A Deep Dive into Different Types of Mobile Application Testing

mobile-application-testing-types
04Sep, 2023

Mobile phones have been in the market for a long time, but now they have become an unimaginable part of our daily lives. As per the statistics, 6.3 billion people used smartphones in 2021, and by 2027, this statistic will reach around 7.7 billion. More than 7 million applications are available across the Apple iOS and Android platforms. In this demanding competition, it is necessary to ensure that the quality and security of your mobile application is top-notch. This task can solely be accomplished via mobile application testing types.

Since people have many options, investing in app testing procedures is good when it is all about mobile applications. Mobile app testing is the part of releasing a mobile application in the app store. So, before you think about releasing a user-friendly mobile app in the app store, let’s get a brief about it. In the above sections, we will also introduce you to the different types of mobile application testing methods.

What is Mobile Application Testing?

Mobile applications are popular nowadays, and to meet the demand, testing is a must. Before a mobile app is released, it goes through multiple testing procedures. The testing team inspects the quality, performance, speed, design, and loading/response time during the procedures. The testing procedure is not so easy because there are wide ranges of screen resolution. The application you want to release should perform equally well in all screen sizes, browsers, and operating systems. This is all about What is mobile application testing.

There are multiple scenarios in which multiple types of mobile application testing should be done. As the number of mobile applications grows continuously, so does the necessity of testing mobile apps. Millions of applications are downloaded daily all over the world through different devices. The testing team can take several ways & approaches based on the specific needs & the purpose it has been created.

Why is Mobile Testing Application Important?

Mobile testing application terms are growing day by day in the digital world. The common issues found in mobile applications are issues in loading speed, lack of performance, inability to respond to different resolutions, etc. All the mentioned issues can be solved with mobile application testing procedures. In this technologically driven world, everyone wants to develop mobile-friendly applications. Multiple businesses are popping up and want to make their space in the digital world.

When launching a new enterprise, aim to provide the highest quality experience for your client. Testing mobile apps is an important phase in developing mobile applications. This step is necessary to resolve all the major issues that a user can go through after launching. The mobile app testing ensures the smooth launching of the app on the server without any errors.

Mobile apps testing is necessary to ensure there is no compatibility issue, usability issues, or potential security vulnerabilities and to maximize the efficiency of the application. If you don’t want negative reviews from the users who rely on it, use mobile app testing methods. Remove all the hidden bugs and improve the app’s credibility through testing before its release.

List of Different Types of Mobile Application Testing

Releasing a mobile application is a time-consuming process. Before your application goes live, the testing team uses multiple testing procedures to prepare it. So, here we list the different types of mobile app testing that must be performed before launching the application.

1. Functional Testing

A functional testing method is necessary to ensure the application functions correctly. This kind of testing aims at the application flow and ensures that the features included in this are quickly active and go well with every specification. When a mobile app cannot perform its major task, no UX designs and speed can satisfy your user. It ensures the user has a smooth login procedure & a seamless transaction.

Mobile App Testing

When you neglect this testing method, you can wind up with an application that users don’t want to sign up for. The common functional testing types are unit testing, user acceptance, localization, globalization, integration testing, and many more. Some functional testing tools exist, for example, Selenium, SoapUI, QTP, Watir, etc. The majority of the tools can be accessed at no charge. The functional testing is executed first, describing what the product does.

Key Features

  • Provides best-in-class accuracy
  • Easy to handle & use
  • Most of the tools are free
  • A powerful testing tool that supports multiple browsers on different platforms
  • A user-friendly testing procedure

2. Usability Testing

Usability testing, types of mobile app testing, also refers to user experience test methodologies to ensure whether your application is user-friendly or not. It helps to pass the app based on functions like the intuitiveness of the app & ease of use. This testing helps to receive the user experience with detailed insight, which includes the bug identifications & the ideas to enhance the user experience.

The testing team inspects whether your app has any usability issues before its release. Usability issues can negatively damage your app quality. This is why it is necessary to perform app testing with genuine users on genuine devices. Skilled QA testers should do this kind of testing.

Also Read: A Detailed Testing Checklist Guide for Mobile Applications

Key Features

  • It minimizes the development costs
  • Improve your accessibility
  • Improve the brand reputation & user satisfaction
  • Offers insight into the motivations & user preferences
  • Identifies the issues completely

3. Compatibility Testing

This testing methodology is the opposite of functional types of application testing necessary to prove the mobile app performs on multiple operating systems & devices. Through this testing procedure, you can inspect whether the app you will release is accessible with the various operating systems & their versions. The app must perform best with the varying networks & their parameters. It ensures the app should be accessible with screen sizes and data storage devices.

Compatibility testing is classified into two types: backward & forward. Backward testing mostly focuses on the behavior of mobile applications with the oldest software versions. The forward testing focuses on the new advanced software versions. Lambda Test is The most common tool you can use for compatibility testing.

