The goal of mobile application testing is to verify that an app is ready for release to the public in terms of its functionality, usability, and ability to satisfy the needs of its target audience’s mobile devices. In other words, the reliability, usability, and performance of a mobile app are examined.
Common problems with hybrid and native mobile apps, such as slow performance, loading difficulties, unresponsive components, etc., may be mitigated with proper testing. Poor performance or issues after an app’s release might lead to increased complaints on the App Store or Google Play.
Types of mobile application testing
Functional testing
Functional testing for mobile applications is primarily concerned with evaluating the software’s features and functionality. This process typically involves testing system inputs and outputs, as well as assessing the user interface. Often referred to as “black box testing,” functional testing is performed without access to the internal structure of the system, focusing solely on inputs and outputs. Generally conducted after integration testing, functional testing helps confirm that the software maintains high quality and can be effortlessly updated over time. Executing UI-based tests is an effective method for validating user journeys.
Performance testing
Performance testing is a subset of mobile app testing. It’s done to make sure an app still works properly when resources are few. This includes things like limited memory, low battery, poor network coverage, etc. Client and server-side settings have the greatest impact on application performance.
Memory leakage testing
One of the most crucial parts of mobile app testing is memory leakage testing, which verifies that the app works as expected within the specified memory limits.As expected, performance suffers when a computer program or application cannot effectively manage the memory it has been given. Moreover, the computer or mobile device on which you have installed the software or app may perform less efficiently than usual. Memory leaking is the term for this kind of problem.
Certification related testing
Testing for certification is another important kind of mobile app testing done to get the compliance certificate. To earn its certificate of conformity, a mobile device must be put through a battery of tests against a predefined set of rules for each supported mobile operating system.
Usability testing
Usability testing is performed on a mobile app to verify it receives positive feedback from users and accomplishes its goals, as the name says. One of the most crucial aspects of an app’s commercial success is its ease of use. Aside from that, usability testing is done to guarantee a consistent UI/UX for a given app across all platforms. Mobile app testing like this also makes sure the app works properly across multiple platforms.
More scenarios to consider for testing
While the above three types of testing techniques give us a general idea of how to approach automating our application, let’s also consider the nuances that might arise, particularly with mobile applications.
Operating system – Mobile applications can be native or hybrid. With the variety of devices and OS versions in the market, it becomes tricky to determine whether your application will work on all of these versions. Hence you have different simulators and emulators that help mimic all these variations for testing.
Device size or form layout – Here, we are talking about the screen size, whether it is a small 3.5 inches mobile screen or a 9- inch tablet. How your application is rendered on these different devices is crucial for determining the success of the screen actions that a user will take.
Location-based scenarios – If your application requires GPS, then testing those scenarios ought to be considered. Consider an example where your application is supposed to provide services for booking cabs. Here, you will need to ensure that scenarios like location detection based on ‘current location’ are detected and real-time location is used to determine the time of arrival.
Connectivity scenarios – the essence of mobile phones is to allow people to work on the go. Thus, you may face issues where your network bandwidth fluctuates, or you are in airplane mode or offline. Another important factor to consider in such situations is how your application should behave.
Some tips to ensure good quality mobile testing
- Device compatibility: Take into account the form layout of the devices your application is designed to support. If your app is intended to be responsive on tablets, choose a tool that can effectively test this aspect to avoid any negative user experiences.
- Real and virtual devices: Utilizing emulators and simulators for mobile app testing allows for a quick assessment of different platform combinations. However, relying solely on virtual devices may lead to overlooking issues that end-users could face on actual devices. To mitigate this risk, test your app on as many real devices as possible within your budget, while supplementing with emulators and simulators as needed.
- Testing infrastructure: Evaluate whether your chosen testing tool relies on cloud-based or on-premise resources. Cloud-based testing platforms tend to offer more extensive features and greater flexibility, making them a more convenient option for most organizations.
By taking these factors into consideration when selecting a mobile testing tool, you can help ensure comprehensive and effective testing that contributes to a higher-quality mobile application.
Mobile Testing Tools
Appium
Appium is a well-known open-source platform for automating tests. This open-source framework allows for automated testing of Android and iOS hybrid and native mobile and web apps. WebDriver Protocol is used to control apps on several platforms like Windows, iOS, and Android.
