Mobile app testing is done to determine the usability, consistency and functionality of the app across various handheld mobile devices. A study conducted by the Yankee Group revealed $4.2 billion in revenues brought about by 7 billion U.S. Smartphone app downloads in 2013. This information indicates the phenomenal growth of mobile devices and applications. Some of the key challenges of mobile app testing are methods of testing, availability of multiple devices, numerous mobile platforms and operating systems, scripting and deciding which tests to perform. With android app development speeding up testing is necessary. Intense iPhone apps development has also led to the rise in testing. We have listed a few leading mobile app testing tools that can help you to get over your problems related to distribution, problem, feedback, report and analytics.
TestFlight
Initially this tool was available for testing Android and iOS apps. Being acquired by Apple TestFlight’s Android support was made unavailable. This tool is free for iOS 8 developers. You can gather easy feedback from real users. Test your apps on iPod, iPhone and iPad by using TestFlight. This tool offers you to send invites to 1000 testers and external users using their email ids. Testers receiving an invite (a link) can download the official app from the App Store. TestFlight Beta Testing will allow you to take note of this invite facility that urges external testers to test your app before release.
Ubertesters
This tool is broad in scope and reach. Numerous tools are offered here making bug reporting an easy affair. New builds can be formed and tested easily. Distribution of new builds is quite easy here. There are free and premium plans offered here. 100MB of storage along with 2 projects can be stored here under the free plan. Both Android and iOS apps are supported by this tool. Windows is slated for future support. Some of its standard features are:
Ubertester has a unique feature that will allow you to hire people to test your app and assist you in adding variety to real devices and real time conditions.
TestFairy
Mobile beta testing becomes easier and faster with TestFairy. This tool is freely available offering some great features like screen shots and video recording. If you are carrying out a test you can get a video of the exact test carried out by you that would also include memory, CPU, Network monitoring, crash reports, GPS tests and logs. Android apps do not require integration of APIs or SDKs into your app builds. However iOS apps will require just a line of code in order to run this program. Testers can be invited via email or through a native or web based test app.
HockeyApp
According to some reports developers around the world are known to rely heavily on this app testing tool. HockeyApp distributes beta versions of apps across Mac, iOS, Windows and Android platforms. You can receive feedback from users, analyze test coverage, engage new testers and gather live crash reports.
HockeyApp is currently owned by Microsoft. There are no free plans offered but the tool is available for 1 month trial. This tool is available for $10 per month allowing you to float 5 applications. It also offers unlimited storage. Some of its standard features are:
These are only a few developer tools that include access to external testers. There are several other open source mobile testing frameworks like Robotium, Appium, Calabash, selendroid, MoneyTalk and UiAutomator that provide extended help on mobile testing. Choose your mobile app testing tools wisely in order to perform advanced and scalable testing.