Cloud Android Devices: Hosted Phones for Automation
No physical phones required. Provision hosted virtual Android devices in seconds and drive them with AI over an API — running 24/7, fully isolated. How they work and when to use them.
Auten Team
You do not need a drawer full of phones to automate Android. Auten can host virtual Android devices for you — real Android running in the cloud — that you control through the exact same API and SDK as a physical phone. This article explains how they work, how they compare to physical phones, and when each makes sense.
Why hosted virtual devices
- Ready in about a minute — no hardware to buy, flash, or maintain.
- Always on — running 24/7, so scheduled and triggered tasks just work.
- Same API — driven identically to a physical phone; your code does not change.
- Isolated — each device is its own instance, with no shared state between customers.
- Elastic — add capacity when you need it, remove it when you do not.
How provisioning works
From the dashboard you pick "virtual device," and within about a minute a fresh Android instance boots, the agent connects, and it appears in your grid with a live screen — ready to take tasks. Behind the scenes it is a real Android userspace running in an isolated container, not a thin emulator. Deleting it tears the instance down just as quickly and frees the resources.
Physical phone vs hosted virtual device
Pair your own phone when you need a specific device model, a real SIM, push notifications to a real number, or a particular logged-in state that lives on that hardware. Choose a hosted virtual device when you want capacity on demand without managing anything physical. Most teams mix both from one dashboard and drive them the same way.
Which should you pick?
Good use cases for cloud devices
- Scheduled monitoring and data extraction that must run overnight
- Scaling a test fleet up and down without buying hardware
- Giving each customer or workflow its own isolated device
- CI pipelines that need a device on demand, not a phone lab
What to know before you rely on them
Hosted virtual devices are full Android, which covers the vast majority of apps. However, some hardened apps (certain banking and anti-bot apps) check for device attestation and may refuse to run on non-certified environments. If your workflow depends on such an app, pair a physical phone for that step. As always, test your specific targets first.
Frequently asked questions
Are hosted virtual devices real Android?
Yes — a full Android userspace in an isolated container, not a stripped-down emulator. They run real apps and are driven by the same agent as physical phones.
How fast can I get one?
About a minute from clicking "add virtual device" to a live, ready-to-use device in your dashboard.
Is my data isolated from other customers?
Yes. Each device is a separate instance with its own storage and state; there is no sharing between customers.
Can I mix physical and virtual devices?
Absolutely — many teams do, driving both from one dashboard with identical API calls.
Try Auten
Share this article