iOS support updates

Learn which iOS versions Perfecto supports, along with any restrictions or limitations that apply.

Important: When working with any beta version of major OS versions, especially but not only developer betas that are not available as public betas, any testing done on the device may be affected by instabilities and bugs on the OS level. If you are interested in testing a beta version, contact Perfecto Support or your Customer Success Manager. Consider limiting beta testing to 1-2 devices.

Restrictions

  • For apps built with XCode versions earlier than 12.1 running on iPhone 12, you may not get correct data if you use element.getRect() to retrieve the location and size of an element. This issue seems to occur because XCUITest APIs in XCode versions prior to 12.1 do not support the resolution of iPhone 12.

  • iOS 16.4 and later supports a new WebView property called isInspectable. By default, this property is set to false. Unless you explicitly enable this property, apps containing a WkWebView will not allow content to be inspected in local Safari or in Appium. To work with WebViews in Appium, you need to ask your developers to enable this property.

    To learn more about the isInspectable property, see Apple's article Enabling inspecting content in your apps.

Versions and limitations

iOS/iPadOS version Support terms and limitations

18.2 Beta 3, 18.1.1 GA, 18.0.1 GA

If you are interested in having iOS 18 devices connected in your cloud, contact Perfecto Support.

Important: To avoid test disruption in hybrid clouds after upgrading devices to iOS 18, on the device, under Settings > General > Airdrop, make sure that the Bringing Devices Together toggle is turned off.

Limitations

  • Versions 18.1 and later are only available for Apple Intelligence-compatible devices: iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPads with M1+ SoCs (system-on-a-chip).

  • Due to an Apple bug, Wi-Fi-only iPad devices running iOS 18.1 or later cannot resolve the location.

  • Selecting to trust an application that is not trusted causes the device to restart. To work with enterprise-signed applications without having to re-sign them, make sure an app with a trusted signature (with the same certificate) is already installed on the device.

    If you need to re-sign an app, it may not be able to use shared keychains or use features that require special entitlements.

    To install a new certificate on a device, contact Perfecto Support.

  • 18.0 GA does not currently support IP geolocation testing. This limitation will be resolved in Perfecto version 24.12.

  • Support for devices running iOS 15 or later that are configured with a passcode is still dependent on a solution that needs to be enabled for your cloud to overcome an Apple limitation. For assistance, contact your Perfecto representative or Perfecto Support .

17.7.2 GA, 17.7 GA, 17.6.1 GA, 17.6 GA, 17.5.1 GA, 17.4.1 GA, 17.3.1 GA, 17.3 GA, 17.2.1 GA, 17.2 GA, 17.1.1 GA, 17.0.3 GA

Limitations for iOS 16.x versions still apply, except for the following issue that is resolved in iOS 17.0 and later: 

  • An Apple bug prevented Perfecto Object Spy from supporting SafariViewController-based applications on a device and Appium scripts from detecting an application's web context if the web content was displayed using SFSafariViewController.

Support for devices running iOS 15 or later that are configured with a passcode is still dependent on a solution that needs to be enabled for your cloud to overcome an Apple limitation. For assistance, contact your Perfecto representative or Perfecto Support .

Important: To avoid test disruption in hybrid clouds after upgrading devices to iOS 17, on the device, under Settings > General > Airdrop, make sure that the Bringing Devices Together toggle is turned off.

Requirements

  • Connecting iOS devices requires HSS version 23.11 and an IDS with macOS Ventura and Xcode 15.

  • For automation testing, iOS 17 devices require Appium 1.22.3 or later.

Known issues

(Fixed by Apple in iOS 17.6 GA) On devices running iOS 17.4 or later, after you clear browsing data or close all tabs in Safari, attempting to automate Safari may fail due to web contexts being unavailable. Apple has been notified of this issue.

Workaround:

After clearing browsing data or closing all tabs in Safari, run the following:

Copy 
Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<>();
params.put("bundleId", "com.apple.mobilesafari");
driver.executeScript("mobile: launchApp", params);
driver.executeScript("mobile: terminateApp", params);
     

16.7.10 GA, 16.7.8 GA, 16.7.7 GA, 16.7. 6 GA, 16.7.5 GA, 16.7.4 GA, 16.7.2 GA, 16.6.1 GA, 16.5.1 GA, 16.5 GA, 16.4.1 GA, 16.4 GA, 16.3.1 GA, 16.3 GA, 16.2 GA, 16.1.2 GA, 16.0.3 GA

16.7.8 GA is only intended for older devices that do not support iOS 17.

Limitation for iOS versions 16.4 and later (fixed in versions 17.0 and later):

  • Due to an Apple bug, Perfecto Object Spy does not support SafariViewController-based applications on a device and Appium scripts cannot detect an application's web context if the web content is displayed using SFSafariViewControler.

