How to Test Mobile Apps on Desktop

The mobile industry is constantly growing at a rapid pace. According to Statista, 54% of the total users worldwide use mobile devices as compared to desktops. Tech giants like Samsung, Google, Apple, and others continue to roll out new Android and iOS devices at ever-increasing speeds. Constant growth in mobile usage has also led to organizations focusing on developing apps to cater to their user base.

With the massive device fragmentation existing currently, two things have become major concerns for all QAs:

Will the developed app perform seamlessly across all the latest Android and iOS devices?
Will the developed app be compatible with older versions of operating systems running on Android and iOS?

This article will focus on both these concerns and discuss how testing mobile applications manually can play a key role in agile development. It will also explain how one can carry out online manual app testing.

So let's get started.

If an app is compatible with the latest iOS and Android versions, it's a big win for the QAs. However, choosing not to optimize app performance for earlier versions of Android and iOS may lead to significant losses. Plenty of users do not immediately upgrade or consciously choose to continue using older devices or operating systems.

There are 2 methods on how QAs test mobile applications manually on different Android and iOS devices:

1. Test on a Platform that offers Real Mobile Devices

This is one of the easiest ways. There is no better option than to test your mobile apps on a real device cloud that offers an extensive range of Android and iOS mobile devices.

QAs can leverage platforms like BrowserStack that provide a diverse range of real Android and iOS mobile devices for testing mobile applications manually. Performing app testing on real devices will help QAs to simulate app behavior in real-world conditions.

One just needs to Signup for free and start testing immediately. QAs simply need to follow the steps below:

Upload the app to be tested on the platform
Select the OS (Android or iOS) and mobile device to test on

Try Testing App on Real Device Cloud for Free

How to Test Mobile Applications Manually on App Live

Note: QAs can also directly install apps from the App Store or Playstore.

Once the app is uploaded, and the device is selected, the app is installed on that particular device, and a new session is initiated for QAs to start testing.

QAs also get access to DevTools, bug reporting with JIRA, and other vital features like network throttling and geolocation testing on the dashboard.

Here is an App Live test session on a real Samsung S10 Plus.

Start Manual App Testing for Free

2. Testing on Emulators or Simulators

This is a time-consuming and effort-intensive approach. QAs need to identify the number of devices their app must be tested on and accordingly download emulators for each device. Downloading and testing on each android emulator or ios simulator is a very cumbersome and inefficient task. Teams can't afford to adopt such an approach, especially in such a competitive landscape.

Emulators or simulators can be useful in the initial phases of development. However, they are not reliable enough to ensure the efficacy of applications in real user conditions. This is why it's highly recommended for QAs to test on a real device cloud. They don't need to worry about any downloads or pre-configurations. Just upload the app and start testing. It's that simple!

Find out: Why test on real devices as compared to emulators and simulators.

With the rise in automated testing, manual testing might sound redundant. However, certain aspects of an app such as usability, accessibility, ease of use, etc. cannot be judged by a machine, no matter how advanced the algorithm. There is no substitute for human judgment, and manual testing continues to be just as relevant today. With platforms like BrowserStack, it is easy to perform manual mobile app testing.

How to Test Mobile Apps on Desktop

Source: https://www.browserstack.com/guide/how-to-test-mobile-applications-manually