Android Studio Device Streaming is a service provided by Google, via Firebase. It allows developer to test their application on real devices, by streaming the screen of real devices into your Android Studio. The developer views a popup window just like an emulator, except it is from a real device in Firebase's device farm.
It is free to use for 120 minutes per project, per month, and $0.15 per additional minute.
How to enable the service?
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Click the Firebase icon in the device manager tool window.
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A screen like the one below shows. If you are using it for the first time, you will need to authorize it via Firebase.
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Click on the Authorize Firebase link and follow the authorization flow by login using your Firebase account.
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Then select the project that is associated with the application you intend to test.
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Next, you will be able to see a list of available phone models. You can pick a few from the list, the profile will be added to your device manager.
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You can now try to reserve a device. There will be a wait time until the device matching your selected profile is available.
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The device is now ready for testing, you can build and run your application like usual. If your application takes a while to build, it is advisable to build first before reserving, as the time you are waiting for your build to complete is also billed.
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By default, the device is reserved for a 15-minute slot. You can see the expiry time in the device manager.
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You can request an extension. Or if you have done testing, you can wipe the data and return the device to stop the billing.
