and create unnecessary frustration, especially when working on apps with frequent updates and tight release timelines.
To address the challenge of device access, many organizations have adopted device clouds that provide remote access to a library of real devices hosted in data centers. These platforms allow developers and testers to:
However, most device clouds are designed primarily for QA teams and automated testing, offering limited support for hands-on debugging by developers. Key limitations include:
Due to these gaps, developers often still rely on physical devices, undermining the benefits of cloud-based solutions.
Pcloudy’s DeviceTunnel bridges the gap between device clouds and developer needs by enabling complete control of cloud-hosted devices directly from the developer’s local environment.
How DeviceTunnel Works
Once connected, developers can perform a wide range of actions to debug and test their apps:
For a step-by-step guide on connecting to cloud devices using DeviceTunnel, click here.
DeviceTunnel transforms cloud-based mobile app testing by providing developers with real-time, hands-on access to cloud-hosted devices.
a. No need to maintain an in-house library of physical devices. b. Reduces clutter and time spent managing physical connections.
2. Real-Time Debugging a. Debug apps on real devices as if they were connected locally. b. Identify and resolve issues faster with direct ADB access and advanced debugging features.
3. Seamless Integration with IDEs
a.Works seamlessly with Android Studio, Eclipse, and command-line tools.
b. Enables uninterrupted workflows for faster development cycles.
4.Improves Collaboration Across Teams
a. QA and development teams can share device logs and testing results.
b. Ensures smoother handoffs between testing and debugging stages.
In an era where speed and quality are non-negotiable, DeviceTunnel helps teams bridge the gap between local development and cloud testing. By empowering developers with real-time device access, Pcloudy enables faster debugging, fewer production defects, and accelerated release cycles—ultimately enhancing the overall app experience.
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Cordova is an open source mobile app development framework which helps build cross-platform mobile applications that are highly scalable and agile. The use of common scripting languages such as CSS, HTML and JavaScript assists in developing a simple and organized Cordova framework, which makes it a popular framework among app developers.
Advantages
Let’s have a look at some of the advantages of creating apps on Cordova :
The Cordova project consists of three main things—a command line tool, access to hardware features, and the ability to support future features.
Need for Cordova plugin in pCloudy
pCloudy being a unified mobile app testing platform is used both by developers and testers. pCloudy offers DeviceTunnel feature for developers to connect to a real device on cloud and use the device as if it’s connected to their local USB. Currently the DeviceTunnel is possible through Android Studio/Eclipse and XCode plugins. Although developers could create builds perfectly using any of the IDEs on the platform, Cordova developers looked for a seamless way of creating apps on a command line tool.
As mentioned earlier, Cordova is a popular open source app development framework among developers and there was a need of command line DeviceTunnel Interface to pCloudy so that developers could build their Android or iOS apps and put it to test on a real device on pCloudy. Now, pCloudy real devices on cloud can be accessed by running few commands on the command line interface.
Let’s see how this works with Cordova.
Note: pCloudy command Line DeviceTunnel Interface is only available for Android devices on Public cloud. It is available for both Android and iOS on private and on-premise cloud.
Pre-requisites
Jar download path
http://pcloudy-content-distribution.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html?prefix=Android%20Device%20Tunnel/
This will be a one-time activity and need not be repeated again.
Steps to Run the Jar
Step 1: Run the DeviceTunnel jar by passing the cloud url, user name and api key
Example: java –jar pCloudy_DeviceTunnel.jar https://device.pcloudy.com test@pcloudy.com skdflj4tlko46lsa
Note: Mention the device tunnel jar path where you store the downloaded pCloudyDeviceTunnel.jar
Example: Here, the jar is saved in desktop so the path would be like
java –jar /Desktop/pCloudy_DeviceTunnel.jar https://device.pcloudy.com test@pcloudy.com skdflj4tlko46lsa
Step 2: It will display a list of available devices in that cloud. Select any one device by mentioning the device number and press enter.
Step 3: Enter the duration (in minutes) for which you want to book the device, then press enter.
Step 4: Selected device gets connected to your system.
