Top Mobile App Testing Tools For Testers

• By Joy Anderson
• 31-05-2023
• Mobile App Development

The terms software testing and quality assurance aren’t just mere terms anymore. They have become a major phenomenon in the software development realm and not to mention a formidable career choice. Do you know how many mobile users are there at present? Around 7.26 billion and counting. And it may also interest you to know that last year, around 258 billion mobile apps were downloaded. So no wonder the demand for mobile apps is increasing day in and day out and I suppose you have landed here so that you can come up with an interesting and successful mobile app development project. And for that one requires understanding the true significance of mobile app testing.

Well, the following article not just focuses on the importance of mobile app testing but also mentions some of the popular and worth considering mobile app testing tools for your upcoming development project.

Table of Contents:

• Understanding the Importance of Mobile App Testing
• Benefits of Mobile App Testing
• Types of Mobile App Testing
• Top Mobile App Testing Tools
• Conclusion

Understanding the Importance of Mobile App Testing

App development and app testing must be always in tandem. You see there was a time when app testing was not given much importance but fortunately, now the table seems to have turned completely. Now what exactly is meant by mobile app testing? Well, it means running different types of tests against a mobile application to ensure it turns out to be highly functional and right in accordance with the predetermined features. Of course, all this is done before the application is launched. Right from functional to performance, usability, security, interruption, memory leakage, location, and certification, all these aspects are incorporated into the process of mobile app testing.

By now I am sure you must have understood the fact that mobile app testing is not easy. There are a dozen aspects to be well taken care of. However, this is how a successful mobile app is developed.

Now, why do we need to conduct mobile app testing in the first place? Well, primarily mobile app testing is done to ensure full-fledged compatibility with other devices, and operating systems, identify usability issues or bugs that might hinder user experiences, take note of potential vulnerabilities and maximize efficiency with the help of automation.

Whatever type of mobile app you are planning to create, whether it's an eCommerce app or a banking app, you are bound to receive confidential information regarding the customer’s credit card or bank details, so definitely, the app is supposed to have high stakes. You cannot take any kind of chance or you may have a lot to lose not just for yourself but for your end users as well. As a result, it becomes very important for your app to be thoroughly tested and most importantly fixed before launch. Here take a look at some of the most astonishing facts about mobile app testing.

• Did you know that when an application crashes around 71% of the apps get uninstalled?
• Did you know apps featuring bugs and issues are left unused right from the start?
• Did you know around 70% of users tend to abandon their apps, especially the ones which take a hell lot of time to load?
• Did you know with low speed, offering a poor mobile experience is pretty bad?
• Crash, freeze, poor mobile experience, and slow loading can result in the immediate failure of the app development project.

Further, I would like to mention some crucial benefits of mobile app testing.

Benefits of Mobile App Testing

#1 Ensures that the developed mobile app is Fully-functional

One of the core reasons for considering mobile app testing is that it ensures that the developed application is fully functional. Several types of tests are being conducted just to make sure that the developed solution works amazingly on any and every mobile device. To conduct such testing, real devices are used and testing is conducted on a manual and automated basis.

#2 Improved Customer Satisfaction

The next reason or benefit of conducting mobile application testing is that you can enhance customer satisfaction to a great extent. The more your customer seems to be satisfied, the more they are likely to become your brand loyalty and spread the word for you like immense fire. Thoroughly testing and analyzing an app can assist you in reaching great audiences and crafting your reputation in a good manner.

#3 Reduce App Development Cost

The next reason for conducting mobile app testing is by doing so you can reduce the overall application development cost. You don’t believe me! Well, at first it might seem a bit shocking for you because when you conduct testing, you have to pay extra. But why don’t you see in this manner, opting for mobile app testing definitely saves time, reduces overall cost and you get to launch the app in a pretty short span of time. As a result, by doing so you can gain a competitive edge like never before. Also, you can expect your developed mobile application to be a huge hit.

Types of Mobile App Testing

1. Functional Testing

Functional Testing is said when each and every feature present in the application tends to work as per the predetermined requirements. Here sample inputs are provided to find out about the outcomes and verify that the actual outputs and the ones which were expected earlier are the same.

• Here the user gets to log in successfully with legitimate credentials.
• The payment gateway shouldn’t reject any input and display an error message.
• Records are saved successfully or not?

