Use Simulation Features

With webmate you have the ability to simulate certain functions that are normally restricted to device hardware. This allows testing of use cases involving these functions. This article will give you an overview on what can be simulated and how to use it. Device location, biometric input, and camera images can be simulated. It can also directly store images in the gallery of Android devices.

To find these features, access a deployed Android or iOS device and click on Simulation

You can enable the simulations via the top-bar of your device console.

Simulate Device Location

You are able to simulate a location of your choice on your device using GPS data in webmate. With this, you are able to test geo-specific features work as expected. To start using GPS simulation simply select GPS from the list of available simulations. A new pop-up containing a map will show. Search your desired location on the map and click on a spot or enter GPS coordinates.

The device’s location is now set to the one you specified.

You can now test your app’s behaviour and change the location as needed.

Simulate Network Bandwidth

For mobile devices, network quality may vary significantly over time. From a testing perspective, measuring application performance under poor network conditions or even when offline is an important use-case. To support this, webmate allows to simulate network conditions for individual devices.

You can enable/disable bandwidth simulation for a specific device either in the settings menu on the slot or in the device console. Select the network speed you would like to be available for the device. There is also the option to simulate that the device is offline. It will then behave as if it were set to airplane mode.

It can take up to 5 minutes for the bandwidth simulation to take effect.

Store Images in the Gallery (Android only)

You can add any images to an Android device’s gallery. To start using this feature, simply select Gallery from the list of available simulations. A new pop-up will show. You can start the upload process for pictures and show your currently selected pictures for gallery simulation.

To add and select new pictures, click on Add Image to Gallery.

A new Image Browser window will open. To upload a new image, click on Upload Image in the top right corner.

You’ll now see the Image Browser Upload window, where you select your image (1), upload it (2) and go back to the overview window (3).

Here, you will first need to refresh the Image Browser results (1). After it indexed your newly uploaded images, click on your desired image (2) and select it for simulation (3).

After selecting the image, it will show up in your Gallery pop-up. You can now also see it in your devices’ gallery.

Instrumentation Specific Features

Please note that you need to install the instrumented version of your app, which is automatically created by webmate as explained here to use biometric simulation or camera simulation. Once your instrumented application is installed, the following features will work inside that app:

Simulate Biometric Authentication

You can simulate both successful and rejected biometric identification within instrumented apps. This enables you to test if your app behaves as expected when a user authenticates using biometric data like fingerprints or facial features.

To start using biometric simulation simply select Biometrics from the list of available simulations. A new pop-up containing a simple switch will show. You can toggle whether the device shall simulate biometric input or not.

By clicking on the fingerprint icon, you can also switch between valid and invalid biometric input. You can now test your app’s behaviour depending on biometric authentication status.

Simulate Camera Image

You can simulate the camera image using any image of your choice.

To start using camera simulation, select Camera from the list of available simulations. A pop-up will show in which you can upload new images or select from the already available ones.

To add new images, click on Add Image.

A new Image Browser window will open. To upload a new image, click on Upload Image in the top right corner.

The Image Browser Upload window will appear. Select an image from local disk (1), upload it (2) and return to the overview window (3).

You may need to refresh the Image Browser results (1), as indexing your newly uploaded images can take a moment. Choose the desired image (2) and select it for simulation (3).

The selected image will appear in your Camera pop-up. Click on it to activate the simulation.

The devices’s camera stream will then show your selected image.