Mobile App Compatibility Testing Best Practices

Compatibility testing of mobile applications is a vital phase in software development. It ensures and verifies that the app functions well, without errors or bugs, and performs functions among various devices, operating systems, and screen resolutions.

In this exponentially growing digital world, the mobile ecosystem has been evolving, so apps must be created and designed according to users’ needs on various Android, iOS, or other operating systems. This system of mobile app compatibility testing helps us distinguish problems and errors in the apps that could halt their performance, usability, functionality, and user experience.

Let’s discuss mobile app compatibility testing practices and several other components, such as the best mobile app testing services offering a seamless user experience across all devices and platforms.

The Mobile Ecosystem

Firstly, before we can begin mobile app compatibility testing, we need a solid base and a clear understanding of the mobile ecosystem.

Today, mobile devices come in various sizes and varieties, with various variations among hardware configurations, operating systems, and software versions. The manufacturer also creates and implements new user interface designs, features, and customized options that boost the application’s performance.

Before getting into mobile compatibility testing of applications or software, we need to discuss developing various custom applications, including Android apps, iOS apps, React Native apps, and Flutter mobile apps.

Customized Android application development

For custom Android app development, different services and consultants provide developers and designers with the tools to craft a compatible and successful application for the Android platform. Today, the Android operating system is ruling the digital world, powering billions of electronic devices.

Custom Android development companies offer various features, creative designs, user interfaces, Android app designers, developers, and strategies to transform and build a customized Android platform application.

Customized iOS Application development

For customized iOS apps, companies ensure a unique and best-customized app for the iOS platform. Such companies provide custom iOS app development services with innovative ideas, transforming them into intuitive and engaging iOS platform apps. Coding expertise and design planning and development tools are required to create a perfect iOS platform customized application to improve the Apple ecosystem.

Not only iOS app development but also consultants cater to the needs of your customized iOS apps, such as app development and maintenance services and iOS push services.

React Native Mobile Applications

For React applications, there is a React native mobile app development company that provides services to app developers to create an intriguing React native mobile app. Currently, react applications like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter are all trending and popular all around the globe. Such applications are created by React native app development services given by several companies and consultants. A powerful feature of cross-platform makes the framework of react native very strong and flexible, modified with a single codebase.

Flutter Mobile Applications

Flutter mobile app development companies and firms can help you with different cross-platform mobile applications. Flutter is an open-source network that Google developed to create cross-platform mobile applications. This allows the developers to target multiple platforms with a single codebase that works on several platforms, including Android, iOS, web, desktop, and others. This unique feature minimizes their efforts to maintain separate codebases.

Flutter mobile app development companies offer comprehensive services, including intuitive and interactive user interface designs, single and clean codes, app store optimization, and ongoing maintenance. Such offers and services make Flutter a powerful tool for mobile app developers. A well-organized strategy is essential for comprehensive mobile app compatibility testing, and below are a few of the best practices.

There is a slight difference in best practices for mobile app compatibility testing between Android and iOS. Let’s discuss this first, and then we’ll discuss the general practices extensively.

Mobile app compatibility testing best practices for Android Platform

Android app compatibility tests include multiple Android OS versions and various devices to ensure the app UI is responsive and not distorted on different screen sizes and resolutions. They also check and track the app’s performance on different network conditions, aligned with device-specific features like GPS or touch sensors. Best practices include testing apps on real devices and emulators to see if the app is functional on Android skins like Samsung, One UI, or MUI.

Mobile app compatibility testing best practices for iOS Platform

For iOS app compatibility tests, apps should be tested across multiple iOS versions and device models. This ensures the user’s awareness of the apps’ responsiveness on different screen sizes and resolutions. The app should also work with fluctuating network speed and connectivity. Best practices also include testing the compliance of iOS apps with Apple’s App Store guidelines.

Best Practices for Mobile App Compatibility Testing

Identify the requirements for compatibility testing. Firstly, you must identify and distinguish the needs and requirements for mobile app compatibility testing.

• Device Compatibility: What devices are being tested, either smartphones, tablets, laptops, or personal computers? Secondly, their screen size, resolution, and required hardware specifications.
• OS Version Compatibility: Operating systems are essential to know, as either app will run on the Android OS or iOS platform and specific versions like Android 10, 11, or iOS 14, 15, 16, or 17.
• Network Preferences: Since there are various networks, the apps should be run and tested on popular networks to ensure compatibility with different conditions, such as Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, and 5G. Testing also ensures how the app works and functions in poor network connectivity.
• 3rd Party Integrations: If the application depends on third-party services like APIs or payment options, it must be tested with different versions of those services to ensure efficient operation.

Identification of platforms and devices for app compatibility

With innumerable devices and platforms available and created today, testing compatibility with each is next to impossible. Therefore, to make things simple and easy, identify the key platforms at which you want your application to run. Ideally, you need to prioritize a few of the devices and platforms for your application, which is essential for your mobile app compatibility testing.

Operating systems

It is really important for an application to be compatible with different operating systems, such as Android or iOS. Since these operating systems continually release updates, the application must be compatible with various OS versions.

