Kobiton 4.24 Release Notes

Feb 6, 2026

Accessibility: Android TalkBack support in manual sessions

Accessibility testing just got easier.

You can now use Android TalkBack during manual sessions, making it simple to navigate devices remotely with screen reader controls.

That means your team can validate accessibility requirements in real time and experience your app the way TalkBack users do - uncovering issues that visual testing alone might miss.

What you need

  • Android 12+ device

  • Lightning mode enabled (look for the green lightning bolt in a manual session)

How it works

A new Screen Reader option is available in the manual session toolbar. From there, you can:

  • Turn TalkBack on or off

  • Navigate using TalkBack gestures and controls

A full user guide is coming soon.

Good to know

  • The focus border may not appear immediately after enabling TalkBack. Tap an interactive element to activate it.

  • The focus border may linger briefly after disabling TalkBack. Tap an interactive element to clear it.

  • For permission pop-ups, only clickable elements (buttons, text fields, etc.) can be read aloud and selected using TalkBack.

Android audio in manual sessions

You can now hear device audio for Android devices during manual sessions.

What you need

  • Android 11+ device

  • Lightning mode enabled (look for the green lightning bolt in a manual session)

How it works

Audio automatically streams when Lightning mode is active.

If you don’t hear sound:

  • Increase the device volume

  • Allow Sound permission in Chrome site settings (allowed by default)

    The Sound permission in Chrome site settings

Bluetooth-related features improvements

This section applies to the following Bluetooth-based features:

  • Audio injection

  • iOS VoiceOver

Bluetooth host protocol and port is no longer required in the dc.ini configuration. If these values are not provided, the host defaults protocol to https and port to 50051.

Audio-mode Bluetooth hosts now support two devices simultaneously. Keyboard-mode hosts continue to support one device.

Bluetooth host logs are now included in deviceConnect logs.

You may see a Pairing Incomplete message during first-time pairing. That’s expected. Simply retry, and after the second attempt, you won’t need to reconnect again.

Scriptless automation improvements

  • Test Run: Fixed an issue where revisit sessions ended due to an authorization error

  • UI update: Fixed filtering behavior in the Test Run detail page dropdown

Scripted automation updates & fixes

  • Localization improvements:

    • Enabled setting device language using capability values (for example, language="es" and locale="ES")

    • Extended Android agent to support non-English locales

    • Standardized SetLocale behavior across iOS and Android

    • iPad orientation now persists after language changes

  • Appium TurboTest: Clear error returned for invalid device selectors in queued requests

  • Basic Appium: Fixed app installation failures when using app URLs

  • UI updates:

    • Additional apps installed after automation session start are now displayed in Session Overview

    • Improved error message when no devices matched a wildcard

Kobiton CLI updates

  • Users can now download the Kobiton CLI directly from the Portal.

  • Fixed an issue with the auto-dismiss alert functionality.

  • Resolved an issue where environment variables were ignored when launching an app using the Kobiton app run command.

  • Added a clearer error message when retrying an app installation already in progress.

  • Added support for recursive file pull

General improvements & fixes

  • Device List:

    • Filters are no longer shared across Public and Private/Local tabs

    • Smarter default tab display:

      • Defaults to Private when both Public and Private devices exist

      • Defaults to Public when only Public devices exist

      • Your last selected Device List tab is now preserved when you navigate away and return.

  • App Repo: Added ability to clean up app upload errors from the UI.

  • Session Overview: Fixed broken app icon display when uploading apps without icons in a manual session.

  • Parallel Sessions: Improved cleanup so sessions are released more quickly from parallel limits

  • Host parallel test capacity: Added logging and reporting when max parallel test limits are reached for a host.

  • Audio Injection: Audio injection can be used on Lightning mode devices, in addition to Standard mode.

  • Modernized the DeviceControl app SDK for improved compatibility