iPhone via AskUI Companion

The AskUI Companion lets you test a physical iPhone. It receives the iPhone's screen image and sends taps and keystrokes to the iPhone over USB. AskUI Desktop connects to the AskUI Companion over your network. Nothing has to be installed on the iPhone, and no Xcode or developer mode is needed.

The AskUI Companion is delivered pre-configured by AskUI. You connect three cables and add it as a device.

What you need:

• the AskUI Companion, its power supply and Ethernet cable;
• the iPhone you want to test, with AssistiveTouch enabled;
• a computer with AskUI Desktop that can reach the AskUI Companion over the network;
• the AskUI Companion's IP address, provided by AskUI.

Quick start

1. Enable AssistiveTouch on the iPhone. Settings → Accessibility → Touch → AssistiveTouch → on. A round floating button appears on the screen. The agent controls the iPhone through this pointer.
2. Connect the cables. Connect the Ethernet cable to your network and the USB-C cable of the AskUI Companion to the iPhone. If the iPhone asks whether to allow the accessory, tap Allow. Plug in the power supply (48V AUX IN) last; the AskUI Companion then starts by itself. All other cables are pre-wired, leave them as they are.
3. Add the device. In AskUI Desktop, open Devices → Add device, expand Advanced setups and pick A device via Remote Companion Controller.
4. Fill in the form, see the table below, and click Add device. Leave Capture settings unchanged.
5. Probe and connect. On the Devices page, the new card is named <name> (via RCC). Click Probe to check that AskUI Desktop reaches the AskUI Companion, then Connect.

The iPhone now appears in every test's Run on picker.

Run it

1. Connect the device card.
2. Pick it in the test's Run on picker and press Run.

Keep the iPhone unlocked with its screen on during a run. The agent acts on the real screen, as a person with a mouse and keyboard would.

Runs on the AskUI Companion start from AskUI Desktop. The CLI does not drive it yet.

What the agent can do

• Tap and type. A tap goes to a point on the screen; text is typed on the keyboard.
• Swipe and scroll, slowly. A swipe starts about a second after the press and moves in steps. It scrolls lists and drags, and closes apps in the App Switcher, but it cannot flick. Write steps that need a fast gesture differently, or expect them to fail.
• Home and App Switcher go through the AssistiveTouch menu, so keep AssistiveTouch enabled.
• No multi-touch: no pinch-to-zoom, no two-finger gestures, no rotation.
• No shortcuts into the app: no launching by bundle ID, no deep links, no view hierarchy. The agent opens apps from the Home Screen or the search, like a person.
• No biometrics: Face ID cannot be passed. Use a passcode or a test account without Face ID.
• The screen image lags slightly behind the iPhone. Every tap, swipe and keystroke waits a moment for the screen to settle.

One device at a time on this computer

The AskUI Companion uses the same AgentOS controller on this computer as the Local device. While one of them is connected, connecting the other is refused with a message; disconnect the first. On Windows with the AskUI AgentOS service installed, the Local device runs on the service and can stay connected.

When Connect fails, the card offers Force Restart, which stops the controller on this computer and starts a fresh one.

Troubleshooting

If the problem persists, contact support@askui.com with the device name and a short description of what you see.