Popular Versions of Operating Systems

For applications supporting Android platforms, we choose the most popular OS versions, such as Android 10, 11, and 12. For iOS apps, we choose the latest version, which could be iOS 15 or 16.

Multiple Device Accessibility

In this modern digital era, devices come in multiple sizes, resolutions, hardware specifications like CPU, RAM, and GPU, and input methods like touch or voice. The mobile app should be compatible with such devices or at least accessible to more than one popular device.

Regional prioritization

Many mobile features, services, and functionalities may differ regionally. An app must be tested to ensure its compatibility with local devices and networks.

Select your Audience

You need to understand what kind of application and device users and your target audience prefer. Which type of operating system is commonly liked by users? After knowing that, you need to customize your application to make it compatible.

Market share and popularity

For compatibility, an application must run on a selective type of device with a device market share that can vary across different regions. Ensure the device market share is according to the region and the app and device’s popularity. For example, certain devices can trend in the US, but others can be in Asia or Europe.

Simulators and Real Devices compatibility

For mobile app compatibility testing, a testing environment with real devices and simulators/emulators must exist. This test is essential in determining an app’s efficiency and compatibility with real-time users.

Usage of real devices for testing

Real devices often get you more accurate and better results. Secondly on a real device you get to experience how an app works and can track an application’s performance directly. You can understand how touch interactions work, where any glitches or bugs are present and can distinguish errors. With real devices you can test the battery usage by the app, its camera functionality, compatibility with Wi-Fi or networks and device specific sensors like GPS.

Selecting Simulators/Emulators for testing

Simulators or other artificial devices often work in a very similar manner like a real device and are very convenient for mobile compatibility testing. Such devices allow the developer and user to test an application across different operating systems, different screen sizes and resolutions. Simulators are cost-effective and fast, but they don’t always replicate the behavior of real devices, which is why, at times, results can be inaccurate.

For a balanced approach, developers always combine simulators with real devices to conduct accurate mobile app compatibility testing.

App testing on various screen resolutions and sizes

App compatibility testing on different mobile devices from small screen to larger screen displays, from smartphone to LED Screens or laptops is yet another way to test for screen compatibility. Incompatible apps will appear distorted and will not support varying screen sizes and resolutions, that is why this testing is significant for better user experience and perfect application display on the screen.

Therefore, compatibility testing with a variety of screen sizes and resolutions must be done along with other components like:

• Responsive Design: The User interface must be responsive in design, which allows the app to adapt and update seamlessly according to different screen orientations, such as portrait or landscape, and screen sizes.
• Compatibility with resolution: Test your application’s compatibility with different screen resolutions. It must work under HD, Full HD, Quad HD, Retina, etc. This ensures that the app works in every resolution without pixelation or distortion.

Network Conditions Compatibility

The network plays a vital role in an application’s performance and functionality, especially those apps that rely on internet connectivity.The networking may be dependent on the particular types of networks and their strengths, such as 4G, 5G, or wi-fi. Mobile app compatibility testing with different wired and wireless connections to verify that application is performing well, with no issues and good user experience.

• Speed and Latency: Test your app’s performance at different network speeds and latency on different types of networks, such as 2G, 3G, or Wi-Fi, and make sure the app is compatible and functional. analyze the application’s performance on varying speed and quality of internet connections, interrupted connections and timeout errors.
• Off-line or Off the grid mode: Testing the application performance without any type of internet connection, to see the offline mode functionality.

Best mobile app testing services

For mobile app compatibility testing, developers need to identify the best mobile app testing services and use them for accurate compatibility results. The testing tools are very essential for app developers because they analyze app’s functionality and inform about its performance on every platform.

1. Appium: It is a compatibility testing tool, open source in nature, and supports different types of applications for eg, native, hybrid and mobile web apps. Being a cross-platform tool, it supports different OS apps either Android or iOS platform applications along with other programming languages like Python or Java. Appium is mostly used by developers for automating these mobile app testing processes, for cross platform testing and because of integration with CI/CD pipelines.

2. BrowserStack is a cloud-based testing service that supports real device testing for iOS and Android platform apps. It allows users to test an application on a diverse range of devices and operating system versions. It is well known for cross-platform testing on real devices and continuous integration.

3. XCUI Test is a native compatibility testing tool that only supports iOS platform applications. It has access to Apple’s native framework for iOS apps and allows automated functional and performance testing for iOS apps integrated into Xcode. It’s best for iOS app developers who require seamless and native solutions for automated User interface testing.

Continuous Integration and Testing

To maintain app compatibility over time, integrate app testing into the continuous integration and continuous testing pipeline. CI/CT tools enable developers to run tests automatically whenever changes occur in the codebase. This testing helps catch any compatibility error or problem early in the development process, is time-effective, and saves resources in the long run. This integration ensures your app remains compatible with different devices and OS versions throughout its lifecycle.

Popular CI/CT tools for mobile app testing are mentioned below:

1. Jenkins

2. GitLab CI

3. CircleCI

4. Bitrise

Conclusion

Mobile app compatibility testing is significant for providing a seamless user experience across diverse mobile ecosystems. There are many more practices for mobile app compatibility, and by following them, we can ensure an application becomes flawless and successful across various operating systems and devices.

Frequently Asked Questions