Now do you think that functional testing is all about quality, speed, security or performance? Well, it’s the non-functional testing that covers all these aspects. So what does functional testing do? Well, it mainly focuses on the result of processing and not getting much into the mechanics of the processing. So if the application covers basic user expectations that it is fit to launch. What exactly happens here?

• Identifying the testing goals
• Creating test scenarios
• Create Test data
• Design test cases
• Executing test cases
• Resolve defects

It may quite interest you to know that several test automated tools seem to have encapsulated artificial intelligence and several other disruptive technologies such as machine learning, computer vision, neural networks and natural language processing. This surely assists well in identifying objects in the same manner as a human does, i.e. in plain English.

2. Performance Testing

Now this one is more kind of a non-functional software testing technique. It is mainly used to determine the stability, speed and scalability of the developed application. Basically, when you conduct performance testing you can evaluate processing speed, data transfer velocity, network bandwidth usage, maximum concurrent users, memory utilization, workload efficiency, and command response times.

Why must one consider performance testing?

• First and foremost, to find out whether the application satisfies all the predetermined performance requirements or not.
• Is the developed application capable of handling 1000+ concurrent users?
• Can it detect potential bottlenecks present within the application?
• What about the initial claims made by the software vendor, do they meet the needs and requirements?
• Identify which component specifically performs at its best
• Is the application stable even under peak traffic events?

So now you exactly know why performance testing is done. Now when you conduct performance testing make sure you separate the performance testing environment from the UAT environment. Apart from that, you should always try running the test a plethora of times just to obtain accurate results. Also, you can find out whether the outcome is consistent or not. Furthermore, do not make any changes especially when the tests are being conducted.

3. Localization Testing

This type of mobile app testing is done to make sure that the developed solution seamlessly adapts to your target users. Adapt as in complete adaptation in regards to languages as well as different cultures. Now this might not seem much important but you need to understand this, every business grows after a point of time and Localisation testing ensures that the software won’t create any problems in the long run.

4. Usability Testing

The next important type of mobile application testing is usability testing. As the name implies, it is used to mainly determine the overall behavior of the developed software. Technically speaking the developed application must consist of an intuitive interface and ensure a positive user experience.

There are certain aspects that are pretty crucial such as layout, size and look of the buttons and icons, text clarity, speed of response, seamless work done in multitasking mode, Termination and resume and the list goes on!

5. Security Testing

With security breaches happening at quite lightning speed, security testing is pretty much important. Now security testing is done mainly to analyze proper data leakage risks and find out potential gaps where intruders can attack and get hold of sensitive or confidential pieces of information. So what are the key pointers that must be verified here? Logins and passwords, encryption system, cookies, how is protection against attacks, file caching, etc.

6. Compatibility Testing

Last but certainly not least is compatibility testing. Now here it is ensured that the developed application is compatible with different smart devices including mobile phones, laptops and tablets. You can perform several sub-tests to confirm compatibility testing such as device configuration testing, cross-platform testing, cross-browser testing, database testing, network configurations and a lot more.

Now, further, I would like to focus on some of the best and most recommended mobile application testing tools to consider.

Top Mobile App Testing Tools

1. Test Complete

One of the best and highly recommended mobile application testing tools to consider is Test Complete. Why so? Well, here one can easily run as many tests as they want including the repeated ones. Test complete works wonders especially when it comes to compatibility. So whether it’s a hybrid app or cross-platform app or a native app, test completion can offer a significant amount of assistance. In other words, whether the app developed is Android-based or iOS-based, the mobile app testing tool is all you need.

Another significant aspect of test completion is that it can be successfully implemented on real devices as well. Speaking about different test scripts, here most of them are completely including VBScript, JavaScript, Python, and others.

2. Perfecto

Another intimidating mobile app testing tool to take into consideration is Perfecto. Are you planning to develop applications that can succeed or should I just say survive for the long run in the mobile-first world? Well, if so then you have landed on the right option. Perfecto simply works wonders in offering out-of-the-world experiences at a fanatic pace.

Perfecto can be highly integrated with Eclipse, Intellij, Appium and Espresso. Flutter, React Native and Xamarin are highly compatible frameworks with Perfecto. Here you also get a 14-day free trial.

Why is Perfecto included in the following list of the top mobile app testing tools?

