As of today, more than 4 million mobile applications in various categories are available for download by users around the world, so each of us chooses the most comfortable and easy-to-use application for ourselves. So, expecting such competition, you need to make sure that your app meets all the expectations of potential customers and has the proper level of quality.

That is why Quality Assurance (QA) is considered an integral part of the development process.

In this article we will talk about mobile app testing, its features, and interesting cases that will be useful for QA engineers.

Features of mobile app testing

Testing applications on mobile devices follows the general principles of testing. But we understand that there are a number of serious features that are specific to mobile app testing.

Before we start discussing the peculiarities, let us remind you that there are two main methods of mobile application testing: manual and automated. Sometimes QA specialists combine these approaches to get the best results. But today we are going to talk about manual testing.

Let's take a look at the main points to pay special attention to.

Screen size and touch interface

pay attention to the scale and size of all graphical user interface elements;
use of active elements, such as buttons, links, checkboxes, etc;
reaction speed of all active elements (should be high)
check the repeated pressing of buttons - whether these actions will provoke an emergency program termination;
support for multi-touch - simultaneous pressing of several buttons;
support for horizontal (landscape) and vertical (portrait) positions;
checking the use of special gestures in the application (double tap, swipe, pinch in/out, etc.).

Phone resources

check for possible memory leaks (this happens when the application is running for a long time);
check the processing of situations when there is a lack of memory for the operating system when the program is running in active and background modes;
lack of space to install or run the program;
installation on an SD card;
check the battery (accumulator) of the device when the application is running, running in the background, with Wi-Fi, 3G Internet enabled, without a network connection, etc.

iOS's apps and Android apps

iOS is an operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone and iPad devices. Apple has high standards for its app store, requiring all mobile apps to comply with the store's code of ethics.

Make sure your app works well on the latest version of iOS, as well as on previous iterations, and how you can secure it for future versions;
thoroughly test the app for security vulnerabilities in iOS;
pay attention to all the individual features of the app, whether they work and integrate with other iOS features, such as location tracking, calls, photos, etc.

Android is one of the most widespread platforms used by companies such as Google, Samsung, Nokia, OnePlus, and others. This means that creating software for Android phones has a large potential user base, so passing the moderation process in the Google Play Store is very important.

Some of the factors that Android moderators pay attention to when reviewing mobile applications include the following.

restricted content, for example, depicting bullying, harassment, illegal activities or any illegal content;
stolen intellectual property either from other applications or from any other large company;
problems with data and device security or the possibility of misusing personal data by misleading the user about their use;
failure to follow clear billing rules in the Play Store and not indicate any fees paid by users;
Poor functionality, such as repeated crashes, freezes, or errors, which are part of mobile usability testing of the app.

One of the biggest challenges for Android app developers and testers is to design an app that works seamlessly across thousands of devices. There are over 24,000 different types of Android devices on the market and testers must thoroughly test the functionality, performance, and security of their apps across all major device lines.

Different screen resolutions and OS versions

You should test the application on devices with different screen resolutions. On screens with high resolution (for example, retina screens) interface elements and text are displayed smaller while when the application is running on a device with a lower resolution, interface elements may become too large;
make sure that the application cannot be installed on unsupported devices in accordance with the specification. In this case, it is mandatory to test the application on all declared supported devices.

How the app responds to external interruptions

incoming and outgoing SMS and MMS;
the presence of “network error” notifications if the Internet connection is suddenly cut off;
incoming and outgoing calls;
reminders, alarms, etc;
disconnection and reconnection of Wi-Fi (for example, the application may terminate its work in an emergency when launching airplane mode with Wi-Fi turned off);
pay attention to the behavior of the application when the signal is lost and the operation is performed simultaneously.
there are often problems with switching to online mode after offline;
disconnecting and connecting the SD card;
disconnecting/connecting the mobile device to the charger;
work with a physical keyboard (if the list of supported models includes such);
work in the background. To send it to the background, launch the application and then press the home button. As a result, when the program is restarted, there are errors, emergency shutdowns, and incorrect display of the last open window. Also, if the application is inactive for a long time, an emergency shutdown or errors occur;
application operation after exiting the sleep mode;
compatibility with other applications.

Interaction with internal modules

e-SIM support

whether the device supports e-SIMs, the maximum number available;
check whether it is possible to install e-cells without geolocation;
the ability to use traffic in accordance with the available countries;
whether it is possible to transfer e-cells from one device to another;
interaction and relevance of data transfer for the user (for example, the amount of traffic used and the display of how much is left in real time).

Gyroscope

interconnection with applications: tilting the device, turning it;
the ability to receive an incoming call ("pick up") by simply shaking the smartphone;
if it is a financial application - shake the phone to make sure that the balance becomes encrypted, etc;
make sure that the screen flip on the desktop works;
the gyroscope should not randomly trigger without changing the position of the device in space.

Also, don't forget about the standard checklist of checks that a mobile application must pass before going live.

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