Introduction
Businesses need to increase their visibility if they want to prosper in this fast-paced technology age. They must offer excellent software platforms for their customers to communicate on the web and mobile since all businesses’ target audiences use these platforms. A well-thought-out testing methodology for mobile and online applications is necessary for perfect software apps.
As consumers’ perspectives change, companies are attempting to leverage mobile application testing to grow and keep their user base. However, the methodologies used for testing mobile and online applications vary. In this article, we’ll discuss the differences Between mobile device testing and Web Application Testing.
Mobile Application Testing
The Operating Systems of modern smartphones can be used to classify them, just as they can classify the mobile applications created to work with numerous and various Operating Systems. Types of mobile applications include:
Mobile Web Applications
These typical web applications can be accessed through mobile browsers and have been optimized to function on mobile devices. These apps may look like mobile apps, but they are very different from standard mobile apps.
Native Mobile Apps
These are made to function with just one operating system. It implies that an iOS native application can perform on every Apple device. However, an Android smartphone cannot run that specific program. For instance, apps like Contacts and Gallery are native apps.
Developers use platform-specific programming languages to make them. Java is used to create Android apps, while Objective-C ( Swift-C) is used to develop iOS apps. Because businesses must maintain two separate code bases for Android and iOS, these apps are expensive and take more time to create.
Speed, performance, and user experience are the main benefits of native apps. Since native apps are created with platform-specific programming languages, they are quicker than hybrid or web applications.
Hybrid Applications
Native apps and online apps are combined to create hybrid applications, also known as hybrid apps. They are designed with the help of native components and well-known web technologies like HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Many popular consumer apps, like Gmail, Instagram, GDrive, and others, fall under the hybrid app umbrella.
Websites that are shown in a native web view are considered hybrid apps. The native components offered by the OS provider (i.e., iOS or Android) are used for loading web content.
Some of the main benefits of hybrid apps are :
- The TTM (Time To Market) can be decreased by running a single codebase flawlessly across numerous platforms.
- Reduced development effort results in lower costs.
Web Application
A web server is where they are often kept. For the creation of web apps, programmers employ HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other languages. Web applications may be accessed using a web browser, such as Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, UC Browser, and MS Edge. Optimized Web apps can be used on various hardware, including PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets.
The performance of web apps depends on how responsive and mobile-ready they are because they are accessed through the browser. Since users may choose which web browsers they use, the web app should work flawlessly on various browsers, browser versions, and device configurations. One of the main benefits of web applications over native and hybrid apps is reduced business costs.
Testing web applications and mobile applications: Differences
Of course, some aspects of online and mobile apps overlap.
- The most significant difference between testing for mobile and web apps is that the former tests software for mobile devices. At the same time, the latter evaluates web-hosted software applications for usability, functionality, and compatibility.
- Mobile apps, which include smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, lock systems, fitness monitors, and tablets, can run on a wider variety of devices than online apps. Due to their extensive functionalities, testing mobile apps is much more complex than testing web apps on mobile devices.
- Mobile apps, which continuously carry out on-the-go computing tasks, lack the traditional features of the WiFi router and mouse cursor that are included in web apps, which are designed for stationary laptops and desktops.
- People now use applications in vastly different ways than in previous years. People who worked on online apps previously had to log in and out before shutting down their laptops or desktops, but they can now remain logged into their mobile apps without doing so.
- Since there are more mobile app users than web apps, testing for both is done at a higher level, considering constant network availability, notification management, and app syncing across platforms.
- While smartphone applications are more customer-focused, web apps are more business-to-business. As a result, customer engagement and app experience are the main emphases of mobile app testing.
Technical Difficulties
Many mobile applications share similarities with online applications, and testers adhere to some common test patterns in a flexible development cycle.
Compatibility
A web application must be tested on all of the many browser types sold today. The identical principle also holds for mobile web apps, such as hybrid and mobile web applications, which function through a browser. The requirement is the same; however, there are differences in the testing process.
The latter must be tested on various mobile devices, whereas desktop-run apps are more superficial. To examine how mobile applications behave over multiple hosts, you must try them on each mobile device.
RAM and Storage Capacity Testing
Mobile apps often have up to 2GB of RAM and 16GB of SSD storage. When testing a mobile app, these restrictions limit the testing procedures. Most people remove a smartphone app when it consumes a lot of storage space. The smartphone slows down and uses storage space due to frequent app upgrades.
