Appium is a great choice if you are on the lookout for open source tools to automate mobile applications. Be it native, web, or hybrid applications, Appium will be able to automate it. In addition to that, it has cross-platform support across Android, iOS, and Windows as well. Last but not the least, its support for multiple programming languages like C#, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, JavaScript with node.js, and so on. As a leading QA company, Appium has been always been our go-to tool in many of our projects. So in this Appium guide, we will be giving you a thorough walkthrough of how you can run tests on real devices using Appium. Let’s take a look at a few other advantages that Appium has to offer before we proceed further.
Advantages of Appium
Appium is an open-source tool that is very easy to install. Reinstallation of the application is also not needed when there are any small changes that have to be made.
Appium doesn’t require any application source code or library.
It has an active and helpful community.
Unlike other testing tools, you wouldn’t have to include any additional agents in your app for making it compatible with Appium for automation. It will test the same app that will be uploaded to the App or Play Store.
Beyond testing the mobile apps from Android and iOS, it can also be used to test windows desktop applications.
Parallel execution of test scripts can be achieved by using Appium.
Prerequisites for using Appium
Now in this Appium Guide, let’s take a look at few of the prerequisite you’ll be needing in order to get Appium up and running. You would have to install the following,
Java (JDK)
Android Studio
Additional Android SDK tools
Appium jar file
Appium Desktop Client
Eclipse IDE for Java
Note: Node.js and NPM will be there by default whenever the Appium server is installed. It is not required to install node.js and NPM separately as would be already included in the current version of Appium.
Appium Guide to install Appium with Node.js
Step 1: Check if node.js is installed on your system by entering the below-mentioned code in Command prompt. Step 1 isn’t the only step where we have mentioned the codes. So make sure to use the appropriate codes we have highlighted in the command prompt.
node --version
npm –version
Step 2: Download the node.js installer
Step 3: Run the installer & install node.js & npm
Step 4: Check if node.js & npm are installed.
node --version
npm --version
where node
where npm
Step 5: Install Appium with node.js
npm install -g appium
Step 6: Check if Appium has been installed
appium -v
where appium
Step 7: Start Appium
Installing Appium with APPIUM DESKTOP CLIENT in Windows
Step 1: Download the Appium desktop client
http://appium.io/
https://github.com/appium/appium-desk
Step 2: Install the Appium desktop client
Step 3: Start Appium through the desktop client
Appium Guide to install Appium on MacOS
Step 1: Check if node is installed on your system
node -v
Step 2: Install node.js
https://nodejs.org/en/download/
https://brew.sh/
brew install node
Step 3: Check if node is installed using these codes
node -v
npm -v
Step 4: Install Appium
npm install -g appium
Step 5: Check if Appium is installed
appium -v
Step 6: Use the below code to start appium
appium
Installing Appium with Appium desktop client
Step 1: Download the Appium desktop client
http://appium.io/
https://github.com/appium/appium-desktop
Step 2: Double click on the .dmg file to install the Appium desktop client
Step 3: Start the Appium desktop client
To verify Appium’s installation and its dependencies
Install Appium-doctor as it is a tool used to verify Appium installation. We can install it by using npm as we’ve already installed node
npm install appium doctor -g
If you want to check the version of Appium doctor, use the following code
appium -doctor --version
How to uninstall Appium
If you had installed through node.js, then use the below code,
npm uninstall -g Appium
If you had installed the Appium Desktop Client, then just delete the app
Appium Guide to connect a Real Android Mobile Device on Windows
Step 1: Download SDK tools
https://developer.android.com/studio
Step 2: Unzip the folder and then extract the platform-tools using the below code
Step 4: Check the command ‘adb devices’ in the command line
Step 5: Make the device ready
Enable developer mode to turn on ‘USB Debugging’
Step 6: Connect the real device to the computer using a USB cable.
Step 7: Run the below command
adb devices
adb = android debug bridge
Check if your device ID is displayed.
Appium Guide to Connect Real Android Device on macOS
To achieve this, you must have Java installed on your system, and the JAVA_HOME should be set in the environment variables command to check the Java –version. You should have also installed homebrew.