Limitations carried over from iOS 15:

  • Support for devices running iOS 15 or later that are configured with a passcode is still dependent on a solution that needs to be enabled for your cloud to overcome an Apple limitation. For assistance, contact your Perfecto representative or Perfecto Support .

  • Devices running iOS 15 GA and later use Appium 1.20, with the Appium limitations listed in the Appium upgrade notice in our 21.6 release notes.

  • The capability wdaEventloopIdleDelay sometimes crashes due to an Apple limitation. If possible, avoid using it for now.

15.8.3 GA, 15.8.2 GA, 15.8.1 GA, 15.8 GA, 15.7.9 GA, 15.7.5 GA, 15.7.3 GA, 15.7.2 GA, 15.7.1 GA, 15.6.1 GA, 15.5 GA, 15.4.1 GA, 15.3.1 GA, 15.2.1 GA, 15.1.1 GA

Available in all clouds.

Versions 15.8 GA and later are intended for devices in the iPhone 7 series only.

The following limitations apply:

  • Support for devices running iOS 15 or later that are configured with a passcode is still dependent on a solution that needs to be enabled for your cloud to overcome an Apple limitation. For assistance, contact your Perfecto representative or Perfecto Support .

  • Devices running iOS 15 GA and later use Appium 1.20, with the Appium limitations listed in the Appium upgrade notice in our 21.6 release notes.

  • The capability wdaEventloopIdleDelay sometimes crashes due to an Apple limitation. If possible, avoid using it for now.

  • iOS 15.3 and earlier only: On incoming calls, a blurred image displays instead of a call screen (only relevant for IDS fast video) when recording from a connected PC. This issue is related to a limitation around Apple’s QuickTime implementation.

    To resolve this issue on devices connected to HSS or IDS, make sure the device uses the latest XCT template. If audio is needed, it must work with a Bluetooth server or analog audio.

15.0.1 GA

Available in all clouds.

Support for devices running iOS 15 or later that are configured with a passcode is still dependent on a solution that needs to be enabled for your cloud to overcome an Apple limitation. For assistance, contact your Perfecto representative or Perfecto Support .

The following limitations apply:

  • Devices running iOS 15 GA use Appium 1.20, with the Appium limitations listed in the Appium upgrade notice in our 21.6 release notes.

  • The capability wdaEventloopIdleDelay sometimes crashes due to an Apple limitation. If possible, avoid using it for now.

  • Typing text is slow and sometimes fails on timeout. This is an Apple limitation. The behavior is not related to string length and is the same on pure Appium.

  • On incoming calls, a blurred image displays instead of a call screen (only relevant for IDS fast video) when recording from a connected PC. This issue is related to a limitation around Apple’s QuickTime implementation.

    To resolve this issue on devices connected to HSS or IDS, make sure the device uses the latest XCT template. If audio is needed, it must work with a Bluetooth server or analog audio.

14.8.1 GA

Fully supported.  

14.7.1 GA, 14.6 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17.

The following Apple limitation applies:

  • Connecting to an application webview crashes the application, even when accessed through the Safari developer menu.

The limitations of iOS 13 versions still apply.  

14.5.1 GA

Available for Appium scripts and UI live testing.

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17.

The following Apple limitation applies:

  • Connecting to an application webview crashes the application, even when accessed through the Safari developer menu.

The limitations of iOS 13 versions still apply.

14.4.2 GA, 14.3 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of iOS 13 versions still apply.

14.2.1 GA

Supported for iPhone 12 only and in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of iOS 13 versions still apply. 

14.2 GA, 14.1 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of iOS 13 versions still apply. 

13.7 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of previous iOS 13 versions still apply.

13.6 and 13.6.1 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of previous iOS 13 versions still apply.

13.5 and 13.5.1 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of previous iOS 13 versions still apply.

13.4 GA

Supported in alignment with Appium 1.17. The limitations of previous iOS 13 versions still apply.

