TestFlight is an online service used to distribute and test beta iOS applications. Developers can use Test Flight to evade the Apple’s bitter binding procedure for testing new versions of their apps. It provides over-the-air installation, testing, tracking and managing of Beta apps. In simple words, TestFlight acts as a link between the developer, the tester, and the Apple Developer Center.
How is it useful?
Distribution of the app over-the- air to Testers
Tracking and managing testing using TestFlight’s dashboard
Receiving feedback from testers to improve the app
To obtain reports about the device models, OS version used while testing the App
Automatically records any crashes the testers encounter and sends it to the Developer
This tutorial will walk you through integrating TestFlight into your own apps.
What do you need to start?
You have to have your certificates, app ID, and provisioning profiles in place before distributing your apps using Test Flight. Here’s the list of items you need:
A Developer ID to login to your developer account.
A Certificate for Distribution to export builds and distribute apps
An App ID
A Device UDID
Ad Hoc Provisioning Profile to distribute your app on testers devices
Sign your app with a valid ad hoc provisioning profile
These items will help you obtain an .ipa file that can be distributed for testing in iOS devices with UDIDs mentioned in the provisioning profile of the app.
Uploading your app for Beta Testing
Open up your project in Xcode, make sure you have a correct Bundle Identifier and that you’ve chosen the correct Distribution Certificate:
Choose Product\Archive from the top toolbar:
Once Xcode finishes archiving your project, click the shiny blue Submit to App Store… button:
Choose your development team
Hit Submit
Wait for your build to upload. Once done you will receive a “Submission Successful message”
Now, run your Espresso Scripts on hundreds of Mobile devices and build quality apps faster than ever.
Several Mobile Automation Frameworks like Robotium, Calabash, Appium, KIF & uiautomator have been developed in recent years. Among a few popular ones, Espresso is one of them.
You probably know, Espresso is a testing framework for Android apps. It is predominantly used by developers and testers for testing user interactions (UI) to ensure that users do not encounter crashes or unexpected results while using an app.
There are several benefits of using Espresso, the primary ones are:
It automatically synchronises test actions with the UI of the app being tested. Meaning? To improve the reliability of tests, it detects when the main thread is idle and runs the test commands at the appropriate time.
This capability also relieves you from having to add any timing workarounds, such as a sleep period in your test code.
Espresso has an API that is small, easy to learn and built on top of the Android instrumentation framework.
It also supports testing activities outside the app like camera, browser and dialer etc which Appium does not support.
However, when you have limited time and money it is a challenge to take full advantage of your Espresso scripts in improving the quality of your apps. Luckily, there are ways to overcome this.
Conventionally, you would spend a huge amount of money to purchase several Android devices, and spend endless hours running your scripts independently on each device. Today, thankfully you don’t have to do this anymore, there is good news. With the help of a cloud-based testing platform like pCloudy.com, you can run your scripts on hundreds on real mobile devices in parallel.
Yes, using pCloudy.com you can test your apps on any device of your choice and pay a just minimum price for the time you’ve used the device. You can not only save money, but you can also save your time by running your test scripts on multiple devices in parallel and get a detailed execution report.
Here’s how you can use Espresso on pCloudy devices:
Improve the quality of your iOS and Android apps by running your Calabash Test Scripts (Calabash Automation Testing) against real phones and tablets on pCloudy.com.
Along with Appium, Robotium and Espresso, you can use Calabash as well on pCloudy.com.
Calabash is a free open source framework for mobile automation testing. It is cross platform, supporting both iOS and Android. It consists of two libraries – calabash android and calabash iOS, which helps in writing tests in domain specific languages. Calabash consists of libraries that enable the test code to interact with apps. Each of these interactions consists of a number of end user actions like gestures, assertions or screenshots. The Tests can be written in simple, self-explanatory language that can be easily followed by even non-technical people.
Further, to increase the efficiency of testing and to improve the quality of your iOS and Android Apps and you can automate your Calabash Test Scripts against a wide range of real mobile devices on pCloudy.com.
Here’s how you can use Calabash on pCloudy devices:
Using Eclipse or Android Studio to code your app? Now with just a few simple mouse clicks test apps directly and in parallel on multiple real mobile devices.
Eclipse and Android Studio are two popular IDEs for mobile app development. The reason behind their popularity is, these are open source tools and have a great community of developers whom you can turn to for any support. Anyway, if you are one of those mobile app developers using these popular IDEs then there’s good news for you!
What if you could extend the capability of your IDEs to improve the quality of your apps? What if you could test your app on hundreds of mobile devices right from your IDE? What if you could with the help of simple plugins take your mobile app development process to a whole new level?