Step 1: Download the Android SDK
You can download it using this link directly and install it using the below-mentioned codes.
Appium Test Case for Native Android App (Calculator)
Step 1: Download the ADT Eclipse plugin or download the ADT bundle separately
Step 2: Open Eclipse and Create a new Project >> Package >> Class
Step 3: Import the Selenium library and TestNG inside that new project.
Step 4: Now create a small test Program for ‘Calculator.app’ to add two numbers.
package src_Appium;
import java.net.MalformedURLException;
import java.net.URL;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
//import org.openqa.selenium.remote.CapabilityType;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.DesiredCapabilities;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver;
import org.testng.annotations.*;
public class Calculator {
WebDriver driver;
@BeforeClass
public void setUp() throws MalformedURLException{
//Set up desired capabilities and pass the Android app-activity and app-package to Appium
DesiredCapabilities capabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
capabilities.setCapability("BROWSER_NAME", "Android");
capabilities.setCapability("VERSION", "4.4.2");
capabilities.setCapability("deviceName","Emulator");
capabilities.setCapability("platformName","Android");
capabilities.setCapability("appPackage", "com.android.calculator2");
// This package name of your app (you can get it from apk info app)
capabilities.setCapability("appActivity","com.android.calculator2.Calculator"); // This is Launcher activity of your app (you can get it from apk info app)
//Create RemoteWebDriver instance and connect to the Appium server
//It will launch the Calculator App in Android Device using the configurations specified in Desired Capabilities
driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("https://127.0.0.1:4723/wd/hub"), capabilities);
}
@Test
public void testCal() throws Exception {
//locate the Text on the calculator by using By.name()
WebElement two=driver.findElement(By.name("2"));
two.click();
WebElement plus=driver.findElement(By.name("+"));
plus.click();
WebElement four=driver.findElement(By.name("4"));
four.click();
WebElement equalTo=driver.findElement(By.name("="));
equalTo.click();
//locate the edit box of the calculator by using By.tagName()
WebElement results=driver.findElement(By.tagName("EditText"));
//Check the calculated value on the edit box
assert results.getText().equals("6"):"Actual value is : "+results.getText()+" did not match with expected value: 6";
}
@AfterClass
public void teardown(){
//close the app
driver.quit();
}
}
So we have done a comprehensive coverage of everything that you would need to know in this Appium Guide like the advantages of Appium, the methods to install Appium on both Windows and macOS, and also saw how to connect a real device on both platforms and run a test. We hope you’ve found this blog to be informative. As one of the best mobile app testing services providers, we highly recommend Appium for your testing projects to get the best results.
It is needless to say that the competition in the mobile app market is very high and that only the best of the best apps have a chance of not getting lost in this ocean. An idea or concept alone is never enough to make your app successful as Quality is a pivotal factor that will directly impact your app’s success. As a leading QA company, we have been the backbone of many successful app releases. So in this blog, we will be exploring the top 10 mobile app testing best practices that will make your app stand apart from the crowd. But before that, we have to take a closer look at why we need mobile app testing.
Why do we need mobile app testing?
Nowadays, a majority of people use their mobiles for a wide range of purposes like managing their business, making online payments, social media marketing, and so much more. So it is a simple case of supply and demand here. As our needs are increasing day-by-day, the number of mobile applications being developed also increases. But that is not the only reason, there is also a wide range of people who would use an app to make their business better or for any specific reason, but don’t use it as they feel that the applications fail to procure the worth they want or the application simply fails to serve their purpose.
But nobody sets out to make something that is bad, but how do certain apps never work as planned or even get released? Lack of versatile application testing has a major role to play for such a scenario. So if the user faces any issues in the application then they would either switch over to a similar application instead of wasting their time or stop using apps for that purpose. All these problems can be avoided by using these 10 mobile app testing best practices that will ensure quality.
1. Choose the right device to perform testing:
Before testing any mobile application, choosing the devices wisely will help us cover the maximum number of test cases and make the application a global success. Since we are surrounded by different devices that have different screen sizes, software versions, and so on, selecting the right devices for manual testing will be a pretty risky job. But trying to test the app on all the available devices is an impossible task. So the best idea here is to test the application in the most prominently used mobile devices in the world.
