Overcoming the Fruity Quirks of iOS App Automated Testing

Apple applications are easy to test. Compared to Android, that is. But when it comes to automated testing for iOS, that’s an entirely different kind of battle. This fruity operating system is cluttered with peculiarities no other OS has. And working with it calls for precise expertise and practices.

Today, we discuss the special approaches to iOS automation testing that turn it from a brave fight into QA delight.

Key Challenges in iOS Automated Testing

First, we need to get to know the source of pain for QA engineers automation testing iOS apps. We’ll focus on the OS’s peculiarities. But you also need to keep in mind the universal challenges of working with automated testing (AT).

Device Fragmentation

Apple has well over a hundred mobile devices for you to work with. Each of them comes with distinct screen sizes, resolutions, aspect ratios, and hardware capabilities. So, there will be a lot (and we mean really a lot) of compatibility testing.

Frequent OS Updates

iOS welcomes significant updates yearly. Plus, there are minor changes throughout the year. You should keep up with all modifications and alter your automated tests accordingly. For example, we recently discussed how iOS 18 app testing requires extra effort from QA teams.

Strict App Store Guidelines

The App Store has stringent standards your product must comply with. These include UI consistency, privacy rules, and performance benchmarks. Since these guidelines are mostly static, you’re likely to want to automate them. But not everything can be handled with iOS test automation. UX elements often need subjective validation. And genuine security, too, calls for manual software testing.

Closed Ecosystem

iOS operates within a tightly controlled ecosystem. Apple restricts certain APIs, file system access, and system-level interactions for security reasons. And this can limit what automation can achieve, such as testing notifications or background behaviors.

Code Signing & Permissions

Every iOS app build must be signed with valid developer certificates and provisioning profiles. These allow the product to work on distinct devices. AT setups need to handle this signing process consistently. Plus, tests involving features like location, camera, or notifications require managing permissions dynamically during test runs, as there’s no user to approve them manually.

Performance & Resource Constraints

Older iOS devices may struggle with resource-intensive AT frameworks. This can skew performance testing results. Additionally, battery-taxing tests can reveal issues on physical devices that simulators might miss. Hence, you’re likely to turn to real-device testing, which is expensive and effortful.

Tool Limitations

Popular iOS automation testing tools (e.g., XCTest or Appium) come with limitations. XCTest and XCUITest, for example, are tightly integrated with Apple’s ecosystem but lack support for cross-platform testing. Appium, while cross-platform, sometimes struggles with native iOS functionality due to slower updates or compatibility issues with Apple’s changing APIs.

Now that you know where to expect hardship, let’s move on to insights that make iOS app testing services a lot more enjoyable.

Selecting Tests for iOS App Automation Testing

You can’t automate everything. Most importantly, you really shouldn’t. When choosing cases for your iOS app automation, you should always consider the pros and cons that come with it. For example, will automating this element speed up development, improve quality, or unload the team? On the other hand, think about whether introducing AT for specific cases could require extra work, like frequent test case updates or difficult maintenance.

From our practice, we’d recommend focusing on the following scenarios.

• Repetitive tests—tasks like logging in or basic navigation that are run frequently.
• High-risk features—areas critical to usability or business goals, such as payments and user data handling.
• Stable components—features that are well-developed and less likely to change often.
• Cross-device scenarios—tests ensuring compatibility across iPhones, iPads, and different iOS versions.
• Time-consuming tasks—scenarios that are tedious or take a long time to test manually, like testing multiple data inputs or combinations.
• Data-driven tests—cases involving multiple sets of data, such as testing with various user credentials.
• Complex workflows—multi-step processes that are error-prone, such as onboarding flows or multi-screen operations.
• Frequent regression—tests for features prone to breakage during updates.
• Hard-to-test manually—cases requiring precision, like animations or rapid interactions, that are difficult for humans to replicate.

As you know, automated software testing services are exceptionally valuable to both businesses and users. Yet, as we’ve mentioned before, they can’t handle everything.

Usability testing should always be left to manual mobile QA. Cybersecurity can’t be covered by automated tests alone. And sometimes, there’s simply no point in using iOS app automated testing (like for exploratory efforts or one-off scenarios).

To make sure you keep your team focused and productive, we recommend beginning with applying AT to where it matters most.

