Mobile app testing has become a challenging part of app development process for the last couple of years because of certain reasons. Mobile platforms like iOS and Android are now more complicated than ever and because of the complexity involved with development and testing, app development is no longer just a process of writing code.
Developers need to use device resources smartly and unfortunately there is no easy way to put the final version of app in testing on all available supported devices. Although iOS gives a slight advantage to iOS app developers because there are limited numbers of iOS devices as compared to Android but there are many other factors like model, iOS version, network, geographical location, other apps installed on the device and many more that could not be thoroughly tested.
On the other hand, testing Android apps on all supported devices is almost an impossible target. Developers and testers cannot possibly run their app on all the devices. Although some companies and developers use the strategy of outsourcing testing jobs to freelancers but this particular technique forces developers to lose control over the overall development process.
However, platform complexity and wide range of devices are not the only problems that prevent developers from creating bug-free apps. Another major issue is the nature of popular app stores like Google Play Store and iTunes. The first few app reviews and ratings determine the fate of an app and if the first version of the app is not perfect then it is not going to succeed in app stores.
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Functional and usability testing is important to make sure the app run flawlessly on various devices running the compatible operating system regardless of the variant. Testing ensures the app would use system resources efficiently and it would provide a great user experience in terms of performance and functions. Let’s see which testing platforms are popular among developers all over the globe and how latest tools can make a difference here, if you want to learn which is the best way to get ready for the beta testing, you can check our previous post about beta testing
Perfecto Mobile
PerfectoMobile is a well known mobile app testing platform that is based on modernized infrastructure of testing process. PerfectoMobile allows developers to test their app on any device they want and from any geographical location in the world. However, most of its premium features are only available for Enterprise package but it also offers trial subecription for 2-hour which has some limited features.
It offers three plans other than the free trial; basic and advanced packages are available for $99 and $299 respectively while the price of enterprise packages depends on the features you want. Some of the premium features are network virtualization, private cloud, and dedicated devices, floating user license, central user administration, device roles, group segregation and premium security options.
Testadrome
Testadrome is known for its hardcore methods of testing apps and it is considered a cost-efficient way of making bug free mobile apps. However, you won’t find their exact pricings on official website. You need to request a quote from their website to get more information about the cost. Testadrome offers money back guarantee which is a big plus. Testadrome help developers perform functionality testing, usability testing and localization testing.
The main purpose of Testadrome platform is to find bugs before customers do that ultimately increases the chances of success for individual app. With state-of-the-art resource management, real users and real devices testing, Testadrome reduces the overall cost and increase the quality of testing dramatically. Testadrome supports Android, iOS and HTML apps.
Testdroid
TestDroid is a feature rich mobile app testing platform which is compatible with almost all Android and iOS devices out there. This service allows developers to test their apps on real devices so developers can get the actual feedback regarding individual apps. TestDroid offers free trial that has some limitations and restriction but it is suitable for people who want to test different platforms.
It offers four different plans which are solo, team, business and custom tailored. Solo, team and business packages are available for $49, $499 and $1799 per month respectively while the price of custom tailored package depends on the features you want. Some of its features are unlimited users and devices support, open REST API, automatic testing, remote access, JIRA integration and 24/7 support.
Ubertesters
UberTesters allows developers to organize, execute, control and monitor their apps on their preferred devices for testing purposes. Some of the well known features of UberTesters are OTA distribution, crash logging, session tracking, custom logging, bug reporting system, statistics, team management, 3rd party bug tracking integration like YouTrack, JIRA and Redmine, SAL, account management, full session activity time tracking and many others.
UberTesters offers five different packages which are Free, Indie, Startup, Pro and Enterprise. The free package has some limitations like up to 5 organizational members and up to 2 projects. You can get their 30 days free trial with the pro package and after the trial period you can choose the desired package. Indie, Startup and Pro packages are available for $19, $59 and $129 per month respectively while the price of enterprise package depends on the features you want.
Calaba.sh
Calaba.sh is an automated and acceptance testing platform designed for Android and iOS app testing. This is an open-source tool that you can download from GitHub. However, it does not offer lots of premium features and of course no 24/7 support for their users. Calaba.sh is run by Xamarin which is a well known mobile app testing platform. Calaba.sh has a huge collection of libraries which enable test code to deal with apps programmatically.
One of the best things about Calaba.sh is its cloud testing where this service tests intended app on more than 1,000 devices. Its support for Cucumber is a huge plus as Cucumber is designed to help testers and developers in learning about the behavior of their apps. If you are looking for an advanced and premium testing service then Xamarin Test Cloud is available for as low as $99 per month.
Why Bugfender Is the Best Beta Testing Companion Tool Available?
All of the above-mentioned services use traditional methods of testing apps on preferred devices. However, mobile apps could behave abnormally because of many other factors that could not be predicted, fixed or even reproduced with these methods. This is where Bugfender comes to help you, with an advanced remote loggger approach that allows developers to see logs of each and every event happening on the device in real-time, will help you to understand what’s going wrong on the devices that are showing problems and will make it easy to debug them.
If the intended device has no internet access then it would store logs locally and would send to the server when the device goes online. Developers can easily see what causing the trouble and they can also enable and disable log monitoring for their preferred devices remotely.