Appium’s basic principle is that you shouldn’t have to recompile or otherwise alter your app to do automated testing on it. To the contrary, selecting the right framework, processes, tests, and tools to use during mobile app testing is essential.
As an added bonus, Appium does not mandate its customers to utilise a certain language or framework when creating and running tests. In its place, it lets users create test code in a variety of languages, including Java, Python, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, and so on. In addition, the test code may be shared throughout the Windows, iOS, and Android test environments.
Appium’s ability to provide automation of mobile applications from any test framework and in any language is a major benefit. Additionally, it provides users and testers with access to the test code’s back-end APIs and databases.
Apptim
One of the better tools for evaluating the functionality of mobile apps is Apptim. Testing the performance of any mobile application, however, may be rather difficult. However, Apptim has simplified and improved it, making it possible for users to identify performance concerns in a mobile application rapidly.
It allows for the testing of native iOS and Android apps. A thorough and powerful performance dashboard provided by Apptim shows performance comparisons across many test sessions. The ability to conduct performance tests locally and share or save the produced findings with your team is also provided.
Shift-left mobile performance testing is done by Apptim. It helps you to evaluate the effectiveness of each new line of code, each iteration of a programme, and each deployment. Additionally, Apptim features a user-friendly UI so anybody may use it. The smooth JIRA integration feature allows you to post and monitor problems.
Ranorex Studio
Ranorex Studio provides a reliable testing environment. The best testing tool for both novices and specialists, Ranorex Studio enables people to create tests for desktop, web, and mobile apps.
Testing for mobile web apps, native mobile applications, and Android and iOS applications is supported by Ranorex Studio. Additionally, it offers keyword-driven testing, regression testing, cross-browser testing, and data-driven testing. As a result, testers may use a single license to test desktop, mobile, and online apps.
Ranorex Studio also automates tests on the Windows desktop before executing them locally on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Additionally, it supports cross-browser testing for numerous browsers, including Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and many others.
Your mobile devices don’t need to be jailbroken to be tested with Ranorex Studio. The automated bug tracking software Ranorex Studio works flawlessly with JIRA and many other DevOps tools. Furthermore, it effortlessly integrates with Travis CI, testRail, Jenkins, etc.
Eggplant
EggPlant is an automated testing tool for mobile apps. Using machine learning and AI, we can move away from time-consuming manual testing and toward efficient automated testing, allowing us to more quickly deploy new versions of our mobile apps. It’s a great tool for checking out iOS and Android apps on mobile devices.
Besides being able to test on mobile devices, it also works with images, browsers, networks, automated functions, and the web. EggPlant encourages a focus on the user while testing mobile apps, which helps to guarantee a fluid interface, speedy performance, and reliable behavior across devices. Additionally, it guarantees that any flaws, bugs, and performance concerns are fixed considerably sooner before going online.
EggPlant is cross-platform, and users may set it up on either Windows, Linux, or macOS. A single script may be used across all supported platforms and devices, eliminating the need to duplicate test cases.
EggPlant’s AI-driven method uses scriptless models to facilitate the whole testing process, from case development through analysis of the findings. EggPlant is capable of testing in any browser, on any device, with any technology, and on any operating system. Because of this, the platform serves as a comprehensive testing environment.
testRigor
testRigor is a cloud-based, AI-driven automation testing tool designed for effortless testing of desktop and mobile web apps, native mobile, and native desktop applications. It boasts a range of intelligent features, including AI-generated tests for comprehensive coverage.
The platform supports testing for Android and iOS, accommodating both pure native and complex hybrid applications, even those with iframes, shadow DOMs, and similar elements. testRigor’s no-code approach ensures that test cases closely resemble traditional manual test cases, making it user-friendly and easily maintainable.
With seamless integration options for LambdaTest, BrowserStack, CI/CD tools, issue tracking and test tracking systems, and monitoring tools, testRigor is highly adaptable to various workflows. Both free and paid versions are available, with the paid version offering extensive customization to suit your specific requirements.
Conclusion
When creating new software or applications, testing is an essential step. Each mobile app is put through its own set of testing designed to guarantee it meets its intended goals. That’s why it’s crucial to put mobile apps through rigorous testing before releasing them into the wild, so you know they’ll work perfectly when you need them to.
While many of these testing resources are freely available to the public, some need a paid membership. All of the aforementioned testing tools are excellent in their own special ways.