Common Mobile App Testing Challenges and How to Handle Them

In today’s digital world, mobile devices have become an inseparable part of our lives. We have become accustomed to using these devices for various purposes which has accelerated the growth of mobile app development. Today, you’ll find an app for every task in the app stores. App development frameworks and tools also enhance the overall development process reducing the efforts of developers. If you’re offering business services through mobile apps, you must ensure that they perform optimally and deliver a seamless user experience. Therefore, it is important to perform mobile app testing to make sure that you offer a flawless app to your users. However, as mobile devices and user preferences have changed, it brings several mobile app testing challenges for testers and developers.

As one of the best mobile app testing companies, we have analyzed these mobile app testing challenges and how we can deal with them.

Also Read – Top Software Testing Trends to Watch Out in 2024

Common Mobile App Testing Challenges

 

1- Various Operating Systems and Their Versions

There are various types of operating systems out there in the market such as Android, iOS, Windows, and so on. Also, these operating systems have different versions. Hence, it becomes challenging for app testers to test a variety of versions of the mobile app in a shorter timeframe. One app that runs flawlessly on one type of operating system may not run efficiently on another. It is important to test the app with all supported operating systems and their versions since we do not know on which platform the user will install the app. According to research, iOS users frequently upgrade than Android users but in Android OS, the device fragmentation is larger. Hence, the developers need to support older versions and APIs while testers also need to rebuild their mobile app testing strategy accordingly.

 

2- Variations in Mobile Devices and Screen Sizes

Android has a mixed gamut of features, pixel densities, and pixel ratios that vary based on different screen sizes. Moreover, Apple introduced the new screen with the launch of the iPhone 13.

So, having a picture-perfect screen design is not enough, you need to focus on designing a responsive screen design. With a wide range of screen sizes available in the market, it becomes essential for a mobile app tester to check whether all the features are working optimally in various device screens with different pixel resolution and aspect ratios.

As a leading provider of software testing services, we make sure to check if the app fits every screen size and performs well on multiple devices.

 

3- Different Types of Mobile Apps

A mobile app could be web-based, Native, or Hybrid. The test case scenarios for each of them will be different as their implementation is different from each other, especially if you’re testing performance, compatibility, stress, and conformance. While Native apps have lesser scope for testing, web and hybrid apps need both on and off-platform testing. Web-based apps need to be tested on the preferred browser versions while Native and Hybrid applications for download, execution, platform interactions, and version upgrades.

 

4- Mobile Network Operators

So, you perhaps tested all app functionalities and they all work well. In the real world, when your app user tries to use a function in your app and your app executed it as expected, however a few seconds late, due to poor internet connectivity or load issues. Your users might think your app is faulty and uninstall it anyway. Your mobile app should work properly online, offline, real-time, or in low mobile network areas. Users use mobile applications on the go, so you have to struggle with fluctuating networks, weak signals, roaming, and so on.

Fragmentation is much dicey here as compared to what we talked about in different operating systems. Network emulators will provide more precision, giving you a basic level of mobile app testing approach.

As a reliable provider of software testing services, we make sure to test applications on real networks to overcome any potential challenges.

Also Read – Get to Know The Most Important Mobile App Testing Types

 

5- App Security

Users save and share their personal and sensitive data on your app. Therefore, ensuring data privacy is a must for app owners and developers. You should test your mobile app on a secure and private the required access to your team of testers to prevent data breaches. This will help you identify security issues and vulnerabilities quickly.

Resolving these issues before production will help you save on costs. A bug fixed prior to production can save about 20 times the cost compared to fixing it post-production.

 

6- Availability of a Wide Spectrum of Mobile App Testing Tools

This is one of the common mobile app testing challenges for testers. There’s no all-in-one automation testing tool to meet all your mobile app test automation needs. With numerous tools available in the market, it becomes difficult to select unless you have a good mobile application testing strategy and know-how of what is needed to be prioritized.

While there is a huge range of third-party and open-source mobile application testing tools, each of them has its own limitations. For example, some of the popular open-source testing tools do not have image comparison or slow script execution for iOS and so on. So, you’ll need to customize it accordingly to meet your testing needs.

 

7- Changing User Requirements and Preferences

User’s requirements and preferences keep on changing with time. The user requirements are influenced by the latest design trends or a poor user design. As user preferences are constantly changing, this becomes one of the major mobile app testing challenges.

Changing user needs change the overall SDLC process. It becomes difficult for testers as they need to be continuously in the mobile app development process. This problem can be fixed with dynamic app development methods such as Agile testing.

With such adaptive testing methodologies, the testers can quickly scan for the new feature and perform unit testing or use CI/CD tools for automated mobile application testing. They can divide the overall development process into simple methods for smooth app testing.

Being recognized as the best mobile app testing company, we perform mobile app testing keeping in mind the changing user needs and preferences. This helps us ensure that your app caters to the needs of modern consumers and delivers an exceptional user experience.

Final Note

An effective mobile app testing strategy is essential for delivering flawless, reliable, high-performing applications. The mobile app testing challenges vary from one business to the other, and thus, the solution will also depend on your context.

As an experienced provider of software testing services, we offer solutions that are a combination of tools, platforms, frameworks, and people while maintaining the perfect balance between cost, quality, and time-to-market. We can be your reliable partners who can help you manage your challenges faster and efficiently.

Also Read – Testing Healthcare Applications: Challenges and Solutions

FAQs

Q.1. Why mobile app testing is necessary for businesses?

Ans. Mobile app testing helps organizations to build applications that are flawless, scalable, and accessible on multiple platforms. Mobile testing involves testing an application for its usability, compatibility, performance, and consistency. This can be done manually or automatically.

Q.2. What does mobile app testing include?

Ans. The mobile app testing process includes testing a mobile application for its usability, functionality, performance, and consistency. It ensures that your app is robust, user-friendly, and flawless. Testing can be done either manually or automatically on real devices.

Q.3. How do you test mobile apps?

Ans. It is best to test mobile applications on a real device cloud that provides a wide range of Android and iOS-based mobile devices. The QA team leverages automation tools and platforms that offer a wide array of real iOS and Android mobile devices for testing mobile apps manually.