What is Mobile Application Testing and It's Type

Mobile application testing is a procedure to test for documentation, user interface, functionality, compatibility, configuration, recovering, usability, app performance, app crash & consistency, stability, and UI experience. The mobile testing is performed by the application tester in two ways – manual application testing and automation application testing.

Predominantly, smartphone users spent most of the time on mobile applications. Thus, it is essential for developers to build a mobile app with a great user experience.

Gone are the days when users were switching on the laptops/desktops to search for anything or make any purchase. There are 5.22 billion unique mobile phone users in the world today, according to a GSMA report with 93 million unique users grew in the last one year. Also, the mobile users have surpassed desktop users in the third quarter of 2020 with a 50.81% market share excluding tablet users. In this guide, we will discuss the best practices to perform mobile testing, types of mobile testing, the importance of mobile testing, mobile testing aspects, and the mobile testing challenges.

Hence the mobile application which we are delivering to our clients should be tested very well. There are two types of application testing services is performed to ensure the quality of mobile applications i.e., Automated Mobile Application Testing and Manual Mobile Application Testing.

 

Types of Mobile Application Testing

There are two types of mobile application testing is performed to find the bugs in a mobile application - manual testing and automated mobile application testing. There are certain advantages and disadvantages of both types of mobile testing. Let's dive to understand the types of mobile app testing and it's advantages & disadvantages.

 

Automated Mobile Application Testing

It is difficult to imagine mobile application testing without automation. Automated mobile testing, as the name suggests, refers to automation testing, done on the mobile application. Mobile automation testing is the process whereby testers automate testing of a mobile application – which can be done using automation tools and help in reducing the testing time cycle. The speed and reliability of automated mobile testing are helpful for fast execution and time-consuming cases.

Advantages of Automated Mobile Application Testing

• Automated testing is more cost-efficient for larger mobile apps
• It saves time
• Multiple mobile testing can be performed simultaneously
• Performs difficult tasks in a minute using the preset algorithms
• Minimize the mobile testing error

Disadvantages of Automated Mobile Application Testing

• The time-consuming process if need to check a small features
• Unable to test user experience factors
• Coding and configurations are specific for each app testing and required to change in algorithms if need to perform another test
• Unable to check mobile app crash with accuracy

 

Manual Mobile Application Testing

Automated mobile testing will never replace manual mobile application testing and it will never be able to test the errors for which it is not programmed. Also, automated testing unable to perform user experience performance and app crash testing.

Manual mobile application testing goods for testing small features adding in the mobile, can test the features added into mobile and not require any program, unlike automation testing. Mobile user experience and app crash test is important to test which is only able to test manually.

Advantages of Manual Mobile Application Testing

• More accurate User Interface testing possible with manual testing only
• Check real user experiences
• Manual testing is faster and more accurate for added features or small projects
• It is easy to identify and test app crash
• Manual testing enables handling more tedious use-case scenarios

Disadvantages of Manual Mobile Application Testing

• Manual testing does not guarantee 100% accuracy due to human involvement in testing
• Not suitable for big projects
• Not accurately perform multiple tests simultaneously
• Test cases are difficult to perform
• It requires human involvement

There are many scenarios where manual testing is given priority over automated testing throughout the mobile app development lifecycle. For example, if a user finds a bug in an app and reports to the app developer, manual testing can replicate these bugs to find the solution and much faster than automated testing in these scenarios.

Why mobile application testing is important?

Smartphones are undoubtedly becoming a vital organ for people, without which tasks look impossible to accomplish. The wide gamut of mobile applications has simplified life to such an extent that everything can be done at the tap of a button.

However, developers need to understand that developing mobile applications is challenging, thanks to the variations in devices, operating systems, networks, and user skills. Moreover, the scope of an app tester's functions has also increased to ensure an app’s high performance under differing usage conditions. But the question remains the same: how can testers ensure the functionality and performance of apps?

