How do you test your mobile app on multiple devices?

As a tester you should consider emulators and simulators to check your app or your product before it goes public. Where you can find bugs and fix them before the launch.

In my experience, testing mobile applications across the various OSes and device types would only work well if it’s tested on actual devices as emulators at times caused hiccups in the past.

Some of the Benefits of using Emulators & Simulators Rapid Testing: Emulators and simulators provide a quick way to test the app on various Android and iOS versions and screen sizes without needing separate physical devices. Debugging: Developers can use debugging tools integrated into emulators to identify and fix issues efficiently. Cost-Effective: Emulators eliminate the need to purchase and maintain a large number of physical devices, reducing hardware costs.

Yes, we can test the application for any feature in a happy path scenario using the simulators and emulators. However, we cannot rely solely on this to function similarly on the actual devices. Before uploading the application to the app store, it is preferable to use the actual device for final testing.

It’s not possible to perform each and every test on all devices. So making use of emulator and simulator is good idea. It can avoid potential problems in earlier stages. However actual software testing should be conducted on few devices based upon few test conditions and user requirements. Pairwise testing approach can be used to identify the key test combinations. E.g. Showing a virtual keyboard along with the another keyboard to enter text fields in mobile devices can be a biggest Usability issue. So few tests should be performed on actual devices.

When developing an app for multiple devices, testing on various platforms is crucial for ensuring proper functionality. Three testing methods are commonly used: Simulators and emulators: These tools offer quick feedback by simulating virtual devices with different configurations. However, they may not fully replicate real device behavior. Cloud-based testing services: Access to a wide range of real devices hosted remotely allows thorough testing without the need to own or manage the devices. Physical devices: Testing on real devices is essential, especially for apps utilizing hardware features like the camera or GPS, to ensure optimal performance in real-world scenarios.

Coverage can be greatly improved using cloud-based testing services which offer access to extensive range of real devices, including various models, operating systems, and versions. It provides real-world testing environment on real devices which helps ensure accurate testing in real-world scenarios and network conditions. You can test many devices in parallel using cloud-based services which often allow testing on multiple devices simultaneously, significantly reducing test time.

It's also often laborious to work with IT procurement departments to stock device labs. One interesting option is to avoid procurement by establishing a program to recycle corporate phones/devices based on a "wanted test devices list".

Cross-platform frameworks are rapidly maturing and providing a good basis for code uniformity. This is not the solution by itself, but it helps the development team to maintain the same code base easier which is a major issue for re-checks at each version.

From my own experience, I would definitely recommend using a cross-platform framework like React Native or Flutter. Both come with a lot of support in the form of libraries from the open-source community. Using such a framework can save a lot of time and resources for development and testing.

We are huge fans of getting the software application into actual devices in the hands of a focus group or our target market. We have found this method to be the best when it comes to getting feedback, and thorough feedback at that. We will do a couple of rounds of closed focus groups, then open it up gradually to more open focus groups to successfully complete beta testing.

You can use online tools(free or paid). Some of the popular tools are: - Tricentis Testim Mobile — Best for codeless mobile test automation. - HeadSpin — Best for AI-based geolocation and performance testing tool with thousands of devices. - New Relic — Best to correlate backend and frontend. - Kobiton — Best mobile-first testing platform purpose-built for enterprises. - BrowserStack — Best for testing on 3000+ real devices and browsers

Something else I might add is the necessity to test with older OS versions on actual devices. So the previous version of Android and the previous version of iOS. The app stores publishing guidelines ensure that developers compensate for these versions and plan ahead with upcoming releases, but even if you're using an emulator or simulator, bouncing between OS versions is important. Also, depending on the target market of the software application, increasing/decreasing the size of the font displayed plays a huge role in ensuring that the user experience isn't impacted in any way.

Narrowing the Scope of Devices for Testing: Optimize testing by focusing on key devices: 1.- Analyze market share and target audience. 2.- Choose devices with common specs. 3.- Consider user behavior and demographics. 4.- Test on the latest OS versions and a few previous ones. 5.- Evaluate device performance for specific requirements. 6.- Involve real users in the testing process. Strike a balance between coverage and practicality, avoiding complete exclusion of devices. Regularly reassess and update the testing matrix to adapt to changes in the mobile landscape and user preferences. This ensures compatibility with the devices that matter most to your users.

I would suggest to do some research on the most popular OS versions and device models used by your target audience. This will help you focus your testing efforts on OS versions and devices which cover most of your target audience. It is impossible to test on all devices, so it is important to prioritize.