A Guide to Mobile Testing

What is Mobile Testing?

This guide will explain the basics of testing mobile applications. This guide will discuss the importance of mobile testing and key types. We will also talk about considerations and best practices.

What’s Mobile Application Testing?

Mobile testing is the process of testing mobile applications for usability, functionality, and performance.

Mobile application testing is either automated or manual and can help you make sure that your application meets both business requirements and user expectations.

Why Mobile Testing is Important?

Mobile internet usage continues its rise even though desktop/laptop internet use is decreasing, a trend that has been ongoing for many years. It’s vital to offer a great mobile app experience as more people spend more time on their mobile devices.

You can’t test how your app is performing for a large number of users if you don’t have access to it. This can lead to negative feedback on social media and one-star app reviews.

Mobile app testing will ensure that your mobile experience is robust, regardless of the app or platform you use.

Mobile Testing

There are several things you should keep in mind when planning your mobile testing strategy.

Types Of Mobile Apps

You may be required to test three types of mobile apps today:

• Native Apps have been specifically designed for a specific mobile platform (today, this is usually Android or iOS). They can be downloaded and installed through an app store such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. These include native apps that are built using Java/Kotlin on Android and Objective-C/Swift on iOS. They also include cross-platform native apps made with frameworks such as NativeScript, Flutter, ReactNative, and Flutter.
• Responsive web apps can be accessed via a mobile browser. You can choose to have a responsive web app or a Progressive Web App (PWA) that adds mobile-friendly features.
• Hybrid apps combine native and web applications. Hybrid apps are available in app stores and can be downloaded just like native apps. They may contain some native functionality but rely on running essentially as native shells.

Differences Between Mobile and Web Testing

Mobile applications are not the same as web apps. There are additional considerations that must be made. Your app will be used by mobile users on many operating systems and devices. Android has many versions and devices, with a variety of resolutions and specific functionalities.

Mobile users are often in different situations to desktop/laptop users, which is why testing must be considered. Mobile users are often in different situations than desktop/laptop web users. This includes signal strength, battery, and even contrast. Also, brightness changes as the environment change frequently.

It can be difficult to ensure that all scenarios are covered by the test.

Mobile Testing

There are many important ways to test your mobile app. These are the most popular.

Functional Testing

Functional testing is required to verify that the basic functions work as intended. It verifies and provides input. It is focused on basic usability and standard functionalities.

Usability Testing

Functional testing is not enough to evaluate usability. Usability testing or user experience testing goes beyond functional testing. It evaluates the ease of use and intuitiveness. This simulates the user’s experience using the app. It helps to identify areas where customers might have difficulty or get stuck, or simply to make sure they are having a good experience.

Other common types of mobile testing to be considered include compatibility, performance, accessibility, and load testing.

Manual Testing or Automated Mobile Testing

Manual testing is the only type of testing that takes place. It involves a person testing the app independently and searching for any issues that might be encountered by the user. Automated testing removes certain tasks from the hands of humans and puts them in an automation tool. This allows human testers to focus on other tasks.

Both methods of testing offer their benefits. Although manual testing can be very effective in detecting unexpected errors and can save time, it can also take up a lot of your time. Automated testing is efficient and saves a lot of time. However, it can miss more obvious cases than manual testing may catch.

Your application will dictate which method you choose.

Top Open Source Tools For Mobile Automation

Some many open-source tools and frameworks can be used to test your mobile apps. Some of the most popular are:

• An espresso is an Android-specific tool geared towards developers (recommended Google).
• XCUITest is a specific tool geared towards developers (recommended Apple).
• Appium is cross-platform, easy-to-use, and supported by strong communities.
• Calabash — Cross-platform support with Cucumber and Xamarin-based, as well as easy use.

Conclusion

If you are looking forward to implementing Mobile testing services for your specific software development project then do get connected with a top-notch software testing services company that will provide you a strategic testing roadmap that can perfectly fit in your project specific requirements.