Automation of Mobile App Testing on a Non-Native Stack

The mobile 2GIS app for iOS and Android was historically developed using the Qt framework with Python + Appium for test automation. 

Over time, the iOS and Android teams diverged technologically. The iOS team transitioned to more traditional Apple technologies, while Android continued on the initial path. After several years, the teams grew significantly, regression testing became more frequent, there was a desire to cover tests faster. The testing infrastructure grew with hundreds of tests and hastily made workarounds. 

The team felt the shortcomings of the automation system in the form of instabilities, long regression times, and crutches in the framework, making it nearly impossible to scale the system and update tool versions. 

The team decided to update the testing infrastructure. 

In my story, I'll share what the team wanted to transition to and why they stayed with Python+Appium, what automation support is needed in the application, and the pros and cons of these solutions.