2. Test on real devices:
Testing on real devices will play a major role in ensuring the quality of the mobile application in real-world scenarios to provide the best user experience. Although there are numerous simulators and automated tests available to predict the software and hardware performance, testing on these simulators is not as trustworthy as testing on a physical device. Certain hardware features such as the specific chip settings, processing power, and device memory cannot be accounted for by a simulator. The use of real devices is required for completely testing the mobile app in terms of both hardware and software.
3. Doing early testing:
People’s greatest weakness is their lack of patience. As a result, we do not consider the consequences that will befall us in the future. So most companies develop their applications and release them into the real world without proper testing just to be early to the market. If a user encounters any problems with the application after it has been released, the user may post a negative review in the app store or play store. Or even worse the user might build a negative perception of your app or the company on the whole.
Starting your testing early is one of the best mobile app testing best practices as you can help avoid many more issues down the line. The earlier we start testing, the earlier we find the errors, and the earlier we fix those errors, the higher are the chances of gaining the user’s trust and winning him/her over with our application. Beyond quality, it can even reduce the overall cost of the development process as well.
4. Automate the process of mobile testing:
It’s always a good practice to automate the process of testing as a particular application may have n number of features and connections. The main advantage of doing automation testing is it ensures speed, accuracy, and code reusability, enabling you to quickly test and re-test different conditions. These are the immediate benefits, automation tests will also become cost-efficient in the long run. It is preferable to automate mobile security, performance, and functional testing. As a leading mobile app testing services provider, we have found automation to be a highly effective tool that can make your process extremely efficient.
5. Check App permissions:
We all know that privacy has become a primary concern for many of the users every time they start using a new application as users are very sensitive about the security of their data. Most applications do request data access permissions from their users based on the application context and it is almost unavoidable. But, we must ensure that the application requests only permissions that are required and that it does not request permissions that are not required. This is one of the more recent mobile app testing best practices that has caught on due to the growing awareness around the subject.
6. Test over multiple networks:
Apart from the lockdown situations we saw during this pandemic, users will not be situated in just one fixed place when using your map. In reality, they will constantly be on the move and might not have the same kind of network availability everywhere they go. The user could be solely reliant on mobile data which implies that the user could have any speed ranging from 2G to 5G. If not the user could use Wi-Fi connections at home or their workplace. To avoid any difficulties from the fluctuating network speeds, mobile app testers must confirm that the app works with a variety of network speeds and that it can handle the network changes. So testers must go around testing the app in different network conditions using different network providers.
7. Test the app’s interruption handling capability:
A mobile phone’s primary purpose is to make and receive calls and messages. Apart from that, your app is prone to face such interruptions as loss of network connection, alarms & reminders, other app notifications, and so on. A new unexpected interruption could cause the app to malfunction and create a bad experience for the end-user. There is also the possibility of uninstalling the application as a result of their disappointment. So to avoid all of these interruption concerns, testers must test based on the interruptions a user might encounter and determine whether your product functions properly.
8. Third-party integrations:
In today’s world, most of the applications rely on Third-party integrations to analyze the statistics, crash reports, notification services, and much more. APIs are used to provide these endless services to the target users. So testing third-party APIs or configurations has become a mobile app testing best practice that none can afford to avoid. But it also challenges test teams to switch between different devices during the span of the test scenario. These complex use cases raise the amount of work required to thoroughly evaluate the application, yet can’t be ignored.
9. Test for battery optimization:
Most mobile applications now consume a lot of battery power due to a large number of features in the application or due to its complexity as well. A few examples of such features are audio/video sharing or playback, geo-location tagging, sharing large amounts of data, and so on. Though we have phones that charge so much faster now, users still hate it when it drains as fast as well. If your app is the one that’s consuming a lot of power, then the user will most definitely end up uninstalling your app. To resolve these issues, testers should perform battery tests on all parts of the application and determine which part or feature of the application is consuming a large amount of battery. This will assist business owners in saving money and planning ahead of time to address those issues.
So make sure the user never has to choose between your app or better battery life as that is a contest very hard to win.
