In today’s digital era, when we talk about the mobile app development process, real device testing becomes one of the crucial processes to ensure a seamless and quality experience in a mobile app.
Many app producers need help to cover all Android devices. In fact, there are well over 24,000 Android devices, and while iOS devices remain popular in the US, globally, Android makes up 73% share of the device market; Android devices cannot be ignored. It’s not possible to test thousands of devices.
Google is full of tips on how to optimize the mobile app testing. However, not all are useful. We’ve worked with over 100 companies worldwide to identify common testing challenges and develop these best practices.
This blog will discuss real device cloud testing and some of the best practices for a smooth development process.
All You Should Know About Real Device Testing
Real device testing involves manual quality assurance tests of mobile apps and mobile-optimized websites on real devices. Many companies use device simulations to test for device coverage. Depending on the complexity of your mobile application, simulated devices may not be enough.
The app functionality is as important as the app’s mobile environments.
Some of the mobile environment includes:
- Device storage capacity
- Device connectivity
- Device battery life
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Quality and the speed of the Internet
The QA testers may also test for cultural adherence and localization. Android and iOS account for 99% of all cell phone usage. While most app developers only try their apps on these operating systems, it is important to know which devices your users use so that you can provide them with the right coverage.
What Are Some Real Device Testing Options?
When testing real devices, tech companies have a few options. The majority of companies will combine these options. A large online marketplace, for example, might use its employees’ devices to test and then hire a Networked Testing Company that will perform manual testing. They may also use a digital device park during development sprints.
i) Testing With Own Devices
Employees can test an app on their smartphones and tablets to ensure it covers all important devices. It is a great way to test a newly updated or new feature quickly. Teams of engineers could work together to test the features they are developing.
This is not scalable.
Your internal development team and QA department may not have all the devices important to your users. Your internal teams may be busy with large-scale quality initiatives, such as automated regression testing and test cycle strategy.
ii) Purchasing and maintaining a Big Device Library
Some companies purchase devices to keep in the office for employees to test.
It’s not smart to buy every device in the world. Your company may want to purchase the most popular devices.
Why?
It’s possible to end up with many devices but no testers. This strategy needs to be updated with the rapid increase in remote work.
iii) Hire a Freelance Tester
One option is to hire independent testers from Upwork or crowdsourcing companies.
It can solve capacity and device coverage problems but also create new problems. Namely, management.
Your team will be responsible for managing freelance testers. Freelance testers can be difficult to assess. If you pay them per bug, as is common with crowdsourcing, your engineers must sort through many low-quality issues.
iv) Company With Network Testing
Software companies can hire freelancers to work in teams of up to 30 people during a feature release.
Real Device Testing: 10 Best Practices That Can Be Followed Out In 2023
1) Test on the Right Platform
The testing method will differ depending on the platform for which your app was developed – web-based, Native, or hybrid. Native apps offer the best control but require more maintenance across different platforms due to the variety of hardware and operating systems.
Native and hybrid apps are different in their underlying technologies but have similar functionality. They use the same functional test approach. It includes testing the app’s built-in resources, gestures, screen orientation, etc.
Web-based testing of apps has its obstacles. Web-based app testing has different obstacles.
2) Identify Your Customer Well
To create an attractive mobile app, you will need a lot of information about your customers. You can only make better decisions about your business, prioritize development and improve the user experience if you understand how potential users interact.
QA specialists are able to understand user behavior by working with developers to integrate analytical mechanisms into an app. They can also test the most used parts. LambdaTest is a great platform that allows you to identify design elements that frustrate users, cause confusion, or prevent them from converting. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and test execution platform that helps businesses drastically reduce time to market through faster test execution, ensuring quality releases and accelerated digital transformation. The platform allows you to perform both real time and automation testing across 3000+ environments and real mobile devices, making it a top choice among other cloud testing platforms.
It is important to measure end-user data not only to determine the appropriate testing strategies but also when making business decisions.
3) Prioritize Functionality First, User Experience Second
The key selling point of any app is its core functionality. It must be solid. People look for apps that can meet their needs and perform specific functions. App abandonment is a result of incomplete or insufficient functionality. It’s important to test and execute the main functions thoroughly before launch.