Even the mobile app’s ad services cause the mobile browser to lag. A web application’s memory usage is also evaluated. But most stationary devices, such as laptops, and desktop computers, have more memory than portable ones.
Internet Connectivity Testing
The mobile web application works in the same way as this. A native or hybrid mobile application, however, might include autonomous features. A few games can be played offline, and document editors have the option of saving functionality when in flying mode. Mobile app behavior should be examined when using erratic networks or switching connections. This will make it easier to test web, iOS, and Android applications thoroughly.
Screen Size Testing
Screen resolutions and widths vary for mobile apps. Testers ensure the software is well-optimized to function flawlessly across various devices. They enhance performance, for instance, when transitioning between portrait and landscape mode.
There is no need for Web App Testing because they do not rotate because these functionalities do not function on laptops and computers. Instead, they adapt to the browser window size or screen size.
User Interaction Mediums
Most web apps are stable when using a conventional keyboard and mouse to play any game or browse social media. Mobile apps, on the other hand, bring testing difficulties due to the availability of several input methods like touch, tap, swipes, and voice with increasing demand.
As technology has advanced, certain mobile phones now have capabilities like hand-wave motions that make testing mobile apps more challenging. Examples of input techniques include voice assistants like Siri and Google Now and touch inputs like swiping, tugging, and pinching.
Battery Life
A mobile device’s battery level might disable all but its essential capabilities. Users are always aware of the power-draining apps and don’t stay installed for very long. Therefore, paying attention to how an application consumes the device’s resources is crucial. Keep in mind to perform real-device testing in addition to using virtual machines.
Application Types
Creating a plan is essential for carrying out all types of sophisticated testing. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are used to develop web apps for stationary devices. Mobile apps are not as straightforward and are created using Objective-C, native Java, or hybrid languages.
Frameworks for Mobile App Testing
HeadSpin
HeadSpin is a globally acclaimed mobile app testing company that allows you to test your mobile applications on a vast number of actual devices that are linked to carrier networks all around the world. Headspin aids in the construction of dashboards, performance testing, weekly reports, and scripts. It also allows you to integrate Appium, Selenium, and Appium Inspector with automated testing frameworks.
HeadSpin is the world’s first collaborative platform for Dev-Ops and AI testing, allowing you to run as many manual or automated tests as you like. Without experiencing any lag, you can test on as many iOS or Android devices at once as you want and conduct trustworthy test sessions on actual hardware without the need for virtual machines. With the help of Headspin, you may access and debug mobile apps on real devices from your laptop or phone without SDK or local team help.
Appium
In recent years, the market for mobile testing has been dominated by the well-known cross-platform mobile testing automation tool known as Appium.
Appium enables developers to test native, web, and hybrid apps on Android and iOS devices thanks to its cross-platform and cross-technology support. It provides extensive test automation coverage for device settings, gestural inputs, and various ambient factors. Additionally, it offers rapid compatibility for new iOS and Android updates.
Espresso
Espresso is a well-known framework for Android mobile testing that is made for white box testing. In 2013, Google released Espresso. The Android Support Repository now includes this open-source testing framework. Espresso is an Italian word that initially meant coffee. It is an easy-to-use testing framework. It provides APIs that make it possible to create UI tests.
Frameworks for Web Application Testing
HeadSpin
HeadSpin is a popular automation testing framework that aids Web App Testing in a dependable, scalable, and secure environment. It gives features more attention than bugs and speeds the development up to 10 times. It helps in Web App Testing to help you find flaws before your consumers do. It also allows you to Automate Selenium tests.
Zero with maintenance stress and find Bugs.
Selenium
The most popular software is selenium. This open-source framework supports multiple programming languages. Scripts can be recorded, executed several times, saved, and used with various operating systems and browsers. Selenium offers numerous chances for integration with other tools despite being self-sufficient.
Cypress
It is a JavaScript-based testing framework that enables developers to create web apps with the aid of JavaScript frameworks. It is built using the apex of Mocha, a component of the JavaScript testing framework that works in the browser.
Final Verdict
Testing is done to ensure an app’s proper operation and usefulness under diverse circumstances. However, the internet connection and battery are specific to every Mobile app testing. Several factors are frequently ignored when evaluating the most popular testing kinds.
The entire quality assurance process is thorough and cost-effective thanks to automated testing solutions, which also optimize your testing efforts and decrease them. The framework or platform should be carefully selected depending on the kind of testing that will be done.