10. Test the app for global access:
It will always be a proud moment for any company when their application has been completely developed and released to the world. Yes, having a specific set of people as your target audience is a good option. But your app might find its own niche of users in places you never even imagined. So never miss out on making your app a global product that can be used anywhere. So testers should test different languages, currencies, interfaces, and so on.
Conclusion:
Testing your application is also as important as developing your application. Mobile app testing requires a robust and powerful testing strategy and we hope our list of the top 10 mobile app testing best practices will help you create such strategies. But there is so much more to effective testing than the best practices alone. So make sure to do your own research for the tools to use and so on.
Automation tests are a crucial part of the process that makes sure your iOS app is up-to-par with the required standards. We can say without any doubt that the bar has been raised to new heights because of the standards set by Apple. Automation testing on their end is highly standardized. The apps must go through rigorous checks before they can be approved for the App Store. The parameters include numerous guidelines set by Apple that are followed up with strict implementation rules. The XCUITest framework not only allows you to execute automated functional and performance checks but also shares information across devices in order to identify any inconsistencies between them before it’s too late! So in this blog, we will discuss how the XCUITest framework will be instrumental in helping you meet the high standards set by Apple.
Though the XCUITest framework is a popular tool from Apple, it’s still an independent module with many features that can be harnessed by any developer in the industry – even beginners! We know that XCUITest provides a framework that can be used for testing your iOS app. Since it supports Swift and Objective-C languages, it allows you to write tests in either of these programming languages instead of coding directly with Xcode or using another tool like StoryTest. These interactions are more realistic since they reflect how users will interact with your mobile application on their own devices rather than just simulating this behavior through code while being tethered by wires during development – it makes integration easy!
As one of the best mobile app testing companies, we have been able to use XCUITest in our projects to reap the wonderful benefits it has to offer. So let’s explore the tool’s potential by understanding the need.
UI Automation Testing
UI Automation Testing is a relatively new practice and has only recently started becoming popular among software engineers who want more control over how their work gets tested before it goes live. Frameworks like XCUITest allows testers to develop clean automation test suites for an app’s UI. These tests can run on different devices to check if the apps work properly regardless of the type or size of the screen you use them on. This makes it very convenient when testing apps that have international versions available but aren’t yet localized. Now let’s take a look at a few benefits UI automation testing has to offer.
Preserving Time and Money
Automation will pay off your investment with far greater returns as time goes on. The primary reason is that UI has such an important role to play in helping the customer feel satisfied with any application. A poorly designed UI has the potential to single-handedly derail your app’s success.
Automating Code isn’t Sufficient
UI testing shouldn’t be seen as something that has to be ticked off in your checklist. It is one of the best methods to ensure that your application works perfectly. Many developers use third-party frameworks like Appium to automate repetitive tasks to save time and to be more thorough. Developers must also perform code test cases to check the behavior and interactivity with the other modules. But the issue here is that they do not have any metrics that show how development sprint cycles or new builds affect UI functionality.
For example, if it takes more than the expected time to load or if some change has rendered any component from the previous release to become non-functional now. There are so many more similar scenarios that could happen. So the developers will be at risk when automating manual tasks using Test Automation Frameworks like Appium. These tools are only useful to automate parts of an automated assessment, whereas, the entire context needs attention. That is why tools like XCUITest and XCTest are very crucial.
Basics of the XCUITest Framework
With XCUITest, testers can write test cases to check how an application behaves when user actions are performed and compare the results they get with the expected outcomes. Using the two fundamental concepts behind XCUITest, they will be able to precisely monitor what a person would experience while using your app by utilizing their input device or system. They would also be able to validate the current state at any given time based on the documented interactions from the earlier tests to simulate real-life use conditions before the release.
XCTest
XCTest is the base testing framework for both iOS and OSX apps. It provides testers with various tools to write test cases in either Objective-C or Swift, to create UI tests classes (e.g., methods), and to assert the behavior validation when running them through Xcode. So all of this would be seamlessly integrated at your fingertips with XCTest!
