Why is Testing a Mobile Application Important?

 

Mobile applications are evidently transforming many lives. This is highlighted through the fact that 10% of mobile users check their phones every four minutes. And, what do they check so frequently? – mobile apps. Almost 90% of the time spent on handsets is dedicated to these mobile applications. However, this also means competition is at its peak today. Hence, one key reason to make an app successful is: the apps must have something unique to offer to users so that customers use them.

As of the year 2019, worldwide mobile users are expected to be around 2.5 billion; indicating the fact that the app development industry is a promising investment. However, this premise itself isn’t enough to build an app. Developers need to have a proper understanding regarding what drives people to use apps and what exactly are the things they look forward to while downloading an application.

This is where 9series’ mobile app testing comes into play. You need to test that, is your app able to deliver what you have intended to? Apart from getting a proper understanding, there are more than enough reasons which make app testing crucial. Let’s take a good look at them:

Developing Scalable Mobile Apps

Cloud technology is one of the most extensively used technology while testing mobile apps. When a mobile device is leveraged, there are some key concerns that need to be addressed. These include device matrix and technology, security challenges of data transfer, and providing support for software and device. The use of such technology helps in saving infrastructure costs and also provides a boost to the quality of applications. App testing holds greater importance because it ensures that the app is scalable across all devices, different versions and OS.

Understanding App Behaviors

On Simulators

Mobile simulators are specifically used for the purpose of understanding app behaviors across different devices. A simulator is basically a software application that is built exactly like a device to provide a pseudo-environment. Testing app behaviors are a significant part of mobile app development solutions. Developers can make use of these simulators efficiently as the apps take almost no time getting installed in them. They can provide firsthand knowledge and understanding of app behavior to a large extent. The sole aim of testing is to improve quality in any scenario. Having an inventory of every single device is quite difficult, emulators are developed to provide an in-depth diagnosis for many issues.

Moreover, multiple simulators can be used at the same time, resulting in saving time and costs. A simulator provides developers the accessibility to the local storage. This helps them in understanding the way in which an app would behave in a particular environment. Mobile device emulators are used at the stage when the features of an application are being developed. Network bypass and script languages can also be tested efficiently by using these emulators, which are very important while developing the app features.

On Real Devices

Simulators are a great option but they are unable to provide real-life solutions to the problems that surface on real devices. The biggest con of using these tools is that they can miss many faults and traits which can only be found in real devices. Some of these include receiving a call while an app is running, a text message, or a notification. Some apps operate on Internet connection, which would either require a Wi-Fi or data connection. It’s not necessary to stock up all the devices, but its important to at least have devices with different screen resolutions to test how an app renders the visuals.

Simple User Interfaces

Since the competition is rising at an unprecedented rate, app developers usually think that making complex designs would give them an edge. However, keeping a simple user interface is the need of the hour. This can be proved by the fact that the users who use both desktop and mobile apps for shopping, an app is a preferred option by 35% of them to shop because it’s more convenient.

Knowing your Audience

Knowing your audience is another essential factor. There are hundreds of different categories to choose and hence, each category has its own set of audience. Thinking about how different sets of audiences will approach your app, can give a lot of insight into understanding them. Product research is presently one of the most popular mobile commerce activities. This is highlighted by the fact that 36% of them have searched for information about a product while 27% have used an app to find a nearby store.

Intuitive Performance

Performance is probably a quintessential feature of building an app. This is because there is a high competition between the loading speed of a desktop and a mobile app. 3 seconds or less is an acceptable loading speed for a desktop. In the case of apps, there are multiple users browsing an app at the same time. And this makes handling the load speed even critical because of the large amount of content displayed in compact space and less time. The most common bug reported by users is that the app crashes while they rotate the app from landscape to portrait mode or vice versa. Hence, mobile app testing is crucial when it comes to adding app features like units, functional interactions, and load.

A study has revealed that compared to desktop online purchases, mobile apps are usually preferred by almost 47% of those who use both platforms for shopping. And when they were asked why do they prefer mobile apps over desktops for shopping – speed is one of the two top reasons.

Testing is a Great Answer to Many Problems

A successful mobile app testing process speeds up the time it takes to be launched in the market. However, testing doesn’t stop even after the launch. Professional mobile app developers keep performing performance tests to regularly update the features. App development costs go almost up to $5 Lacs. Testing helps eradicate issues like bugs and crashes and makes your app crawl up to higher ranks in SEO. It builds your brand with a loyal customer base making it compatible with various devices.