In order to achieve success in the world of mobile app development, it not only necessary to develop apps on time but also requires to deploy an app with full of security, reliability & stability to the end users. Security, reliability, and quality are some factors that can only be attained with the rigorous testing of mobile apps during the mobile app development process.
Over to Mobile App Testing:
Mobile app testing is the practice that allows mobile app developers & app development companies to perform the testing of the apps for attaining required quality, functionality, compatibility, usability, performance and other characteristics in the mobile app.
It includes a broad range of app testing & evolution techniques that covers both standard software testing & mobile platform specific testing procedures.
There is two type of mobile app testing practice, which usually performs at the time of mobile app testing- one is Alpha Testing & other is Beta Testing.
If we talk about differences between these two app testing than Alpha Testing is the testing process in which app is analyzed by in-house app testing masters who test & examine each & every feature & functionalities of the app in order to find out the technical issues.
Like Alpha testing, there is a mode of inspection of the app that defined by the end users about the usability of the app & its quality is known as Beta Testing.
Let us get a Brief about Beta Testing of Mobile Apps…
In Beta Testing, the mobile app is handed over to a specific group of the users to utilize the app for a particular timeframe & give feedback. End user’s feedback decides that the app is updated or in ready to launch in market mode.
Why Beta Testing is important for a mobile app?
Mobile app Beta testing brings the issues and updation that users require in their app like- app’s features, functionalities, and its usability.
Mobile app beta testing brings the following issues into highlights, supporting in increasing the chances of app success:
Quality:
Quality of apps justifies that the app you developed is more than efficient in order to meet the needs of the end users. Beta testing is the only way to prove the quality of the apps that your app has those qualities which end-user expects.
Usability:
To achieve more downloads & attract more users, it is mandatory that your app has impressive UX/UI designs. It is vital that you comprehend what they need and what they do anticipate from your application. The ideal approach to discover answers to every one of these questions is Beta testing. Give your application to the beta testers and check whether they can pursue the flow stream effortlessly.
Bugs:
You strive to make a sans bug app, however, it is very difficult to state that your mobile application has no bug until the point that it is utilized in a certifiable situation. By beta testing your Android or iOS application, you can find minor to basic bugs and improve your application.
Execution:
The speed and execution of your mobile application likewise rely upon the device, OS and other apps present in the device. To see how your application’s execution is influenced by the above variables, it must be tried on a genuine device and not on simulators.
Marketing:
By enabling users to attempt your application even before its launch, you are really making awareness in the market. The users will do verbal marketing for your application and in addition, give you bits of knowledge utilizing which you can shape your marketing methodology.
Cost:
You may put a gigantic measure of the amount in testing your application on various devices, in various geographic and with various system conditions. Mobile application beta testing gives you a chance to accomplish your objective with the insignificant expense. There are countless testing platforms like Beta Family and Test Birds where you can achieve many expert beta testers who will test your application and give feedback & suggestions.
Now let us have a glance at popular Beta Testing Tools:
Have an overview of some most popular beta testing tools with its integrations, pricing criteria, and more.
Some Free Beta Testing Tools:
Test Flight (iOS):
Those who are involved in Apple development must be heard the name of Test Flight. The test flight is backed by Apple in 2014 and has gained lots of popularity during its first 3 years of existence before its acquisition.
· APIs & Integration: Fastlane, more specifically its pilot lane, will be the best option when deploying the app to Testflight’s beta testers. It is very easy to hand over the app from development to beta testers’ hand with using only a single command line in Fastlane.
· Platforms Since its acquisition, Apple stopped supporting Android distributions, & it now allows distribution to iOS devices only.
· Pricing: Apple’s boon to beta distribution is free of cost.
HockeyKit (Android, iOS):
HockeyKit is a framework to easily distribution of apps with maximum ease of use for the end user and great flexibility for developers.
· Platform: Available for both iOS and Android
· APIs & Integration: An open-source framework, which is also an alternative for those who have their own servers, and they would like to host their own beta distribution system.
· Pricing: It is completely free to use.
Crashlytics Beta (Fabric) (Android, iOS):
Crashlytics is a robust tool rendering you a complete, real-time understanding of mobile app’s performance & health at every stage. It lets you know the exact line of code where your app crashed.
· APIs & Integration: Integrate it with team’s Slack channel. If there is any issue or error is there in your app, it will notify in your slack.
· Platforms: Supports both Android & iOS as well
· Pricing: 100% free of cost.
Some Partly Paid Beta Testing Tools:
TestFairy:
TestFairy is an app testing tool that provides a complete video of the process of the app’s functionality on the device. It helps you to know that what user have done in your app.
· APIs & Integration: It is integrated with various top bug-tracking platforms such as GitHub, JIRA, Bugzilla, and Trello.
· Platform: It supports both native & hybrid app development platforms.
· Pricing: Free for 10 apps and then it will offer a pretty decent amount of perk.
UberTesters:
It is a Cloud-based testing tool, which provides you with the three types of testers, namely Usability testing, Functional testing, and Localization testing. It ensures app to be tested across various devices over the sphere. It also includes test cases support, a bug submission tool, video recording, SDK auto-insertion, device management toolkit & much more.
· Platform: Supports Android, iOS, PhoneGap/Cordova, Xamarin, Appcelerator
· Pricing: The on-demand crowd tester’s service starts at $25/hour
Conclusion:
Mobile App Beta testing is a complicated yet an essential phase of mobile application development. It ensures that you get effective feedback about the errors and bugs in your ready-to-launch mobile app. Hence, get ready for beta testing with the best beta testing tools from the above-mentioned list.