Accessibility Features
QAs can also add accessibility features to the apps for people with disabilities. Accessibility technology has given QAs a new way of testing the app’s functionality when it is being used by someone who may not be able to use conventional input methods or have full access to all the components on the screen. So the UI test cases are created using functions provided within the Accessibility Core library that executes and validates tests against various parameters including size changes in width/height values. Changing these values will paint us a clear picture of how our program behaves differently depending on the user’s perspective.
XCUIApplication
Every time testers need to automate a test for an app, they have to ensure that it’s launched by specifying the XCUIApplication instance and calling the launch method on this object before the testing even begins. It should also terminate once all of its tasks have been completed so that no lingering processes are left behind after the tests have finished running. It will help to avoid any problems with sensitive data being leaked or tampered with during the analysis stage.
XCUIElement
The XCUITest framework provides a suite of components to help UI testers with their tests. These elements can be used in different ways, such as navigating & interacting within the view or performing actions like tapping & swiping on the screen. The class is responsible for handling these interactions between the user input devices (such as touchscreens) and the app logic. It also grants you access to look into how an element hierarchy unfolds — this way; we know which parts will respond when interacted with by our users!
XCUIElementQuery
The XCUIElementQuery is one of the most important classes in the UI framework. This class will allow testers to search for a particular element on that user interface, perform some action, and then move on to another task!
Conclusion
Xcode has many built-in features which allow developers of all levels to quickly explore potential bugs in their software before releasing them on the App Store. Plus, getting started is fairly easy for any iOS developer as it can be done without having to learn a new framework or language. As one of the best software testing companies in India, we always make sure to use the best tools and wrote this blog to help others understand the importance of XCUITest.
XCUITest is a powerful tool to help you find issues in your app’s code and pinpoint the root cause. With XCUITest, we can fiddle with our apps’ UI elements and ensure that end-users do not encounter unexpected results or have poor experiences. It provides an excellent way to test mobile apps, but it will only work if the tests are running on real devices or in emulated environments with XCUI Automation Platform integration enabled – which gives us total control over the computing resources during our automated testing sessions.
What are the differences between Appium and Espresso for mobile app testing?
Appium is an open-source tool that allows testing on real devices, emulators, and simulators across multiple platforms. Espresso, on the other hand, is a Google-developed tool focused on Android app testing, providing more reliable and faster UI testing capabilities specifically for Android apps.
When you need to pick the right Android automation testing framework for your project, there are several important things to think about. These include the languages it works with, the apps it can test, and the type of Android testing you want to do, like mobile application testing. As one of the best QA companies, we carefully look into all the tools available. We use only the one that fits our needs the best, and if necessary, we may explore a similar framework to ensure comprehensive testing coverage. In this blog, we will compare Appium and Espresso. This will help you choose the right testing framework for you.
Appium
Appium is a free testing tool that uses a client-server setup. If you want a tool that works with many programming languages, Appium is a good choice. Its server is built in Node.js, which makes it work well with popular languages like Ruby, Java, and Python. A key point is that Appium does not need your source code to run properly. Still, choosing a testing tool is not always simple. There are many factors to think about, especially since your project may have different needs and special edge cases. We will look into these details after we introduce you to Espresso.
Espresso
Espresso is a free tool from Google. It focuses on running automated UI tests for Android and helps Android app development by enabling developers to write automation test cases. Being a Google product makes Espresso special. It is part of the Android SDK and is used by developers for mobile app development, especially for Android apps. Espresso is very dependable for simulating user interactions in Android UI tests. Now that we know the main benefits of both Appium and Espresso, let’s look closer and see other important details in our Appium vs Espresso comparison.
Cross-platform Support:
Appium provides automated testing on real devices and mobile applications. This includes virtual options like emulators or simulators. It can test native, hybrid, and web applications, ensuring comprehensive test coverage. Appium also supports cross-platform testing on different platforms. This means you can use one API to run test scripts on both Android and iOS. It does not depend on the operating system of the mobile devices.
Espresso can only run on Android because it only supports APK files. If you want to test on iOS too, you should use Appium. We have talked about language support before. Espresso is only available in Java.
Speed:
Execution speeds matter a lot when you have limited time for testing. Usually, Appium takes more time to run tests than Espresso. This is because Appium follows a longer path for each command it runs. You can understand this better by looking at the image below that shows how Appium’s execution flow works.
