Mobile applications are making our lives easier, saving time and effort, and getting everything delivered to our doorsteps without needing to travel. Thanks to them, we no longer have to go to banks to get statements or visit shops to buy groceries or medicines.
Experts forecast that the annual number of app downloads worldwide will reach 299 billion in 2023. However, we cannot ignore the truth that out of the thousands of apps hitting the market daily, many of them fail to meet user expectations.
The moment users discover faults in an app, like frequent crashes, poor performance, or excessive battery consumption, they will quickly uninstall it and search for an alternate one that is more reliable.
The only way companies can prevent this and maintain their market reputation is by testing mobile apps thoroughly and ensuring they are user-friendly and bug-free before they reach the end users.
Through stringent mobile app testing, organizations must ensure their apps run smoothly on thousands of devices and operating systems. However, this is possible only through a well-planned mobile testing strategy and an understanding of the different types of mobile testing they need to conduct to ensure thoroughness and accuracy.
In this article, we will help you create a comprehensive QA strategy by exploring the different types of mobile app testing in detail.
Different Types of Mobile App Testing
Here are the key mobile testing types that will enable QA teams to unearth glitches in mobile apps in different environments and scenarios:
1. Functional testing
The purpose of this testing is to verify if your app’s functions are performing as expected. The focus here is mainly on testing user flows within the app and every feature that comprises each workflow.
With functional testing, the tester should verify these:
- Whether text boxes, menus, icons, and buttons are functioning correctly
- If push notifications are rendering correctly and appearing at appropriate intervals
- Whether the app installs or launches correctly
- If transactions or purchases are seamless
- If a user can sign in or log in easily
2. Compatibility testing
It is done to ensure the mobile app works as expected across various browsers, operating systems, mobile devices, networks, and hardware available in the market. It is also important to test mobile apps on real devices rather than emulators or simulators since emulators/simulators do not take real conditions into account while testing.
Testing on real devices provides a real environment where you can see how your app behaves exactly the same way your end users would see it on their devices.
3. Usability testing
It is a non-functional test that evaluates the user-friendliness of a mobile app in relation to its use and intuitiveness. For this, it must be tested with real users to identify issues related to the user experience and interface.
Usability testing helps you identify design flaws, optimize your UX, and improve flow before you launch your app to the market. They are usually done at the middle or end of the app development but can be done even during the wireframing stage.
4. Performance testing
Testing how an application performs under different conditions is crucial. This is achieved through performance testing that puts the app under different loads to see how it behaves.
Performance testing verifies aspects like:
- Device performance: Battery consumption, memory consumption, installation, and login time
- Recovery capabilities: Recovery functions and built-in backup that can save and recover user data in case of data loss
- API/server performance: Formation and speed of data transfer from back-end to front-end
- Network performance: Errors, pauses, or delays in receiving digital information
5. Interruption testing
It checks the response of an application when confronting an unexpected interruption. Based on the type of interruption, the app should pass and return to its original state or react in a specific manner. Here are some common interruptions that you need to consider:
- Incoming SMS or messages while the app is running
- Low battery power when the app is running
- The device shuts off when the app is running
- Incoming calls when the app is running
- Loss and restoration of the network while the app is running
6. Security testing
With the increasing concern of users for the privacy and confidentiality of their data, security testing is indispensable in mobile app testing. Fear of security issues can cause users to uninstall their apps. Hence, tests must be conducted to fortify security and ensure data confidentiality.
QA teams must check the apps thoroughly to verify that the users’ information cannot be hacked or leaked. Additionally, they must evaluate the app’s behaviour under various device permission requests.
7. Installation testing
Installation is a crucial aspect of every app that needs to be flawless. Even a minor glitch in the installation process can cause a user to reject your app. Installation testing evaluates the successful installation of your mobile app across different mobile gadgets, models and operating systems. It is usually the last phase of the software testing life cycle.
8. Memory leak testing
A memory leak occurs when an app fails to return the memory it temporarily obtains for functioning. Consequently, the app’s available memory drains out fully, and its programs cannot function. Even a small memory leak can cause the app’s programs to terminate in frequently used apps.
Memory leak testing is conducted by running the app on multiple devices to test how the app performs on devices with varying memory capabilities. This helps to ensure that the application works perfectly across various configurations.
9. Localization testing
The testing is done to test the features that depend on the app’s geographical location. With most apps looking to cater to a global user base, app makers include localized features for the convenience of the users, such as adherence to local laws and regulations or enabling different languages. With localization testing, testers can verify if these features are activated and functioning at the appropriate locations.
Conclusion
Including these nine mobile testing types in your mobile app testing plan will ensure that the app you release to the public is perfect and has the greatest chance of success.
Choosing the right mobile app testing tool is an important factor in guaranteeing efficiency for your mobile testing. Among the different apps available, TestGrid is an end-to-end testing platform that most companies rely upon to streamline testing of their mobile apps.
Powered by AI and loaded with features unmatched by any other tool, TestGrid lets QA teams perform manual and automated testing on real devices, getting accurate results every time and enabling companies to release perfect software faster to the market.
TestGrid allows the testing of mobile apps in real-world conditions, including battery life, network strength, and lighting conditions, across a range of real Android and iOS devices. Moreover, it provides on-demand access to real devices hosted on the cloud, on-premise or hybrid.
With TestGrid, you can scale your mobile app testing up or down based on your evolving requirements. TestGrid lets you find bugs in the early stages of development and resolve them before they escalate into bigger problems.