1. Regression tests require running the same set of tests multiple times across different builds and updates.
2. Functional tests often involve checking core features that don’t change frequently once implemented.
3. Performance tests need to simulate real-world usage (e.g., app load, response times, or system resource consumption), which is highly repetitive and data-driven.
4. Integration tests often focus on interactions between different system components (e.g., app and server). These tests can be repetitive, especially when new components are integrated or APIs change.
5. Testing across devices and screen sizes can be time-consuming and tedious if done manually.
6. Automated UI testing for iOS secures visual consistency by running the same tests across various screen sizes, resolutions, and devices.
7. Automated accessibility testing tools can scan the app for adherence to fundamental accessibility standards, quickly handling basic compliance.
8. Apple is known for its demanding security policies. AT tools help you swiftly locate simple security vulnerabilities while the crew conducts in-depth checks.

As you can see, the above testing types often work with stable and frequent cases. They also share the burden with the QA team.

For instance, in the case of accessibility testing, AT tools can cover fundamental checks. And your crew will take care of more complex aspects. UI testing services work in the same manner. While tools can’t assess an app’s aesthetic fit, they can check grid correctness, button placement, etc.

So, remember the 5 C’s of test case selection.

• Consistent.
• Common.
• Complex.
• Time-consuming.
• Cooperating (helping QA engineers’ workload).

Such cases are ideal candidates for iOS app test automation.

How to Automate iOS App Testing

Preparing and executing test automation for iOS is fairly straightforward. The two things you should prioritize are:

1. Finding QA engineers who are true specialists in mobile application testing services and iOS itself.
2. Making sure they fully understand your product.

The first point will secure productive testing. The second guarantees that this productive testing is valuable to your project specifically. Overall, a professional, skilled crew makes all the difference when applying automated testing to iOS apps.

#1 Analyzing the App

• Examine the app’s features, user flows, and areas critical to business and performance.
• Highlight UI components, APIs, and workflows to focus on during automation.
• Determine target iOS versions and devices, ensuring test coverage for a wide range of users.

#2 Setting Up the Framework

• Choose iOS app testing tools that cover your project’s needs and fit your team’s skills. Opt for tools like XCUITest, Appium, or XCTest based on project requirements.
• Set up necessary SDKs, simulators, or real devices. Ensure Xcode is configured for seamless testing.
• Include clear guidelines for test case prioritization and coverage.

#3 Writing Scripts

• Write reusable and maintainable test scripts to adapt easily to changes in the app.
• Use accessibility IDs and labels to create robust locators for UI elements.
• Validate expected outcomes to identify failures early.

#4 Executing Test Runs

• Use simulators for initial checks and real devices or device clouds for broader compatibility testing.
• Save time by running test cases on multiple devices simultaneously.
• Pay attention to crashes, memory usage, and responsiveness during execution.

#5 Analyzing Reports

• Capture screenshots, stack traces, and test metrics for failed cases.
• Use insights to identify gaps and improve test scripts.
• Provide reports to development and QA teams for resolution.

#6 Retesting & Regression Testing

• Rerun tests to ensure resolved defects don’t recur.
• Regularly execute scripts for areas prone to frequent changes.
• Update test scripts in response to app updates or framework changes.

Remember that this process isn’t static. And at some point, you might even need to start over. Your product will change. iOS specifications will change. So, your AT strategy is bound to have alterations and fixes. The most important thing is not to ignore this evolution, so to speak. When you stay still when everything around you moves, you’re simply going to be left behind.

Thus, update your QA process, look for better tools and practices, and upskill your team.

iOS Automation Best Practices

Speaking of always striving for something better, QA Madness’ experts have prepared a few insights you can use to upgrade your iOS automated testing. You don’t have to use them. In fact, it’s always better to develop your own targeted best practices.

For now, as we’re unfamiliar with your project, we can offer some tips that our team has found extra useful when working with clients’ apps.

• Use device clouds to expand your testing coverage without maintaining a large device lab. And rely on real devices for the most accurate results for critical aspects.
• Write modular and reusable tests to simplify maintenance and teamwork.
• Use descriptive test names and inline comments to clarify intent. The better everything is documented, the easier it’ll be for you to track progress and quality progression.
• Test with a variety of input data for robust validation. Use external data sources (e.g., CSV, JSON, or databases) to feed test scripts. And implement parameterized tests to easily switch between data sets without rewriting scripts.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines for continuous feedback, reducing time-to-market, and improving app quality.
• Maintain detailed and actionable reports to help teams quickly identify and resolve issues.
• During testing, pay extra attention to iOS-specific characteristics. For example, iOS performance testing automation should be among your focus points, as Apple apps are expected to be well-optimized. The same goes for security and UI.
• Prepare for iOS version updates by testing your app on the latest iOS beta versions before they are officially released. Don’t forget to keep automation tools and dependencies updated to maintain compatibility.
• Cover unique iOS features, like Push Notifications, Face ID/Touch ID, and Apple Pay, well. And automate testing for Handoff, Siri Shortcuts, and Deep Links where applicable.
• Invest in high-quality accessibility testing, as it’s something Apple’s really keen on.