Espresso is faster to use because it doesn’t need to talk to a server. It can also sync UI elements and test actions automatically. This means it can run test commands at the right time, as it knows when the main thread is quiet.
Ease of use:
Espresso is much faster than Appium. It is also easier to use. Espresso has three main APIs: viewMatchers, viewActions, and viewAssertions. These are simple to maintain and customize. You can easily record user interactions with the app, which creates the test code you need automatically. Use Cases for Appium include its trouble detecting web elements on its own, which means testers must do everything manually, a hard task.
Setup:
The setup process is simpler with Espresso than with Appium. This is because Espresso is built into Android Studio. Since Android Studio is a native Android development environment, you do not need to work hard to set it up. In contrast, setting up Appium needs a lot of knowledge about programming the Appium server. This is due to its client-server model as mentioned before.
The flakiness of Tests:
Appium tests can work on different platforms, but they are not very stable. The UI elements, like the caller dial, can change on every device. This can cause the automation scripts to fail. However, since Espresso is a native framework, it can give us much more reliable results.
Appium vs Espresso: The Key Differences
S. No
Criteria
Appium
Espresso
1
Language
Multiple
Java
2
Supported Apps
APK And IPA
APK
3
Test Type
Black Box
White Box
4
Execution Speed
Low
High
5
Ease Of Use
Hard
Easy
6
Ease Of Setup
Hard
Easy
7
Flakiness Of The Test
High
Low
Conclusion:
We have listed the main differences to help you pick the best framework for your needs. As one of the top mobile app testing companies, here is our recommendation.
S.no
Appium
Espresso
1
A great choice for QA/Automation teams.
For Developer/SDET use.
2
Provides complete coverage with improved validation.
Quick and Trustworthy.
3
Ideal for regression testing.
Great for Shift Left testing.
We hope you found our blog on Appium vs Espresso helpful! While these are our suggestions, remember to choose the tools that best suit your project’s needs.
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Behind every great mobile app you enjoy using day in and day out is a team of professionals who put the app through rigorous testing to ensure it offers a great experience to the audience. Without that test, no app will perform well, not to mention even be considered “good quality.” Testing is vital for many reasons, some being security-related, others being user-experience-related. Regardless, testing is a must-have for any app you want to perform well, and only through testing can you improve on your app. Also, the more thorough the tests, the better!
Today, we’re going to share mobile app testing tips that you should apply to ensure your app gets the thorough testing it needs:
Test in Different Networks
The reason you’ll want to be testing your mobile application in different networks is simple: not everyone is using the same network. One of the most significant factors to consider when dealing with networks is the fact that speed is different. Some networks are faster than others, but if you do not take this into account, chances are your mobile app will be challenging to use with specific networks. For example, if you’ve only tested your mobile app with fast networks and optimized it for that, your mobile app may perform terribly with slower networks.
In other words, you need to make sure you test with as many network speeds as possible to ensure your mobile app still performs well, whether the network is fast or slow.
Test in Different Configurations
Different mobile devices come in various configurations. The most notable of these differences are in the operating system, the two most popular being Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. These differences can greatly affect how the app performs, not to mention the other aspects of the mobile device, such as its processor, storage, and the like. The biggest reason you’ll want to test your app in as many configurations as possible is to look for bugs. One type of configuration may not experience any bugs, while another configuration may experience one or two.
Simply put, when testing your mobile app, test in as many configurations as you can. This helps you catch as many bugs as possible that may only be an issue with specific configurations, ensuring that bugs are minimal on the day the mobile app is released.
Test in Different Screen Sizes
While this might seem like a factor we should’ve included previously, it is so vital to the point that we need to separate it as its category.
Realize that different mobile devices have different screen sizes, and while this might seem like a menial problem, it is a massive concern to be had. Just imagine trying to use an app built for a tablet that is simply shrunk down to fit a small smartphone. Chances are, the app will be next to unusable. Different elements of the app will be lost when disappearing from the user’s field of view, and this can significantly affect the app’s utility.
