Scaling Android Emulators with Cloud

Reliable Android emulator infrastructure is the backbone of effective UI test automation.

This session demystifies production-grade emulator management for automated UI testing. Learn how we manage following:

1. Cloud-Based Emulator Infrastructure
3. Emulator Stability Techniques
4. Different configurations for emulators before running tests.

1. Scaling Android Emulators with Cloud Amanjeet Singh https://www.amanjeet.me/
2. • Open source • Community > 5k+ members • Stars ~ 9k ⭐ • Cross Platform Maestro: E2E testing Framework
3. Why Moving to Cloud?
4. Why Moving to Cloud? “Running parallel tests, faster feedback for releasing apps”
5. How to run on cloud?
6. Cloud Providers
7. Cloud Providers
8. Self Hosted
9. Self Hosted
10. Self Hosted
11. Self Hosted
12. Why Self Hosted?
13. Why Self Hosted? • Buying digital gold via UPI under fl aky network.
14. Why Self Hosted? • Buying digital gold via UPI under fl aky network. • Launching JAR app on TvOS/WearOS/Custom ROM
15. Why Self Hosted? • Buying digital gold via UPI under fl aky network. • Launching JAR app on TvOS/WearOS/Custom ROM • Supporting JAR app for multi-lingual users
16. Why Self Hosted? • Buying digital gold via UPI under fl aky network. • You don’t want to spend money 🤣 • Launching JAR app on TvOS/WearOS/Custom ROM • Supporting JAR app for multi-lingual users
17. Why Self Hosted? • Buying digital gold via UPI under fl aky network. • You don’t want to spend money 🤣 • Launching JAR app on TvOS/WearOS/Custom ROM • Supporting JAR app for multi-lingual users More Control
18. Let’s try setting up infra
19. Checklist • Download images • Prepare the Device • Launch the emulator
20. Downloading images of Emulator
21. Downloading images of Emulator
22. Downloading images of Emulator
23. Downloading images of Emulator
24. Checklist • Download images • Prepare the Device ✅ • Launch the emulator
25. Prepare the Device
26. Why Prepare Device? Stability Issues: Test fails due to welcome screen of google chrome Con fi gurability Issues: Prepare device to test on different api, locale, etc 👉 👉 Debuggability Issues: I want to see why it didn’t work on emulator but on local?: 👉
27. Prepare the Device • Runtime Con fi gurations • Build time Con fi gurations
28. Runtime Configurations
29. Runtime Configurations • Setting device locale • No need of shipping drivers to play store 😍 • No root required 😍 • Why? Catch layout, incorrect currency/time, and text over fl ows, etc.
30. Runtime Configurations: Locale
31. Runtime Configurations • Setting API levels • Why? Fix crashes on API 29 to get upto 96% crash free rate 🤦
32. Runtime Configurations • Disable animations • Why? Timing issues during test
33. Runtime Configurations • Setting device locale • Disable animations • Setting API level ✅ ✅ ✅
34. Build time Configurations • Applied during creating AVDs • Reduce execution time to avoid runtime overhead. • Constant for better debuggability and stability of tests
35. Build time Configurations: Type of issues
36. Build time Configurations: Type of issues
37. What? • Disable Well Being App • Disable Bluetooth ✅ ✅
38. What Else? • Patch screen recording for more than 3 mins < API 35 • Pointer location on recordings ✅ ✅ • Skipping chrome welcome screen ✅
39. How?
40. How?
41. How? • Emulator is like time machine or a VM (QEMU system)
42. How? • Emulator is like time machine or a VM (QEMU system) Used for Snapshots
43. What happens at Ctrl + C?
44. What happens at Ctrl + C? • The qcow2 saves references to snapshot : RAM and CPU state
45. What happens at Ctrl + C? • The qcow2 saves references to snapshot : RAM and CPU state • On Launch: emulator -avd pixel_6 • Load system and vendor images 👉
46. What happens at Ctrl + C? • The qcow2 saves references to snapshot : RAM and CPU state • On Launch: emulator -avd pixel_6 • Load system and vendor images • Mount qcow2 image 👉
47. What happens at Ctrl + C? • The qcow2 saves references to snapshot : RAM and CPU state • On Launch: emulator -avd pixel_6 • Load system and vendor images • Mount qcow2 image • Restore ram from snapshot reference 👉
48. What happens at Ctrl + C? • The qcow2 saves references to snapshot : RAM and CPU state • On Launch: emulator -avd pixel_6 • Load system and vendor images • Mount qcow2 image • Restore ram from snapshot reference • Resume execution 👉
49. Prepare Maestro Golden Baseline: Backup 1. Apply Con fi guration 2. Shutdown emulator 3. Save backup with qcow2
50. Prepare Maestro Golden Baseline • Use backup • Kill without saving snapshots
51. Checklist • Download images • Prepare the Device ✅ • Launch the emulator ✅ ✅
52. Fin 🙋