Why I Prefer macOS for E2E Test Automation? Part B: Less Obvious Reasons.

More MacOS Features Suitable for E2E Test Automation

Continuing from Part A, more reasons to go for macOS for E2E Test automation.

6. Mobile Test Automation with iOS

End-to-end test automation encompasses both web and mobile testing. For web testing, any operating system — Windows, Linux, or macOS — can handle the job effectively. However, mobile test automation introduces a key distinction: it involves two target mobile platforms, iOS and Android.

If your automation needs include iOS testing, a Mac is essential, as iOS simulators and development tools like Xcode are only available on macOS. In that case, having a Mac becomes a requirement, not just a preference.

7. Mac Computers Can Run Windows OS

While you can’t run macOS on a Windows machine, you can run Windows on a Mac. This is made possible through virtualization software like Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion. Note that VMware Fusion is not free for personal use.

In fact, a new computer nowdays has mulitple CPU cores, e.g. a $599 Mac Mini M4 10 CPU cores. This means, if you somehow can get a large memory on a Mac computer, you can quite comfortably run 3 virtual machines (with different OS, Windows, Linux and macOS) as build agents. Essentially, a small parallel testing lab (all within one physical computer).