When we say that you should develop personal best practices, we don’t mean reinventing the wheel. You can take existing boosting procedures and simply tweak them to better fit your workflows. This way, you get the original intended upgrade plus extra quality for your product.

iOS App Automation Testing Tools

When choosing your QA resources, in our case, iOS automated testing frameworks and tools, you should consider two things primarily:

• How well the tool covers your needs.
• How well your team can operate it.

You don’t want praised software that doesn’t really fit your project. And you don’t want an overall great option that your crew doesn’t know how to use. Try to find a balance between these two aspects. It’s better to spend a bit of time on proper research for iOS automation testing tools than regret your choice in the end.

Here are a few options our team has used and found helpful.

XCUITest

XCUITest is Apple’s official testing framework for iOS apps. It is deeply integrated with Xcode and designed to test the app’s UI.

Pros:

• Seamlessly integrates with Xcode and the iOS ecosystem.
• Very fast and reliable, with low test flakiness.
• Offers highly stable tests, especially when run on real devices.

Cons:

• Only supports Swift and Objective-C.
• XCUITest only supports iOS, making it unsuitable for cross-platform mobile app testing.
• While simpler than some tools, it can still require a detailed configuration compared to other frameworks like Espresso.

Appium

Appium is a versatile cross-platform testing framework. While it’s designed for both iOS and Android, it can be a go-to choice for teams needing a unified solution across platforms.

Pros:

• Supports both iOS and Android, allowing for shared test scripts.
• Works with multiple programming languages, including Java, Python, and Ruby.
• Supports visual testing, which is a plus for UI checks.

Cons:

• More complicated to set up than native tools like XCUITest.
• Tends to be slower and more prone to flakiness, especially with more complex test cases.
• Generally slower than XCUITest, which can be a drawback for larger test suites.

EarlGrey

Developed by Google, EarlGrey is tailored for iOS UI testing and offers capabilities similar to Espresso (for Android), focusing on synchronization and reliability.

Pros:

• Automatically synchronizes with the app’s UI, which reduces test flakiness.
• Works seamlessly with Xcode, providing a smooth testing experience for iOS apps.
• Known for its reliability and minimal false positives.

Cons:

• EarlGrey only supports iOS, so it’s not an option for cross-platform testing.
• Slightly steeper learning curve compared to other tools like Appium.

Detox

Detox is a framework for end-to-end testing, focusing on React Native apps but also usable for native iOS apps. It automates interactions and checks for UI correctness.

Pros:

• Ideal for end-to-end testing of React Native apps.
• Known for fast execution times and good stability.
• Built-in synchronization between the app and test execution.

Cons:

• Primarily designed for React Native apps, so it may not be ideal for purely native iOS apps.
• Smaller user base and support community compared to more widely used tools like Appium.

KIF (Keep It Functional)

KIF is a framework for iOS that focuses on functional UI testing by simulating user interactions to validate application behavior.

Pros:

• Easy to set up and use, with a focus on simplicity and speed.
• Works with both Objective-C and Swift projects.

Cons:

• Lacks some advanced features like image comparison and visual testing found in other frameworks.
• KIF is no longer actively maintained, which may pose a challenge for long-term support.

And remember that you don’t have to give your heart and soul to one tool only. You’re free to mix and match a few of them, using their individual strengths for better coverage and simpler workflows. For example, our team is used to working with multiple options for one project or even switching between them as needed.

To Sum Up

At first, AT was seen as a miracle. And very soon, teams realized that this marvel wasn’t sent from heaven. It required a lot of work and a lot of talent. No one can deny that iOS automated testing’s exceptional perks. In the same breath, no one should deny the amount of effort successful automation needs.

If you hope for your app to be revamped and raised by AT just because it’s what it’s “marketed” as, you’re in for a lot of trouble. That’s why we make it our priority to give you objective, well-rounded info on this wonder\Herculean task.

Use automation testing for iOS. It’ll enhance your product’s quality and help your team. But don’t rely on the concept of AT. Rely on experts and practices that make its benefits a reality.