Mobile application testing has become one of the core aspects of app design and development projects. And this growing interest has been well-founded in a customer-centric logic that aspires to offer the most satisfying user experience by ensuring the quality and performance of mobile apps.
At the same time, addressing mobile app testing challenges has also become a major concern for coders, program developers, and managers. So in this article, we will examine some of the primary mobile app testing challenges and the best practices to approach them. Let's begin:
Table of Content
- Device Fragmentation
- Different Screen Sizes
- Numerous Types of Mobile Applications
- Mobile Network Bandwidth
- Different Operating Systems
- Users Experiences and Expectations
- Conclusion
Device Fragmentation
Device Fragmentation is the most common and biggest challenge in mobile application testing. The problem is growing even bigger as new devices are entering the market, each with a different operating system, screen size, software requirements, hardware specifications, etc.
Notice that device fragmentation itself is one of the greatest byproducts of tech development. But the problem is that it leads to compatibility issues, making it challenging to create programs that work on all devices smoothly.
Solving compatibility issues requires setting up certain benchmarks and mobile application testers to create a better understanding of the end-users needs. Then we will design a program with detailed specifications that offers maximum coverage and ensures all your target audiences can easily interact with the app.
Different Screen Sizes
Let's take a closer look at screen size and the resulting mobile app testing challenges they cause. The obvious problem with different screen sizes is that the application must adjust its layout and design to various devices.
Device responsiveness can be very difficult, especially when the app has a wide range of features, and user interface elements, buttons, menus, etc. This also applies to websites and apps desktop versions. We'll have to test the website in different screen resolutions and ensure that display is satisfactory regardless of the screen size and resolution.
Numerous Types of Mobile Applications
Addressing mobile app testing challenges also requires us to understand the differences between different types of apps, including native apps, web apps, and hybrid apps. Native apps are designed and developed for one specific operating system, like iOS, Android, or any other OS.
Web apps also enjoy purpose-specific designs, but they have a major difference; They are only accessed through web browsers on mobile devices. These apps are far more complicated, which has raised a critical question in software development communities: How to test progressive web apps to ensure they will run on different browsers and operating systems smoothly?
The answer usually lies in a carefully selected combination of manual and automated testing techniques as well as various tools and software designed to ensure apps high performance and full compatibility.
There is also a third type of mobile app, which is typically known as hybrid, combining elements of both native and web apps which makes it somewhat more complex to manage and optimize. But hybrid apps go through the same processes of compatibility testing as well. Although, they may require more advanced measures like a test automation framework.
_638235390091951582.png)
Mobile Network Bandwidth
Another way to approach app compatibility is to test mobile websites on different network conditions. Network testing often follows these steps:
- Test mobile app in offline mode
- Test mobile app in online mode
- Test mobile app in low to high-quality network conditions to verify optimal performance.
Notice that network interruptions are not part of the apps compatibility problem per se. But it is important to ensure your mobile app can handle network interruptions gracefully and offer satisfactory performance under low bandwidth conditions without significant delays or errors.
Different Operating Systems
As mentioned, mobile apps are very often developed for a specific operating system like iOS, Android, or Windows. It means they follow a unique guideline, offers specific functionalities, and offer OS-specific user interface elements that don't necessarily play well on other operating systems.
Some developers prefer to give up platform-specific features and opt for functionalities that can be more or less found on any OS. That said, a more professional approach would be to leverage these features and create an app that offers unique performance across different operating systems.
User's Experiences and Expectations
Over the past few years, the tech industry has developed significantly. It has led to mounting competition for creating the most fulfilling, immersive, and customized user experience on the supply side. Users have also set high expectations regarding performance, usability, and functionality.
This can be seen as both an opportunity as well as a challenge. It's an opportunity because we'll have more motivation to come up with new ideas, practices, and strategies to meet user's expectations.
The challenge is that no single Mobile App Testing Strategy can ensure flawless results. In other words, the field and practice of mobile app testing will always remain a project in progress.
Besides issues associated with device fragmentation, here are some of the more common mobile app testing challenges that we need to focus on in order to optimize user experience:
- Security Concerns: Mobile apps often contain sensitive user data, which can be exploited in various ways. Testers need to ensure that the app is secure and resilient against a wide range of security threats, viruses, malware, etc.
- Strict Deadlines: Developing mobile apps is a time-consuming task. But testing them might take even more time to ensure optimal performance. So, strict deadlines can be a significant problem, especially when you need your app up and running in a limited timeframe.
- Heavy Battery Usage: High performance very often means excessive battery power consumption. But mobile app development and testing are gradually moving toward identifying any resource-intensive process and finding more efficient ways to offer the same quality and features without draining the battery excessively.
- Too Many App Testing Tools: The final problem is to find the right tool. There are a broad array of mobile app testing tools available in the market, like Appium, Espresso, and XCUI Test. It's important to note that each tool has pros and cons, but app testers usually use a combination of various apps to ensure theres nothing left behind.
Conclusion
Mobile app testing challenges are not the easiest tech problems to manage. With the growing number of apps, devices, users, and features, these challenges will also get more and more complicated. But developing a Mobile App Testing Strategy and partnering with the right developers can solve all your problems.
PixelQA is one of the leading QA services companies, providing clients with quality engineering services and helping them test codes for all purposes and intent. We have a team of experts who are trained and equipped to handle a comprehensive range of software testing services, from functional, compatibility, and security testing services to QA process design.
We aim to provide our clients with user-friendly applications and software, showcasing exceptional quality and accuracy by providing pixel-perfect QA and testing services. Contact us today, and we'll take care of the rest.