13 to 13.3 GA,
13.3.1 GA
  • Touch & MultiTouch Actions executed by coordinates may not be performed on specific device models when the app has been compiled with an old Xcode version (below 10).
  • On iPad devices running iOS 13.1.x, opening a keyboard from a text field causes incorrect dimensions of the root element to be returned when retrieving objects. This, in turn, causes objects in the Object Spy to display incorrectly when the device is in landscape mode. This issue affects the application even after the keyboard is closed. For objects to display correctly again, you must close the application using the Close app button and relaunch it.
  • On new devices running iOS 13, applications built with older Xcode versions may return incorrect objects coordinates.

For information on working with privacy popups on iOS 13 devices, see iOS 13 | Handle privacy pop-ups.

12.5.7 GA, 12.5.6 GA, 12.5.5 GA

Fully supported.

11

An Apple limitation related to the element tap API applies when a device is in landscape mode and an element on the right side of the screen is pressed. In this scenario, the hittable property returns correct values, but element.click() does not work on the respective element.
Release Updates

20.3

Support for iOS 13.4 beta 2 in alignment with Appium 1.16.

19.16

Support for a new executeDriverScript() Appium command for iOS devices that allows packing other Appium commands to be executed by Appium server as a single batch. For more details see: https://javadoc.io/doc/io.appium/java-client/latest/io/appium/java_client/ExecutesDriverScript.html

Support for iOS and iPadOS 13 to 13.3 GA as well as 13.3.1 Beta with the following limitations:

  • Touch & MultiTouch Actions executed by coordinates may not be performed on specific device models when the app has been compiled with an old Xcode version (below 10).
  • On iPad devices running iOS 13.1.x, opening a keyboard from a text field causes incorrect dimensions of the root element to be returned when retrieving objects. This, in turn, causes objects in the Object Spy to display incorrectly when the device is in landscape mode. This issue affects the application even after the keyboard is closed. For objects to display correctly again, you must close the application using the Close app button and relaunch it.
  • Due to an iOS 13 issue, Perfecto Connect and NetEm functionalities are currently not supported on iOS 13 devices.
  • On new devices running iOS 13, applications built with older Xcode versions may return incorrect objects coordinates.

For information on working with privacy popups on iOS 13 devices, see iOS 13 | Handle privacy pop-ups.

19.14

Support for iOS and iPadOS 13 to 13.2.2 GA as well as 13.3 Beta 2 with the following limitations:

  • Touch & MultiTouch Actions executed by coordinates may not be performed on specific device models when the app has been compiled with an old Xcode version (below 10).
  • On iPad devices running iOS 13.1.x, opening a keyboard from a text field causes incorrect dimensions of the root element to be returned when retrieving objects. This, in turn, causes objects in the Object Spy to display incorrectly when the device is in landscape mode. This issue affects the application even after the keyboard is closed. For objects to display correctly again, you must close the application using the Close app button and relaunch it.
  • Due to an iOS 13 issue, Perfecto Connect and NetEm functionalities are currently not supported on iOS 13 devices.
  • On new devices running iOS 13, applications built with older Xcode versions may return incorrect objects coordinates.

For information on working with privacy popups on iOS 13 devices, see iOS 13 | Handle privacy pop-ups.

19.13.1

Support for iOS 13 to 13.1.3 and iPadOS 13.1 to 13.1.3 GA as well as 13.2 Beta 3 with the following limitations:

  • Touch & MultiTouch Actions executed by coordinates may not be performed on specific device models.
  • Due to a bug in iOS 13, opening a SFSafariViewController class from a view controller that is not the main view controller causes the objects inside the controller to be inaccessible.

19.12

Support for iOS 13 to 13.1.2 and iPadOS 13.1 to 13.1.2 GA as well as 13.2 Beta with the following limitations:

  • Touch & MultiTouch Actions executed by coordinates may not be performed on specific device models.
  • Due to a bug in iOS 13, opening a SFSafariViewController class from a view controller that is not the main view controller causes the objects inside the controller to be inaccessible.
19.11

Support for iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 Beta 2 with the following limitations:

  • Touch & MultiTouch Actions executed by coordinates may not be performed on specific device models.

Support for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 8th developer beta with the following limitations:

  • Due to a bug in iOS 13, opening a SFSafariViewController class from a view controller that is not the main view controller causes the objects inside the controller to be inaccessible.

19.10

Support for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 5th developer beta with the following limitations:

  • Only slow video is supported (via Mac or HSS).
  • Due to a bug in iOS 13, opening a SFSafariViewController class from a view controller that is not the main view controller causes the objects inside the controller to be inaccessible.