As such, one of the more critical tests you need to put your mobile app through is to test it on different screen sizes. From the largest mobile devices down to the smallest phones, testing them on different screen sizes will help you make the right changes to ensure the app is still accessible, usable, and overall user-friendly no matter the screen size (and shape)!
Conclusion
When testing mobile apps, you must test them in different configurations, environments, and specifications as possible. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different mobile devices, and ensuring that your app works well in most of them will help your audience be more than happy to use your app. Now, remember that you don’t have to test your app on every single mobile device out there. Focus on the factors that many mobile devices share. However, focus on ones that will truly affect how your mobile app will run!
Codoid is an industry leader in QA, offering a brilliant team of engineers who cover only the best in testing services to ensure quality is maximized and maintained. If you require mobile app testing services in the US, reach out to us today!
Millions of people in India, and billions of people all over the world use iPhones. Apple is very stringent in the way they make their products. They have been great at building quality state-of-the-art hardware that is complemented well by their software. Privacy and security are the other features that set Apple products apart. Apple’s computers are powered by macOS, and their iPhones and iPads are powered by iOS. In this iOS App Testing Tutorial, we will be taking an overview of the testing process for an iOS app.
The Necessity:
Let’s start this iOS App Testing Tutorial by reviewing the specific necessities for testing. iOS was released on June 29, 2007, and unlike Android, Apple does not allow iOS to be installed on non-Apple devices. Basically, iOS and iOS apps may only be loaded on Apple devices. Apart from that, the approval process to get your app on the App Store is no easy task. Even the smallest error can get your app rejected. So there is absolutely no room for errors and as a leading mobile app testing services provider, we have been able to ensure that the apps we tested get released without any issues. So if you are developing an iOS app, then it must work with all iOS versions and devices. Now, let us see a sample diagrammatic representation of the features that need to be tested in iOS.
The Focus Points
The diagram is pretty much self-explanatory and we can clearly see the aspects we have to test under each section like UI, Functionality, and so on. Now let’s take a look at a few aspects you should primarily focus on.
Application crash:
As stated earlier, even the smallest of errors can make it hard to get your app approved for the app store. So make sure to avoid one of the most aggravating issues a user might face, application crashes. Flaws and memory leaks in the software are some of the major reasons why an application might crash when it comes to iOS.
Memory leaks:
As the name suggests, there will be a leak in the memory that causes the application to crash. But how does this happen? The memory leak here refers to the data reserved in the system which are no longer used by the software. This might make the application crash abruptly. So memory leaks should be considered as bugs that should be fixed immediately.
Security vulnerabilities:
Security and privacy are a few of the hallmark features of Apple. So you can expect Apple to strictly review your application for such vulnerabilities. Even the smallest of deviations anywhere can drastically impact the chances of your app getting approved. So make sure that you develop your app in a way that the app doesn’t ask for any unnecessary permissions. If the demand is unavoidable, then you have to clearly establish the reason behind your request.
A Finished App:
Apart from the core functionalities, we have to check for broken links and either remove or fix them as needed. There should also be no placeholder content when you send your app for review. Everything should be finalized and tested before you send it through. For example, if your app requires the user to sign in, provide a valid demo account for them to use. Likewise, if at all your app requires any special configurations to function, include all the specifics. If any of the features require an environment that is not easy to replicate, then you should provide a demo video to guide them. Your app might even require a specific accessory or hardware for it to function well. So it is mandatory to send that hardware or accessory. Last, but not least, ensure that your contact information is complete and up-to-date.
The Brand Image:
We are all aware of the quality of Apple’s UI. They will not approve any app that has a poorly designed UI as it will not sit well with the brand image that they have created. So if your app is not properly formatted to match iOS, then you can kiss your chances of getting goodbye. So make sure you have attached screenshots that are accurate and not just edited versions that are misleading. If Apple finds your app to be misleading or very minimal lasting value, then they will not approve your app.
Application incompatibilities:
The features might be running perfectly in the current iOS version, but once the version gets upgraded, the features may take extra computing time or execution time. Or it might work well on one iOS device or version and not work on another. So compatibility is also an area of concern provided by the high standards set by Apple.