• Unmatched coverage via a wide range of platforms and testing scenarios
• Smart analytics
• Quick feedback and accurate ones
• Access to many devices, OSes and more.
• Enterprise-grade security and stability
• Support a variety of programming languages including Java, JavaScript, C#, Python, and PHP
• Supports different types of testing such as continuous testing, automated testing, Interactive Testing, Mobile Application Testing,
• Web Testing, and more.
• Software testers or quality analysts can Record-and-replay, Cross-browsing functionality, No-code automation, and real device testing.
• Visual Creation, Intelligent Test Creation & Maintenance, Cloud-Based Collaboration, Automatic Device Cleanup, Intelligent
• Reporting & Debugging, Live Session Sharing, and Secure Local Tunneling.
• Seamless live chat.

3. Espresso

Another impressive mobile application testing tool that must be taken into account is Espresso. One of the obvious reasons why Espresso is in this list of the top mobile app testing tools is that it is backed by Google and successfully embedded with Android Studio. If you are planning to run tests on native Android then this is it, you don’t need to look any further. The only hindrance is that Espresso can create Android UI Tests and nothing else.

Java and Kotlin are highly recommendable here, especially for the creation of tests and you know what’s the best part here? Espresso seems to have a simple API that can be seamlessly molded. Much like Perfecto, Espresso can assist well in conducting tests on real devices and emulators which leads to amazing progress.

Also, you may find an embedded test recorder that enables seamless recording of the test and documentation of the detailed codes.

4. Calabash

Another amazing mobile application testing tool to take into account is Calabash. Calabash is mentioned here because it comprises a diverse range of libraries that enable test code to programmatically interact with native and hybrid apps.

What exactly this mobile application testing does is that it offers APIs that are highly specialized to native apps running on different touchscreen devices. In addition to that, as mentioned earlier, Calabash comprises a wide range of libraries enabling test code to programmatically interact seamlessly with both native as well as hybrid applications. Here unlike others, cucumber is a highly considered framework in addition to Xamarin and React Native in Calabash. The mobile app testing tool supports different programming languages including Java and Ruby. Moreover, calabash supports both functional testing as well as automation testing. And above all, it is an open-source tool. So if you are seeking an open-source tool that excels at cross-platform testing and enhances productivity.

5. Monkey Talk

The name sounds extremely funny but Monkey Talk is quite amazing when it comes to considering the top mobile app testing tools. Now this tool in particular operates on three major components including Scripts, agents and IDEs. The IDE enables professionals to create scripts for testing. Here fortunately we have the playback and record features successfully embedded. All the test instrumentation links are located within the app. In the end, Java execution is done along with syntax and different keywords.

Monkey Talk is highly recommendable for testing hybrid apps and web-based applications.

6. Kobiton

Now, this one is quite a number when looking for the best mobile app testing frameworks. Basically, Kobiton is a cloud platform that ensures the usage of real devices or emulators to conduct mobile app testing in both manners, manually as well as automatically. Kobiton is highly recommended for testing Android, iOS and native apps.

One of the best features of Kobiton, loved by software testers or quality analysts across the globe, is that it uses no-code technology and successfully validates UI and UX across all kinds of devices. Benefits of using Kobiton include

• Seamless manual, automated and scriptless testing
• You get a free mobile app testing tool trial.
• Seamless integration into all CI/CD platforms
• A centralized testing report is generated

7. Appium

Last but certainly not least, Appium is an amazing mobile app testing tool that is highly recommended for hybrid and native iOS. However, this doesn’t mean it doesn’t support Android. It does but after Android 2.3. Have you seen a server simply running in the background? Well, Appium works in a pretty similar manner. Java, Ruby, and C# are some of the best programming languages supported by Appium. Here most of the time the UI Automator library is used. Another astounding aspect offered by Appium includes that it can be successfully synchronized with the testing framework TestNG. Some of the best features incorporated in Appium include:

• Here there is no need for modifications or recompilations
• Professionals can use any web-driver compatible language
• Any testing framework can be used here
• Selenium WebDriver JSON wire protocol
• Supports a variety of programming languages such as Java, Javascript, Python, Ruby and integrates well with BrowserStack, and Jenkins.
• Quite supportive of Web testing, Performance Testing, API Testing, Security Testing, etc.
• One can easily Record-and-replay, Cross-browsing functionality, No-code automation, and real device testing

Conclusion

And we are done for the day! I hope that you did find the following detailed post pretty insightful and enlightening. On and all, mobile app testing tools are many but the best ones or should I say the most popular ones are mentioned here. So do let us know which one of these you find worth considering for your upcoming mobile application development project and why. Also, if you have any other concerns or queries regarding the same feel free to mention that in the comment section below.