19.9

Support for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 4th developer beta with the following limitations:

  • Web and SFSafariViewController automation are supported for hosted clouds, but there may be issues with finding native elements after switching from hybrid context to native.
  • Applications without a configured launch screen may report an incorrect resolution, causing object coordinates and sizes to be reported incorrectly.
  • Password field typing entry is not shown in the interactive video stream, that is while connecting to a new Wi-Fi network.

19.8

Support for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 2nd developer beta with the below limitations:

  • Native elements click are not supported when using the PerfectoMobile automation framework for testing instrumented apps
  • Web automation and SFSafariViewController are not supported for both PerfectoMobile & Appium automation frameworks
  • Device and app vitals is not supported
  • GPS injection is not supported 
  • When a device is on the SpringBoard (that is HOME screens), object retrieval (through manual interaction or automation script) will fail
  • Password field typing entry is not shown in the interactive video stream, that is while connecting to a new Wi-Fi network 

18.17

18.8

  • Object Tree Optimization now supported for XCUITest devices. New functionality allows the test script to limit the number of UI Elements retrieved for searching, thereby speeding up the test execution.

18.7

  • Fixed: Error message when application fails to launch, due to trust issues, now provides clearer information, allowing the tester to fix the problem and continue testing.
  • Limitation: Object Optimization does not affect instrumented applications when using the Perfecto Mobile Automation Framework. It will affect non-instrumented applications when using either of the Application Frameworks.

18.6

  • Select a device based on the Perfecto features supported. See details.

18.4

  • Appium/Selenium scripts running on XCUITest-framework based devices will generate screenshots as reporting artifacts when the takesScreenshot capability is set to true.

18.3

  • When running IosDriver for XCUITest devices, Appium does not support updating the text in the text-field when using a keyboard application other than the iOS Keyboard.
  • XCUITest implementation is fully compatible with Appium 1.7.2
  • Support for setting device language and region using language and locale capabilities for Appium scripts on XCUITest Framework devices.

18.1

  • Devices running iOS 11.1 - some vitals measurements are affected by changes in the Apple API. See details.

10.13

  • Fixed: Image injection for barcode reader applications support use of the PhoneGap Plugin BarcodeScanner interface on iOS devices.

10.12

  • iOS devices configured for the XCUITest Framework support a passcode definition for the device. To define a passcode for the device, contact support.
    Note: When passcode is defined, the Reboot function for the device is not supported.

10.11

  • Fixed: Objects in Safari are identified and displayed properly in Object Spy regardless of the interface language.
  • Appium interfaces for iOS automation are completely compatible with Appium 1.7 toolset.

10.10

  • Selenium scripts support retrieving the hittable attribute of iOS 11 UI Elements. Use the code - element.getAttribute("hittable") to retrieve the value in String format. To retrieve as a boolean use: boolean hittable = element.getAttribute("hittable").equals("true");

10.9

  • The Perfecto Automation Framework object-tree is not supported for iOS devices configured for the XCUITest framework. This includes iOS 11 devices and specially configured iOS 10 devices.
    • Perfecto now provides a translation mechanism to support Perfecto Automation Framework based XPath specifiers when working with these devices.
  • Perfecto supports iOS 3D Touch in Interactive, Native Automation, and Selenium testing.

10.7

  • Connect iOS11 devices running beta 6 to customer Lab's

10.5

  • iOS11 beta supported in limited Early Access. Contact CSM for access to devices.

10.4

  • Improved error messages provide more user-friendly information for system exceptions in debug messages. Makes it easier to understand the problem when working with applications on iOS devices.
  • Limitation: Location access permissions are not reset when using Perfecto tools (widgets or commands) to uninstall an application from a device. To disable these permissions,
    • Explicitly disable them use the Settings menu for the application after re-installing the app.
    • Reset "Location & Privacy" before installation.

10.3

  • Speedup the findElement method for iOS applications with View objects that have a large number of children objects by optimizing object tree generation and limiting the tree to only the currently visible objects.

9.8

  • Fixed: When installing a new version of an application on iOS device, and the application is camera instrumented then the old version will automatically be uninstalled prior to installing the new version.

9.7

  • Fixed: Type text command functions properly when typing strings that include the tilde('~') character.
  • Unlocking Perfecto Lab devices that support passcode locking now supported.

9.6

  • XCTest Runner now supports applications compiled with XCode versions prior to 8.1 on iOS 10.1 devices.
  • Perfecto vitals collection has extended data collection for long-running application testing.
  • Implemented optimizations for displaying large object trees in the Object Spy, for applications with thousands of UI objects in their implementation.