Kobiton 4.15 release notes

September 14, 2024

New OS support

This release adds support for the following:

  • iOS/iPadOS 18 beta 8

  • iOS/iPadOS 18 official

MacOS Sequoia 15 is not supported and will prevent deviceConnect from working. Do not update Mac mini hosts to MacOS 15.
For iOS/IPadOS 18 Beta 8 and 18 official, the cleanup policy does not clear signed in accounts in the Mail app and Safari browser cache.

Restart a device for users without ADMIN role

Before this release, only users with the ADMIN predefined role could restart a private/local device, and they could only do this from the Device Management page.

With this release, users with the appropriate permission can restart a device by selecting Restart via the Device List page.

  • Users without ADMIN role must be assigned a custom role with the permission org_setting.reboot_private_device to use this feature.

  • Non-admin users with restart permission may only restart devices they can access via their assigned teams.

  • Only devices with Available status or Retained by the current user can be restarted from the device details.

Option to enable/disable unlimited retention for devices

This release introduces the option to enable/disable unlimited retention of devices for an org. In Settings → Other Settings, we added the checkbox: Allow unlimited retention. Check or uncheck this box, then choose Save to enable/disable unlimited retention of devices.

  • To access the Other Settings page, the user must be assigned a role with the permission org_setting.modify.

  • The Allow unlimited retention checkbox applies to the whole org. By default, this checkbox is checked.

Script-based Automation: Launch an Appium Server session using the Flutter Integration driver (Beta)

Previously, we introduced support for launching automation sessions with the Appium Flutter driver. With this release, we’ve expanded support to include automation sessions using the Appium Flutter Integration driver.

Before you can start using the Appium Flutter Integration driver, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

  • Flutter App Preparation: Pre-process your Flutter app-under-test to enable the Flutter Integration driver extension. This step is crucial for the Appium Flutter Integration driver to interact with your app.

  • Server Selection: Run your automation test script using our basic Appium 2.0 server. To do this, set 'kobiton:runtime' to 'appium'. Please note that the Appium Flutter Integration driver cannot be used with Xium, Kobiton’s default mobile automation method.

  • Capability Configuration: Change the value of the capability 'appium:automationName' to 'FlutterIntegration'. This tells the Appium server to use the Flutter Integration driver for your test session.

  • Minimum Appium Java Client version (for Java - TestNG or JUnit): Appium Java Client 9.3 or later is required for Appium Flutter Integration driver test script.

Appium Flutter Integration driver is in Beta version with the following limitations:

  • All limitations of our basic Appium 2.0 functionality apply.

A detailed guide is coming soon!

Minor improvements and bug fixes

This release includes several enhancements and bug fixes to improve your day-to-day testing.

  • Addressed the following Script-based test automation and Device Inspector items:

    • Enable the ability to kick off sequential Xium sessions while in a mixed session.

    • Fixed an issue with running Appium automation using the Appium Selenium WebDriver 5.0.0 or above.

    • Added support for UIAutomator locator when using Appium Inspector.

    • Added support for slider element in Appium Inspector.

  • Addressed the following Scriptless enhancements and bug fixes:

    • Adjust settings for the following flags in a session: IgnoreUnimportantViews, IncludeSystemWindows

      • Default setting for manual and Appium automation sessions is false.

      • If a user selects Capture mode in a Manual session, both flags are set to true.

    • Some minor improvements and bug fixes.

  • Other items addressed:

    • Added wildcard support to the deviceName query parameter for the get all devices API v2 endpoint. Example: Use /v2/devices?deviceName=iPad* to return devices whose name starts with iPad.

    • Network Payload Capture: fixed an issue with converting payload files to K6 script with %%% in the content.

    • Improve stability of Lightning-mode devices.

    • Improved device battery information reporting in the Device List: temperature, percent charged, battery health, and status.