Key Features

  • This testing tool offers the real device cloud and iOS/Android stimulators
  • Execute compatibility assessments on a vast array of devices.
  • Zero hassle of developing own library
  • Saves your costs
  • Get genuine results in no time

4. Performance & Load Testing

The testing team checks how the mobile app or system performs under the workload through performance testing. This testing is necessary to prove your application doesn’t contain any errors. Testing performance is done to check the performance of your device, network, and API/server. It ensures whether the app consumes more memory, battery, and delays/errors to get information.

The performance and load testing process is mostly done for the OTT & live streaming apps. When more than average users are using the same app simultaneously, it can’t be run in calm and controlled conditions. This is what performance & load testing is done to ensure the applications can still function. There are six various types of performance testing: stress testing, volume testing, scalability testing, and many more.

Key Features

  • It determines whether the software product responds quickly
  • It evaluates software product’s capacity for handling workload.
  • It improves the reliability
  • This lets you determine whether the app is stable in extreme workloads

5. Security Testing

Security software testing mobile applications is necessary for applications like Travelling & Tinder apps, where the applications ask to submit the user’s personal credentials. If the application you will release asks for such personal information, you must guarantee authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality. The QA testing is necessary to check the app behavior and data security on multiple device permission techniques.

Nowadays, the user is prioritizing the apps that offer an optimum level of security. Most applications ask to submit personal information like credit/debit card details, addresses, mobile numbers, etc. Before giving this sensitive data, users think twice about it. They want assurance that their information is secure and can’t be accessible by anyone else. To maintain this standard of safety, security assessments are essential.

Key Features

  • Through this testing, you can discover the app vulnerabilities
  • It helps to improve user retention and resistance to security threats
  • Using this, you can eliminate all your privacy concerns
  • Get the optimum level of protection by preventing unnecessary scenarios
  • A sophisticated & detailed testing method that gives accurate results

6. API Testing

This testing phase is crucial for software development procedures, ensuring API reliability, functionality, and performance. The business can inspect and address the errors in their software APIs before its release through API testing. It ensures seamless interaction and integration with other applications and software systems. There are a few growing concerns regarding the software APIs, which include reliability, compatibility, security, etc., that can only be recovered through API testing.

API testing is necessary to uncover and repair potential vulnerabilities, performance errors, etc. By leveraging your business with expert tests, you can use advanced testing techniques to prepare your application for release! With the quality testing team, you can streamline the API testing procedure and deliver robust, high-quality APIs that go with their user’s needs.

Key Features

  • It ensures that your application is scalable and reliable
  • API testing covers multiple elements of API testing, which are load testing, functional testing, compatibility & security testing
  • It ensures the smooth running of the application before it goes live on the app stores

7. Localization Testing

Before you release your application, you must check whether it is easy to use or access in various markets. The app you want to develop must meet the legal requirements & local regulations. It must translate the contents to multiple languages, especially when you want to release your application worldwide. You must use the localization testing method to ensure all these elements are present in your application.

The consumers skip all the traditional applications whose UI & graphical elements are not properly aligned with the device & language accessibility. To give your users a flawless experience of accessing and to meet the preferences of users, you should use this testing step before the release of your application.

Key Features

  • It is useful for ensuring language compatibility
  • It is necessary for hardware compatibility
  • This testing ensures that the application is tailored to targeted users worldwide

8. Manual Testing

The mobile application testing procedures are not a joke. This is the toughest procedure that involves multiple mechanisms & multiple skill sets. The quality assurance team employs hands-on testing to confirm that the end products function properly. Manual testing is utilized to ensure the use cases which are not obvious.

The common manual testing procedure is classified into different types: exploratory testing, accessibility testing, mobile app & localization testing, and scripted & smoke testing. Manual testing can locate the bugs that aren’t related to the code, for example, server responsiveness. It enables the development of an application that can be used in the same manner when it is released.

Key Features

  • Manual testing is necessary to find the flaws
  • It finds issues when a user uses the software
  • This process doesn’t require programming knowledge
  • The testing team interacts with the software as the real user
  • Through this testing, you can discover the issues related to the interface and usability

Security Testing

9. Automated Testing

There are a few scenarios when manual testing can be referred to as the ideal option. However, few QA tests are too complex or tedious for the testers. So, various companies outsource their QE for developing and managing the advanced executed testing. The combination of automated & manual testing is known as the fused testing procedure. This testing phase ensures the optimization of the testing and the release of the workflows. The best practices & challenges, including automated testing, are careful monitoring & responding to flakey tests and noise.

Key Features

  • The automated testing can be executed programmatically
  • Automated testing ends with the validation and repeatable
  • This stable testing method is enough to be used in CD/CI
  • It is easy to use & understandable testing procedure
  • This testing method requires little maintenance

10. Mobile Device Testing

The mobile application wouldn’t exist without the operating systems and hardware. We must go through the mobile testing device method to ensure the quality of software & hardware. Some testing types are specific to devices, including interruptions, location-based services, and NFC payment.

