1. ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level Specialist - Mobile Application Testing Syllabus (Version 2019), Section 3.2, "Test Environments and Tools for Mobile Testing," page 20. The syllabus states, "Differences can exist between the real device and the simulator/emulator in terms of behavior, performance, and the user interface. For this reason, it is important to confirm test results on real devices." This directly supports using a real device as the benchmark for verification.
2. Sargent, R. G. (2013). Verification and validation of simulation models. Journal of Simulation, 7(1), 12-24. https://doi.org/10.1057/jos.2012.20. In this foundational academic paper on simulation validation, a key technique discussed is "Historical Data Validation," which "consists of using historical data to build and calibrate the model and to test it." In the context of the question, the "historical data" and behavior are provided by the real device.