There are two ways to go about when it comes to testing software, manual testing, and automation testing. Now in this iOS App Testing Tutorial, let us explore the various types of manual tests you can use and the automation tools that will come in handy during the process.
MANUAL TESTING:
There might be an ongoing uncertainty among many as to why we still opt to test a feature manually when automation is possible. Though manual software testing is the most basic of all testing methods, it aids in the discovery of critical problems in software applications.
Apart from that, before any new application can be automated, it must first be manually tested. Though manual software testing takes more time and effort, it is required to determine whether automation is possible or not. Manual testing concepts do not necessitate familiarity with any testing tool. One of the common software fundamentals says that “100% of automation is not possible”. So this mandates manual testing.
Some of the Manual testing types that are vigorously used for testing are:
Exploratory testing:
Exploratory testing is executed without any test script or formal test plan. So exploratory testing is usually carried out during the early stages of development. It is used to report bugs, but usually, it will be used to identify potential bugs, (i.e.), the specific behavior of a feature might not be identified. Since it doesn’t include any formal test plan, the requirement for a particular feature can be missed, and that might lead to a serious issue.
Concept testing:
Concept testing is more like a research done by the team. It involves asking questions to the customers about the concepts and ideas of the product or service before launching it. To put it in simple words, the reaction of the user is taken into account before launching the application.
Usability testing:
Usability testing is the process of evaluating a product or service by putting it through its paces with real-world consumers. During the test, participants will often attempt to accomplish standard activities while observers observe, listen, and take notes. The purpose of this test is to discover any usability issues. Following this, we will be able to collect qualitative and quantitative data to establish the level of satisfaction with the product among the participants.
Beta testing:
Beta testing is a type of user acceptance testing in which a product team distributes a nearly finished product to a set of target users in order to assess its performance in the real world.
A/B testing:
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a randomly selected experimentation process in which two or more versions of a variable (web page, page element, etc.) are shown to different segments of website visitors at the same time to see which version has the greatest impact and drives the most business metrics.
AUTOMATED TESTING:
Next up in our iOS App Testing Tutorial, we will be looking at the automation tools you can use to make your testing better. But before getting into the details of it, we must understand why we use automated testing. Automated testing for iOS applications has numerous advantages. For starters, automated test scripts save time and effort by allowing one test to run tests simultaneously on several devices. It allows you to quickly identify bugs and performance issues.
Other advantages of automated testing:
Automated testing may be done on a variety of devices, which saves time.
SDKs (Software development Kit) can be targeted via automated testing. You can test on several SDK versions.
Automated testing increases testing productivity while lowering software development costs.
Many open-source testing frameworks for iOS offer automated testing.
There are many automation tools in the market. Some of the automation testing tools that we have commonly used are,
Appium:
Appium is popular because of its adaptability and usability on both Android and iOS devices. Appium uses the JSONWireProtocol to interact with iOS devices.
XCTest/XCUITest:
Two important test automation frameworks for iOS app testing are XCTest and XCUITest. XCTest provides a framework for UI testing as well as the ability to construct tests for components at any level. XCUITest is typically used for functional testing, automation tests of common processes, demo sequences, or customer view behavior.
Detox:
Detox is an automation framework that is used for testing mobile apps. The biggest advantage here is that it is cross-platform for both Android and iOS devices. But the biggest disadvantage is that it can’t be used to test it on real iOS devices.
Calabash:
It is another framework that works perfectly for both Android and iOS devices. The major difference that sets Calabash apart from the other frameworks is that tests are written in Cucumber, which makes the features and the test case easy to read.
Earlgrey:
EarlGrey 2.0(Latest version) combines EarlGrey 1.0 and XCUITest to create a native iOS UI automation test framework. It allows the user to write a clear, concise test that enables the process interaction with the XCUITest.
CONCLUSION:
The ultimate aim for us as a leading QA company or any tester for that matter is to reduce the bugs as much as possible when it is delivered to the customer. The important decision for a tester to make is which testing should be made and which framework to be used at each level of development so that the potential bugs can be fixed at the earliest stages possible. So if we were to keep these aspects along with what we have discussed in this iOS App Testing Tutorial in mind, then getting your app approved by the App Store will become a walk in the park.
