Device Selection

When you start a sandbox session, VibeView shows you the devices you can run on. Identically-configured simulators are pooled together so you pick a kind of device, not a particular machine.

One entry per device group

The device picker lists one entry per device group — a group is a unique combination of model, OS version, and platform (for example, Pixel 8 (Android 14 (API 34))). If several identical simulators are available, they appear as that single entry, not as a long list of near-duplicates. You choose the device you want; VibeView decides which underlying machine serves your session.

Start or queue

Every device group in the picker is always selectable. When you start a session:

• If a device in that group is free, your session starts on it immediately.
• If every device in that group is currently in use, you are queued automatically. The picker shows your position in line, and your session starts on its own the moment any device in that group frees up — no need to retry or refresh.

You do not see how many devices are free or busy, and you do not need to. Selecting a group and getting either an immediate start or a place in the queue is the whole flow.

When a group disappears

If every device in a group goes offline, that group is temporarily hidden from the picker — there is nothing available to serve it. It reappears on its own, within a few seconds, as soon as a device in that group comes back online. If you were already queued for a group when its devices briefly went offline, you keep your place in line and resume automatically when a device returns.

A note on Android device names

For Android simulators, each group is labeled by its clean model name (for example, Pixel 8) regardless of the internal handle the platform uses to store the simulator on disk. You always see the device you actually picked.

See also: Device Sandbox for interacting with a session once it starts.