Since the introduction of mobile applications, the app-developing industry has gone through significant changes to incorporate this new form of app development and testing. Moreover, with emerging new technologies like automation testing, cross-browser testing, and quality assurance testing, the developers have to include massive changes in their overall testing environment. Moreover, the diversity of modern mobile devices calls for various adjustments to ensure the smooth execution of the application irrespective of the device or other software parameters. While performing mobile app testing, it is also important to ensure the proper placement of all the user interface elements present on the mobile application.
So, with this article, we are going to dive into the future of mobile application testing. We will also understand some of the prominent trends and technologies that are currently emerging in this segment. Finally, we will complete our discussion with some of the most important strategies that can help developers realize the full potential of their mobile app development and testing infrastructure.
The World of Mobile App Development
Before we start discussing the future of mobile app testing, we need to understand the reasons behind the popularity of modern mobile devices. This is because by using devices such as smartphones, tablets, and even smartwatches, the end users can access desktop-like performance on a form factor that can fit in their pockets. Moreover, various companies provide dedicated apps and services that can only be accessed through mobile applications. Therefore due to the rise of these technologies and the demand for portability, mobile devices will continue to become one of the most popular parts of the modern device segment.
While understanding modern mobile devices, the developer should also have a different idea about the massive diversity that reigns in this segment. Currently, the 3 most popular mobile operating systems include Android, iOS, and Windows. Android being the largest player in this segment has over 71% of users all around the globe. Research study shows that only in the Android segment, almost 1000 new devices are released annually. All of these devices are unique in terms of hardware and software configurations. Due to all of these factors, it becomes almost impossible for app developers and testers to generalize the test cases while working with mobile devices.
Moreover in the mobile segment, it is very important to support outdated devices and their software. This is because more than 80% of the users do not update their devices before 3 years.
Importance of Designing Proper Mobile Test Cases
Let us now consider some of the most important parameters that can justify the creation and maintenance of comprehensive mobile test cases:
● Quality Assurance
By properly testing the mobile applications, the testers can identify and resolve critical bugs that might be present in the core framework of the application. This process helps to ensure that the app is functioning as intended and delivers a smooth user experience to the customers. This process also helps to ensure that at least the basic structure of the app is functional in all instances and prevents any critical crashes. Some of the crucial reasons for rigorous mobile app testing are:
● Compatibility
Since the modern mobile industry consists of thousands of different devices, by implementing mobile app testing, the app developers can ensure that their application is compatible with all these devices. Using mobile testing, it is also possible to verify the proper placement of all the user interface elements irrespective of the screen size and resolution variations. During this process, the developers can also create different combinations of multiple devices, operating systems, and other hardware configurations for testing purposes.
● Security
Modern devices store a lot of sensitive user information including their transaction details. So, while developing mobile applications, developers must test the core infrastructure of the application to ensure that all this information is secure within the app architecture. This process also helps to ensure that the app is immune to any form of security or privacy leaks.
● User Satisfaction
By detecting and fixing all the critical bugs and errors before the production phase, testers can enhance the user satisfaction of the application. This is because they can provide a reliable and error-free app experience irrespective of the use case. This is a very crucial parameter as it helps to contain various important analytic parameters like user bounce rates and user retention rates.
● Performance Optimisation
By executing rigorous mobile application test cases, developers can verify the functioning of the app under various conditions. They can also use this data to optimize the speed of resource usage and the overall responsiveness of the app architecture. While performing performance testing, the developers can also analyze the behavior of the application architecture when it is exposed to unusual traffic or user interaction errors.
● Compliance
Various countries have strict compliance regarding quality and security standards. So, by implementing mobile app testing, the developers can ensure that the core architecture of the app aligns with all these compliances and is fit to be released in these markets. The developers must remember that in a worst-case scenario, countries can completely ban the app for any complaints or legal issues.