Mobile apps must also be easy to use and sleek. If the app’s functionality is not intuitive or the interface is badly designed, the development team may need to redo it.
It is best to not wait until the app has been completed to test user experience. You can begin testing user experience as soon as you have a completed prototype or design mockup.
4) Focus On Real Device Testing Before Launching Your App
Early in the app development process, using emulators and simulators to test is highly beneficial. They provide improved debugging abilities to speed up the testing lifecycle of an app.
LambdaTest, a cloud-based AI-powered test orchestration platform, allows you to test mobile apps across real browsers and device types. LambdaTest provides a range of Android emulators and iOS simulators as well as a cloud for real devices to help you test and develop apps.
It is important to test your mobile app on real mobile devices. Real device testing should be considered before releasing an app. This allows testers to test every scenario possible in the testing cycle. The flaws are corrected immediately based on a realistic output.
5) Make Performing Testing Early Call
If performance issues are found later in the development process, modifying after functional testing can be more costly and dangerous. Running a performance check at an early stage will help to detect any performance problems.
Performance testing isn’t a one-and done process. A single test can’t give developers all the information that they need. For performance testing to be successful, it is important to repeat the test.
6) Smart Balanced Testing
Keep a balance between scripted testing and exploratory testing. The script-based test is not useful in determining emotional engagement, and it takes more time to finish this type of testing to get the right level of coverage.
Session-based testing is a great way to identify user experience problems, edge cases, and specific usage conditions. You’ll want to ensure that you get the right mix of tests in order to guarantee maximum coverage.
7) Make Use of Cloud Services
A real device cloud is an environment for testing that includes real iOS, Android, and other mobile devices. It can be accessed from a desktop browser. App developers and QA specialists can access insights into app performance, switch devices seamlessly, and automate tasks using the mobile device cloud.
LambdaTest uses unlimited concurrency when testing mobile apps, which is time-consuming. This reduces time-to-market. When a feature is not tested on a physical device, it will take time to fix. With real device cloud testing, you can access thousands of devices instantly and debug faster.
8) Refine & Optimize
There are specific types of tests that can be used to enhance and optimize mobile apps. Testers can use A/B tests to find out which options customers prefer and then base their final decisions on the results.
By using optimization testing, you can also make decisions on simple, small UI and functionalities changes. Early in the development cycle, fake-door testing can be used to determine which features are most desired by end users.
9) Identify Your Support Policy
Testing every browser, operating system, and platform is difficult. Define your support strategy as early as possible and review it every three months to keep up with the pace in the mobile industry.
Market research and end-user data can help you identify your target platforms and devices. Testing should focus on devices and OSs with the most end users. It’s also worth considering limiting the support of outdated platforms, as it could cost you a lot.
10) Automation Testing Should Combined With Manual Testing
To combine automated and manual testing, you must first identify the best option for each feature or phase of product development.
Manual testing remains important because it allows you to test various devices and locations. It also allows you to conduct UX tests. Automating your manual testing plan can make it more efficient, faster, and accurate.
Expert tips on combining manual and automated testing include:
- Automate your manual tests.
- Automate white-box testing as well as load tests and performance tests.
- Automating any test that is repeated is possible
- Crowd testing is a time-efficient and scalable way to test.
- Schedule manual tests to follow important design or development phases
Conclusion: Real Device Testing
It is not easy to create a successful app for mobile devices, and best practices in testing evolve naturally over time. Most of the tips we have provided are vital for any mobile app developer or tester.
LambdaTest is a powerful tool that allows for the testing of real devices. It’s a valuable asset for software development. LambdaTest’s extensive range of browsers and real devices, as well as its seamless integration with popular test frameworks and robust testing capabilities, empower teams to deliver high-quality applications that work flawlessly in diverse environments.
LambdaTest saves teams time and resources by identifying and addressing compatibility issues earlier in the development cycle. It also ensures a better user experience. The platform’s scalability, reliability, and comprehensive reporting make it an asset for small startups and large enterprises.
LambdaTest is committed to continual improvement, ensuring it stays at the forefront of a rapidly evolving landscape for testing web and mobile applications. LambdaTest is a reliable partner for achieving excellence in testing, which ultimately contributes to the success and satisfaction of software projects.