7 iOS automation testing tools you need to check out today

The challenge of delivery of a high-quality application depends on how effectively an application is tested post-development. An ideal testing tool can be the one that offers reliable results with robust performance. We have listed below seven iOS automation tools based on popularity, delivery and potential trends, from which you can choose to test your iOS application. 

1. Appium: A rich-featured open source testing tool for iOS applications. It has been one of the ruling tools in the testing industry because of its robust automation features. It also allows the testing of Android applications. 

Some of its important features are:

• Test scripts are reusable and can be easily maintained. 
• It is used to automate test cases for native (.ipa), hybrid and mobile-web applications. It allows the reusability of a single code for different mobile operating systems without maintaining various codebases for respective operating systems. 
• It supports a wide range of operating systems, and programming language like JAVA Python, Ruby, JavaScript, PHP. 
• In the latest version, it has added the screen recording feature for iOS (simulators), previously it only had for Android. 
• It allows the integration of third-party tools. 
• It is free, scalable and considered one of the most flexible tools.  

Website: Appium

2. Testsigma: A cloud-based testing tool with an intuitive interface which easy-to-use. The peculiarity of this tool is it makes the testing process faster as compared to other tools available in the market and is cheaper too. It supports features required for Agile, CI and CD and DevOps for testing of iOS applications. It not only supports iOS but also Android and Web applications. 

Let’s dive into some of its silent features.

• It supports test scripts in simple English.
• When it comes to integration (integration with Email notification, Browser stack, Jira, Slack), it does not have many restrictions.
• Implementing the test is easy.
• AI-driven test automation.
• As it is an AI-driven tool, so application updates and other changes are handled automatically.
• It has comprehensive documentation and guides videos to make the task easier. It also has an amazing customer support team that resolves issues in the best possible way with a quick response time.

Website: Testsigma

Give us a try.

3. iOS Driver: It is one of the strong players in the iOS testing industry. An open-source Selenium integrated tool that tests iOS native, hybrid, and mobile applications using WebDriver API. Testing is more efficient preferably on emulators. 

Some of its highlighted features are: 

• Testing can be performed without jailbreak the device, changing the code of any application or loading any additional application for testing an application in a device.
• It implements JSON wire protocol.
• After checking the compatibility, testers can use selected features of X-code (Apple’s integrated development environment for macOS, used to develop software for iOS, macOS, iPad, watchOS and tvOS).
• Quick and first-class support for localised native applications.
• It manages the device/ simulator by using the existing Selenium Grid.
• It is fully compatible with Selenium/ WebDriver API. 
• Tests can be run tests parallelly on the same architecture as for the web by using iOS-driver as Selenium grid node by following the Selenium/WebDriver protocol. 

Website: iOS Driver

4. Kobiton:  A mobile testing automation tool that delivers the best user experience. It allows the testing of native, hybrid and web applications in iOS and Android with real devices. It comes with some dope characteristics like instant application heath checking, Device Lab Management (DLM) allowing to connect internal devices, and creating own test cloud, Appium script generation etc. 

Some of its distinctive features are: 

• It provides real-time application analytics based on detailed logs, which also includes screenshots, videos, and system metrics of battery and memory usage. It also allows testing of all possible gestures in real devices and scroll, tap, swipe on cloud devices. 
• It allows the running of a device lab consisting of the local on-premise device, public cloud devices and private cloud.
• It supports parallel automation execution with mobile testing tools.
• It offers a centralised testing activity that is easy to share across teams which increases collaboration among team members.

Website: Kobiton

5. Calabash: It is an automated testing tool for iOS native and hybrid applications. For iOS testing, it uses a separate library called calabash-iOS. It also supports Android testing and has a library called calabash-android. It is an open-source testing tool. Calabash-iOS authorizes the Cucumber to run automated test scripts on iOS real devices and simulators. It allows writing codes in domain-specific language or simple English. 

Some of its major features are:

• Calabash provides a single interface for different platforms; it functions on one script file for each application use-case even if the development is for both iOS and Android. This helps in cost reduction. 
• It supports performing the test on physical devices and simulators as well. 
• It supports widely used programming languages like Java, Ruby, C# etc. 
• It supports gestures like rotation, and swipe etc for features.

Website: Calabash

 6.  21 Labs: It is an AI-based self-learning automation testing tool for iOS and Android applications supporting a wide range of devices and OS versions. The creation of test cases using 21 is quick and can be done with very few clicks. It also offers self-maintenance of 

1. tests and continuous testing for mobile without any devices.

Some of its unique features are: 

• Starting a test takes only a few minutes and is very less as compared to other testing tools. To initiate the testing, a tester needs to upload the apk file of the application and start testing. It also offers pre-integration of emulators and devices, so setting up the framework requires very less time. 
• The self-learning ability of this tool makes the task easier and faster. When a test case is created, it learns the structure and functionality of each screen and respected actions taken for each one. Moreover, when an update is pushed, it detects the update automatically restructure it accordingly. and 
• The auto-pilot mode of code-maintenance saves a lot of time and reduces cost.
• It offers parallel execution of test case on multiple devices. 
• It has a very strong root cause analysis for failed test cases. 

Website:  21 Labs

7. XCUI Test:  It is a native library provided by Apple’s Xcode, XCUITest. XCUITest tests the UI and there is also another library XCTest which tests the backend codes. This tool happens to be one of the best tools because it is supported by Apple’s development ecosystem. It delivers a fast testing process and is fully compatible with Apple. 

Some of its features are:

• It supports the native language for testing, so test cases can be written in the same language using which the application was developed. 
• It allows testing on physical devices and simulators.
• It is fast and user friendly.

Website: XCUITest 

 Happy Testing.