Emerging Trends and Technologies in Mobile App Testing
The developers must remember that mobile application testing is constantly evolving with all the emerging trends and technologies. So, to simplify this knowledge for the new automation testers and developers, we have created a list of some of the most important aspects that can shape the future of mobile app testing:
1. Integration of AI and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence-driven testing tools can automate test case generation by execution and analysis process. So, the integration of these tools can improve the efficiency and accuracy of the mobile application testing process. Moreover, the integration of machine learning can help to predict potential issues and optimize the testing scenarios for app-development companies. The integration of these parameters also has a crucial role in helping test cases evolve with the changing requirements and new integrations to the application infrastructure.
2. IoT and Wearable Testing
IoT and wearable devices are constantly rising and gaining a huge segment of the mobile device market. So, the testers also need to expand their testing infrastructure to ensure seamless integration and functionality across various platforms and devices. This process will also help the app-developing companies to constantly expand their business in this competitive segment of the industry. While integrating IoT device testing, the developer should also consider the respective industry of these devices for better optimizing the test cases and serving a wider section of end users.
3. Use of AR/VR App Testing
Augmented reality and virtual reality are constantly gaining traction with almost 5% of users transitioning to these technologies every year. So, the developers and testers must implement specialized testing methodologies to ensure a rich user experience while using these dedicated mobile applications. The test cases must check the usability, compatibility, and performance of the application across various AR or VR platforms.
4. Integration of DevOps and Continuous Testing
The integration of mobile app testing into the DevOps pipeline helps promote continuous testing. This process in turn helps enable a rapid feedback loop and quicker delivery cycles while maintaining the quality of the application. Using this process, the app developers can also perform the development and testing process side by side. The major advantage of this process is that it helps detect the bugs as soon as they appear in the app architecture before they turn into serious concerns.
5. Use of Cloud-Based Testing
Cloud-based testing is yet another rising technology that helps developers perform real device testing through remote servers. These servers can be accessed from anywhere in the world and also provide access to outdated hardware and software configurations. Using AI-powered test orchestration and execution platforms like Lambdatest, the developers can initiate AI-based mobile app testing, maintain dedicated test activity logs, and generate comprehensive test reports after the test execution process. LambdaTest also helps the developers input the mobile test cases from various popular frameworks like Appium.
While we are in the segment of cloud-based testing, it is also important to mention the importance of automation testing in modern mobile app use cases. This is because using automated test cases, the developers can automatically initiate the test cases on multiple mobile platforms at the same time. The removal of human involvement not only helps to improve the efficiency of the test cases but also boosts its accuracy. Moreover, the system can automatically initiate the test cases after it detects any significant code change in the app architecture.
6. Focus on User Experience Control
Other than the implementation of functional testing, there is an increasing emphasis on testing the user experience across multiple mobile applications. Some of the important parameters include accessibility, personalization, and usability. These are highly important to ensure that the end users can easily navigate through the application infrastructure and perform their basic actions. While performing user experience testing, testers need to check the proper placement of all the user interface elements.
7. Implementation of Performance Testing for Mobile Apps
Since mobile devices are highly diverse and consist of different hardware and software combinations, it is very important to execute performance testing for mobile apps. It will help to understand the optimal performance of the app under various conditions. This process will also include various unpredictable situations like low battery, unstable network, or user interaction errors. So, the test reports will provide crucial information about resource usage, battery consumption, and the stability of the application infrastructure.
All these trends reflect the growing complexity and demands of the mobile app landscape. It also prompts the need for innovative approaches and tools in mobile application testing. By staying updated and adapting to these changes, the testers and developers can ensure the quality and functioning of their mobile apps. To devise the exact strategies for mobile app development, the tester should also have a clear understanding of the application intentions, the target audience, and all the tools that are being used in the development process.
The Bottom Line
So, we can easily say that mobile devices will continue to become one of the most important integrations of the modern device industry. It is also important for the developers to understand the crucial role of automation testing in the modern app development process. To spread the required knowledge and awareness, the app-developing companies can conduct frequent workshops and seminars. The developer should also keep themselves updated with all the recent trends and innovations in this segment to continue uplifting the quality of their applications.