Interrupt testing determines how an application responds to interruptions and if they occur in the prior state. Basic mobile app interruptions cover battery power loss, app updates & notifications. The consumers also use the services based on location to inspect while experiencing life.

Key Features

  • This testing procedure can be operated without a physical connection
  • This testing procedure is easy to use
  • It is a cross-platform platform-testing method

11. Installation Testing

When launching the product, the project testing team must ensure the users can install it without hassle. It’s imperative not to overlook activities such as installation testing. This ensures that the installation proceeds without issues across various devices and operating systems. Installation testing is utilized to inspect if the software has been installed in the right way or not. The software should be uploaded with all the internet features and meet the user’s expectations.

Installation testing is known as implementation testing, and it is done in the final phase of testing before the end-user has made his/her first product interactions. Through the use of installation testing, the quality and integrity of the installation processes can be verified by the testing team. The installation testing ensures the users will receive the optimum experience.

The explanation of the necessity of installation testing in SDLC can be easily understood. However, the significance of this procedure is not limited to the minimal aspects, and it can be further discussed as the features. The process of installation testing is executed partially or fully upgraded installation. The installation testing is executed during the final stage of SDLC.

Key Features

  • This is known as the actively based testing method
  • This kind of testing is executed during the operational acceptance testing
  • The software testing team performs it
  • It identifies the bugs & issues during the installation of software
  • It provides amazing user experience

12. Localization Testing

The localization testing mobile applications is a crucial consumer-level procedure that ensures that the software applications are adapted to the culture, languages, and other needs based on the specific region. This is the important step of the software development procedure that can either make or break the popularity of your application in any specific regional market. The localization testing also includes verifying that the application works best in its local environment.

Also Read: Best Practices for Mobile App Penetration Testing

This testing type is designed to check the correct translation of the contents, the use of symbols & characters, and the local standards and regulations. It is necessary to conduct testing methods to ensure the software meets users’ expectations in a particular region. This testing methodology inspects a software application from different locations worldwide to verify the app’s behavior & speed.

Key Features

  • It has a localized user interface with localized content
  • It provides hardware & language compatibility
  • By using this testing step, a business can increase its reachability
  • This type of testing is done to improve the user experience
  • This testing method is compliance with local regulations

13. Interrupt Testing

This is another type of testing methodology that is used for accessing & evaluating the app behavior. It is performed to check the response of the software product and application during & after the interruption. This helps to identify the potential errors and bugs associated with the systems. This testing is done, which may evoke unexpected circumstances in any interruption circumstances.

Interruption testing is a kind of mobile testing only used to test the mobile application speed. You can check the app’s performance after it goes to the interrupted state through interruption testing. This type of testing mostly involves developing disturbances wilfully in the mobile app’s functioning. Some common scenarios for interrupt testing are receiving a call or text message and getting an alert on the low phone battery. Receive push notifications or notifications when the device is connected/disconnected from the power supply.

Key Features

  • This is a user-friendly testing method
  • It doesn’t require any coding knowledge
  • An expert team of testers should do it
  • It ensures your application is compatible and reliable on any device

14. Memory Leak Testing

In software development, searching for memory leaks is one of the most crucial stages of the whole development procedure. It is worth noting that the most modern integrated development environment comes fully packed with profiling and debugging tools. These profiling tools are not the universal solution since they only give a part of the application that uses the most memory. The developers are known to sidestep the crucial steps of application testing.
For this testing, you must hire a team of experts in the industry of software and app testing. When you hire a professional team, they will share how to spot the memory leak location and measure the leakage in the application running on the Windows platform.

The best approach to inspect the memory leak in the application is by checking the usage of RAM. Investigate the total amount of memory used against the total amount your mobile has left. The professionals advised you to take snapshots of the memory heap. This testing process might sound a little complex if you are a beginner. Well, when professionals do it, it can be covered within a minimum of hours.

Key Features

  • This is a user-friendly testing method
  • It ensures the application you are going to release doesn’t grab the maximum space on your mobile
  • It ensures the quality and performance of the application
  • Get a Bug-Free App with Our Mobile Application Testing Company

Do you want to launch your mobile application confidently on the app stores? If you release an application, ensure it has all those elements that make any application user-friendly and compatible. Before you release, don’t miss to go through the several types of testing methods. The mobile application testing types mentioned above ensure your app will work on different devices conveniently. Different mobile testing methods have different features, as mentioned in the above sections. Each testing method is crucial to get assurance your application can beat its competitors once it is launched in the market.

Are you ready to hire a team for Mobile Application Testing Services? If yes, you can hire the best team near your location. Get a bug-free mobile application after letting it undergo the different mobile application testing procedures.

Avatar for Mit Thakkar
About The Author
Digital Marketer at KiwiQA: Software Testing Service Provider Company Worldwide.

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