Key aspects to remember while testing mobile applications

Accurate and complete testing should be included in the application development strategy. To ensure the efficiency of the testing process, app testers should focus on the following key areas:

Devices

Today's digital world is dominated by iOS and Android smartphones, which are known for their wide application platform. But selecting a device has always been a challenge before testers because of the dynamic nature of smartphone technologies. The choice of devices corresponds to the market and reach for the mobile application. Testers can consider the following factors while selecting a testing device:

• OS Version: Use stable operating systems to test mobile applications
• Screen Resolution: Use a combination of screens to test by resolution and size
• Form Factor: Test for form factors if the app is compatible with tablets and smartphones

Moreover, connectivity options and memory size are also important factors that testers should consider while selecting devices.

Emulators and physical devices

Emulators are extremely useful during the initial stages of app development because they allow efficient and quick checking of the application. Emulators run software from one environment to another environment without intrinsically changing the software. Device emulators are cost-effective testing options and create a pseudo-live environment for testing applications. But it is also imperative for testers to test applications on physical devices for ensuring an app's functionality in real-life scenarios.

Performance

The performance and scalability of applications are important areas that testers should focus on. Since users have a large amount of data on their smartphones, testers must ensure that their app continues to perform on heavy-data smartphones. Testers should test the app in scenarios where there is an increase in the size of albums, mailboxes, messages, or any other type of content. Moreover, testers should test the server-side of the app with many users for ensuring the app’s performance.

Cloud

Cloud-based app testing is essential in the present-day realm of cloud computing. Cloud-based app testing makes it easier for testers to manage potentially infinite scenarios. It provides a web-based testing environment where applications can be positioned, tested, and managed effectively. Testers should focus on cloud based testing because reducing defects is linked with unstable test configurations. Moreover, it reduces time to market (TTM) and augments the testing process.

Network compatibility

Since most mobile applications rely on power networks to work accurately, testers need to ensure that their app performs on an actual network. Testers can use a range of network simulation tools to test mobile apps against network speed, connection dropouts, bandwidth limitations, and other network-related aspects. Network simulation adds value to the testing process and ensures that the app delivers performance under varying network conditions.

Security

Last but not the least, testers should focus on data privacy and security testing. Testing an app’s security is a compulsory component of the testing strategy because users are concerned about the security of their credentials and data. Mobile applications should encrypt the credentials of users while authenticating them over a network. Testers should identify loopholes and vulnerabilities in the app which would jeopardize sensitive and confidential information of users.

 

What are the basic factors that need to consider while strategizing mobile app testing?

With smartphones gradually becoming a must-have, it becomes equally important for developers to build apps while considering the factors mentioned below.

Strategizing the mobile testing efforts helps to streamline the mobile testing process in a streamlined manner, thus it helps improving its competence and success.

Mobile application testing whether performed manually or automated is different from web testing and software testing. There are some specifics that are completely different from other forms of testing such as software and web testing.

 

Specifics that should consider before performing mobile testing:

• Types of mobile app
• Different devices’ manufacturers
• Screen resolutions (portrait & landscape mode)
• Turning on/off GPS
• Screen sizes and resolutions
• Operations support systems

 

There are basic points that should consider while strategizing mobile testing:

Testing the mobile application on a real device is always the best decision. It gives the highest accuracy. But the market is flooded with hundreds of mobile brands and different devices, selecting the most appropriate mobile device is a difficult task.

Below are some factors helps you with the selection of the right device:

• Research and find the most used mobile devices in the world
• Find the mobiles with different screen resolutions
• Select the mobile devices with a different operating system
• Also, don’t forget to consider the features like compatibility, memory size, connectivity, and others.

 

Conclusion

People are now considering mobile devices over desktop/laptop to search for any small or big thing. Last quarter of 2020, mobile users have surpassed desktop and laptop users including tablets. This increases the responsibility of developers to build a high performing application, where performance measure usability, functionality, and scalability.

Outsource your mobile application testing services as V2Soft is specialized in performing both manual and automation testing. Other than the manual testing, V2Soft uses Selendroid, Test Complete, Appium, Robotium, Robot Framework, Espresso, and XCUITest automation testing tools.