Step 5: Open another terminal and check if the device is connected or not
If the device list shows as unauthorized then copy the url displayed by the jar and paste it in the browser.
Step 6: Click on ok option on the device and check device list again in terminal.
Now device is connected to your system. You can use this device like a local device.
Now use the connected device in Cordova app Debugging. Build the cordova app for android.
Step 7: Cordova build process
Step 8: After the successful build, check if the app gets installed on pcloudy device which you had connected to your system.
Cordova app is installed on pcloudy device.
Step 9: You can debug this through chrome debugger.
Note: If you want to exit from the device tunnel jar, please type ‘EXIT/exit’.
Conclusion
No matter if you are a developer or a tester, just sign up on pCloudy to make the most of your app testing.
In the age of mobile apps, a typical developer’s cubicle can be imagined as place where a series of mobile devices are connected with several long USB cables that run into computers. While some developers furiously keep debugging their apps on their computers, there will be others who frequently keep plugging USB cables in and out of the mobile devices to test their apps on various devices.
That makes some of us wonder, doesn’t it? What’s the connection between mobile app developers and USB cables?
Well, when a developer connects a device to a computer, he will instinctively enable the ‘USB Debugging mode’. When the ‘USB Debugging Mode’ is enabled on an Android device, it opens up a bridge between the Android device and the computer. This bridge grants him a level of access from your computer to your device. What kind of access? This level of access that USB Debugging Mode grants is important when he needs system-level clearance, such as when coding or debugging an app. This mode, also called the Developer Mode, allows newly programmed apps to be copied via USB to the device for testing. Depending on the OS version and the installed utilities, the mode must be turned on to let developers gain access of the device. One such common utility is ADB.
One of the most commonly used abbreviations in Android blogs and forums is “adb”. So, what is “adb”?
ADB, Android Debug Bridge, is a command-line utility included with Google’s Android SDK. It provides a wide variety of functions for managing your device. As stated in the Android developer site — “Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile tool that lets you manage the state of an emulator instance or Android-powered device.” In simple words, ‘adb’ is a “bridge” through which developers can connect to an Android emulator or a device from a computer to resolve bugs in their applications. The bridge can be accessed via a command line interface from a computer, where the Android SDK is installed. This is done by connecting a device that runs the software through a PC, and feeding it terminal commands. ADB lets you modify your device (or device’s software) via a PC command line.
A simple client-server setup using your USB cable will help you establish an adb connection from a computer to an android device. Once this connection is established, you can send adb commands from your computer via USB to control your android device. Using ADB commands you can move content to and from your phone, install an uninstall apps, back-up and restore your software, run shell commands, run automation scripts and more.
But, it certainly raises questions like these:
Well, the answer is you can establish adb connection with cloud-based devices as well, and it is a much easier process compared to connecting your devices locally.
pCloudy has introduced Device Tunnel, a new add-on to our real mobile device cloud. With Device Tunnel, you can connect and take full control of any Android device using Android Debug Bridge. It provides access to the cloud-based devices through the Android Studio or Eclipse IDE and the command-line tool that’s installed on your computer. What’s more? Many test automation frameworks and developer tools used for evaluation of the app and debugging can hold on to cloud-based devices as if locally connected by USB. For such tools, Device Tunnel acts as a “USB cable” connecting cloud-based device(s) to a local laptop or server. From the point of view of such tools, a cloud-based device appears physically attached. In reality, the Device Tunnel communicates with pCloudy’s servers over Ethernet (LAN or WAN) to reach the cloud-based device.
The Device Tunnel allows developers to gain more control over any cloud-based android device. Once a connection is established, the developers can perform the following actions:
This comes with the added advantage of accessing and performing these actions on any Android device among of hundreds that are hosted on our Cloud. This ability will also help developers to debug apps and determine the causes behind issues or bugs that are device specific.
On the whole, the Device Tunnel will aid developers and testers who need quick access to diverse devices for brisk evaluation of app and debugging. It enables developers and testers to instantly connect to any device hosted on cloud and easily identify problems by running interactive debug sessions.
To know more on how to connect any device on pCloudy using Device Tunnel click here
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