Phones

Every phone is a cloud Android device built to look and behave like the real Pixel it stands in for.

Models

Pick a model with the device field when you allocate, or target one in a cohort filter.

Identity

Each phone gets its own serial number, IMEI and MAC address, and apps see the same hardware details as the real phone: build properties, chip, display, memory and sensors. Apps, data and settings stay on that phone.

Leak audit

Before a phone goes online it is checked in 8 areas to confirm nothing gives away that it is not the real device.

• Build properties
• Kernel and CPU info
• GPU and GL strings
• CPU ABI
• SELinux enforcing
• Mounts and libraries
• Sensors and battery
• App-visible values

A leaked or unmeasured check fails the boot. The phone is quarantined and never goes online.

Lifecycle

1. Allocate. Claim ready phones with allocate_phones or POST /v1/phones/allocate, up to your workspace quota. When none is free the call fails with capacity_unavailable.
2. Use. Install apps from the catalog, or drive any app already on the phone. Watch the screen live in the console.
3. Release. The phone leaves your workspace at once. Its apps, data and device identity are erased before anyone can claim it again.

Phones report a status such as Online, Booting or Stopped. See Networking for how each phone reaches the internet.