Can you name the most crucial aspect of any mobile app? It’s the performance! If you have created a mobile app that is unable to perform. Chances of getting your product abandoned become pretty high. Whether it is Android or IOS, a mobile app needs to be tested thoroughly before releasing it to the end user. This urge for perfection is exactly why the father of iOS decided said:

“You know, everybody has a cell phone, but I don’t know one person who likes their cell phone. I want to make a phone that people love.” – Steve Jobs.

As a result, Steve made this happen. He came up with a mobile device that became an all-time favorite for everyone in such a short span of time. So good so far, users love Apple devices- iPhone, iPod touch, iPad. “IOS” is ruling the world!

The mobile operating system was initially meant for iPhones only. With the time passing by, the operating system evolved to support the Touch devices and the iPads too. With a total of 10 major releases over the years and has offered notable feature updates in its every release. User-friendliness, fluidity in operations, crash free apps are some of the undeniable benefits offered by the system. The Apple app store is seen flooding with a number of apps shooting up to 2.2 million. And it may interest you to know that the downloading of apps has rapidly gone up to a whopping 130 billion in number.

Being unrestricted by any zonal or language barrier, the IOS app development realm is gaining momentum like never before. Now tell me something, how many applications you have used on your iPhone or iPad till date? Gmail, Facebook, Clash of Clans and Asphalt, Quite a handful, right? But have you ever wondered what these apps can bring software professionals some serious business? I am not talking in terms of functionality, but in-depth UI testing has become mandatory these days.

IOS Application Testing

The bad news, iOS is only limited to Apple hardware and its made devices. The good news, it is indeed a huge relief to realize that iOS is limited to Apple hardware and Apple made devices. Unlike Android, Apple is a closed system. Therefore testing becomes easy! A mobile app can be divided into three categories:

• Web-based applications
• Native applications
• Hybrid applications

Types of iOS Application Testing

1. Manual Testing- With the help of the device

• System testing
• UI/UX testing
• Security testing
• Field testing

2. Manual Testing – Using Emulator

• Unit testing
• Integration Testing
• UI Testing

3. Automation Testing

• Regression Testing
• BVT Testing
• Compatibility Testing
• Performance Testing

Testing checklist for iOS app

Before we delve into details, it is essential to consider specific pointers that must be taken into account before pursuing the process of mobile app testing.

• Availability of memory

  One of the significant reasons for app crashing is due to low memory availability. When a mobile app crashes, it cannot be reproduced or re-launched. This indeed happens due to unavailability of sufficient memory. To safeguard oneself from getting stuck into avoidable bottlenecks, it is advisable to check and report your memory status while testing. Of course, there are several tools available for calculating free memory. Crash won’t be a problem if you have plenty of available memory.

• Low Memory Conditions

  One of the best ideas to succeed as a mobile app tester is to test under low memory conditions. Although, you may not be able to reveal all the potential threats that may come up to cause you problems in real-world scenarios. Apple’s most recommended way of testing your app’s behavior is by running apps like Safari, iPod and Mail that is already programmed to run in the background. This has to be done under low memory condition.

• Run Simultaneously with Background Apps

  Safari, Music and Mail, can be considered as a few exceptions when third-party apps can’t function simultaneously in the iPhone environment. This means apps from outside needs to be tested for multi-functioning. It should be tested to handle interrupters such as reminders and push notifications. Also, activities, like receiving calls and playing music in iTunes, should not affect the behavior of the running application.

• Analysis with Data Input-

  Text inputs can discover bugs, shocked or surprised? And it certainly works wonders! When we are talking about boundary value analysis, a maximum number of text characters or error values are supplied into the exact text field. This would make application errors if there are any unseen bugs present.

• Testing Connectivity Problems

  The behavior of apps that need internet usage should be tested for issues due to connectivity problems such as slow connectivity, and internet unavailability. This connectivity issues can be artificially created by turning airplane mode on, using a low-speed internet connection, etc.

Remember tests are meant to help

There was a time when writing tests was an unnecessary waste of time. Although, they don’t bring any new functionalities to the app’s end user and often the test for a class has more lines of code than the class itself!  As soon as I got in the software development bandwagon, I found my perceptions completely wrong. The development time is speeding up like never before and so do you!

Final Word

Software testing requires an understanding of the mobile app, resource utilizer, virtual users, emulators, and multiple test strategies. Device performance, Server performance, Network performance are certain factors to keep in mind when testing an app’s performance. Performance Testing challenges include compact sizes of mobile devices, resources availability, costing, and budgeting.

Author Bio:

Isbella Coton is the writer and editor with 3+ year of experience at Tatvasoft UK which is a mobile app Development Company in the UK. She loves to write on latest programming development and issues. She is an all-time foodie and animal lover.

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