Scaled Mobile App Testing Approach with Digital.ai Continuous Testing

Mobile app downloads continue to rise

A report from Statista shows that in 2022, users downloaded approximately 148 billion apps to their mobile devices.

Meanwhile, data from Sensor Tower shows that gross revenue on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play will continue to climb each year with a 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), reaching $233 billion in 2026.

Companies are rolling out mobile apps in significant numbers to meet consumer demand for mobile access on their smartphones and other devices. Because consumers are always looking for faster apps with more features, there is constant pressure on software developers to keep pace with the demand. At the same time, consumers don’t have a tolerance for apps with a less-than-stellar user experience. Apps that are slow, crash frequently, freeze or have bugs will be quickly uninstalled by users. Meanwhile, apps with security flaws or vulnerabilities can create disastrous consequences for both consumers and organizations.

Security starts with a comprehensive mobile app testing approach that includes critical elements of security as well as function and user experience. Taking steps to ensure that mobile apps are adequately tested in various stages of development can fix challenges and software issues early in the process. Developers need to apply rigorous testing strategies well before a new or updated app reaches the App Store or Google Play.

Mobile app testing best practices

A comprehensive strategy for testing mobile applications involves a combination of testing categories including user experience, performance, functionality, security, regression, and usability testing. The best mobile app testing approach typically recommends additional factors to consider the many different factors and nuances that can affect a user’s experience with the app. A robust approach to mobile app testing includes multiple steps, device types, and environments.

Here are some guidelines that can be used as a starting point to develop a mobile app testing approach:

• Use both manual and automated testing: Like software testing, comprehensive mobile app testing shouldn’t be limited to only manual testing or only automated testing. The most effective mobile app testing approach will use a combination of automated tests and manual tests, which can vary depending on the type of test being conducted.
• Test with actual devices: One crucial element of mobile app testing involves performing tests with physical mobile devices and not just simulations of devices. Testing on actual devices provides a better overview of how the app performs, the user experience, and its reliability. In addition, testing should be expanded to as many variations of iOS and Android devices as possible to cover various consumer and user preferences. Mobile testing tools that provide access to numerous types of devices are an effective solution.
• Use multiple variations and combinations: Along with different device types, consider testing multiple variations of devices with different combinations of operating systems and networks. Testing multiple variations and combinations is effective for performance and reliability testing.
• Coordinate testing: Testing must be completed in conjunction with software release orchestrations. Automated testing can help with this process.

A comprehensive mobile app testing approach, combined with an advanced mobile app testing tool, can ensure the quality of an app and provide an optimal experience for the user.

How Digital.ai Continuous Testing enables more effective mobile app testing

Digital.ai Continuous Testing enables developers and QA teams to streamline and scale mobile app testing to keep up with rigorous release cycles. With the Continuous Testing tool, organizations can accelerate their releases and provide better experiences for their customers.

Digital.ai Continuous Testing offers key features including:

• The ability to create templates to save time
• Supports both manual and automated testing processes
• Provides the ability to access actual physical devices and test each device in multiple locations/environments through global data center locations or on-premise in a private centralized location
• Organizations have access to 200+ different devices and variations of both Android and iOS devices
• Testers can perform debugging of apps on these devices by integrating them into any development environment
• Seamlessly integrated solutions, including the ability to run Appium and Selenium tests without any modification directly from your IDE, using any mobile testing framework such as Eclipse, IntelliJ, Visual Studio, TestNG, JUnit, etc.
• Tests can be programmed in any language (Java, C#, Ruby, Python, JS, etc.)
• Ability to test in the development environment – for both regression and integration testing
• Can run performance tests including in different network conditions and environments

To learn more about how Digital.ai Continuous Testing can help your organization achieve faster releases, visit our website.