Well, you can – with a simple yet salient solution from pCloudy.com. With a cloud based device lab, pCloudy is contributing to the cause of redefining mobile app testing by providing remarkably useful platform and plugins to test your apps on real mobile devices. As mentioned in our previous articles, it is not enough if mobile apps are tested on Emulators alone. We need to ensure that the apps are tested on Real Devicesas well. It is also important to test your mobile apps on different devicesbased on a carefully analysed device matrix to hit maximum downloads. To continuously develop, integrate and release mobile apps in your DevOps environment such solutions are crucial.
Here’s how can our plugins benefit you
Description:
Our Plugins act as a wizard that allows you to:
extend the ability of Eclipse to use real devices over a cloud platform
select and install an app from a Cloud Driveor from local
If you have already created Test Scripts ready for Test execution, then all you need to do is to select some real devices over the cloud platform and run the execution to test your app. To help you out with this, the Plugin generates a pseudo-code that can simply be copied into your existing test scripts using Android Studio or Eclipse. With simple changes in the test script, the app will get installed and test execution is performed on the selected mobile devices. In the end, a detailed automation report will also be generated through our platform.
With these plugins app developers and testers can:
choose from hundreds of mobile devices to test your App
effortlessly test their apps directly on real mobile devices
can view or perform an activity on mobile screen from directly within on your IDE
perform automation runs in parallel on multiple mobile devices
The future of app testing in IoT lies in integrating app interaction with external hardware triggers. While devices such as phones, tablets and wearables may already seem ubiquitous, a networked array of entrenched systems and sensors commonly called the Internet of Things, could eventually race past all of them in its worldwide reach and number of applications and services.
Connectivity through the IoT is reliant on many different wireless standards. For example, to do anything at all, an IoT-enabled device might have to interface with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, amongst others channels. For software makers, these potential issues with connectivity and infrastructure will inevitably shape the design of their applications.
Speaking of wireless connectivity technologies, NFC applications can now be tested with pCloudy’s new testing solution- pBot. Before explaining pBot, let’s talk about what Near Field Communication is all about.
NFC is a set of short-range wireless connectivity technologies that are perfect for transmitting small amounts of data with minimal setup time and power consumption. NFC applications include contactless transactions, data exchange and simplified setup of more complex technologies. NFC-enabled devices typically support three operating modes which are Reader/Writer, Peer to Peer and Card Emulation. This fuels contactless payments, exchange of business cards or digital pictures.
As the number of available NFC-enabled mobile phones and tablets increases, the market will see a growth in applications such as mobile payments, ticketing, smart posters, as well as access control, data sharing and additional services.
pCloudy’s pBot has made NFC testing flawless with its advanced functionalities. For instance, NFC tagged visiting card. The card data i.e., the contact information is being read by an app on mobile device. Here, pCloudy mobile app interface integrates robotic actions which triggers the robot to perform NFC action. Smart Payment Terminal Testing with pCloudy pBot
With pBot, smart payments are now made realistic through testing payment terminal for EMV certification. For instance, when a credit card swipe device needs to be tested with real credit cards, the pCloudy mobile app interface integrates robotic actions which triggers the robot to action on payment terminal.
Thus, app testing with pCloudy’s pBot is now made futuristic with distinctive robotic functions. App testing should include IoT specific test strategies, support SDLC under context, and have access to on-demand test teams with requisite specializations. Success depends on the ability to influence a dedicated infrastructure, cloud capabilities and a wide array of test tools.
As enterprises leverage smart systems that ‘sense’ the environment and execute programmed actions, IoT driven testing is crucial to strengthen IT initiatives with security, intelligence and flexibility.
2015 saw a great revolution in the mobile app testing industry with many new breakthroughs being achieved. The year witnessed an emphasis on modern mobile applications being compatible with various devices. However, modern mobile apps also need to deliver personalized and flawless user experience. This year there will be a huge advancement in the mobile application testing space with latest versions of mobile operating systems and rapid technological transformations. We list the top seven mobile app testing trends for this year.
Rise of cloud based App certification platforms
Mobile Device Clouds have become an integral part of Mobile App Dev cycle for many organizations. These services help developers and testers by providing access to a wide range of smartphones and tablets. This trends will pick up further this year with many new players entering this space. These services are becoming available at a very affordable price for customers.
We see a new trend where these device cloud platforms will transition to full fledged certification platforms. Customers can get their Apps tested on multiple devices on parameters like behavior, performance, security etc. in completely automated way. All this using single click.
Agile and continuous delivery
Mobile Apps are becoming backbone of business for many organizations. In fact, trend of App only businesses are increasing rapidly. In such situations traditional models of development are a complete misfit. Delivery cycles are shorter and you can’t wait long to fix a customer feedback.
Agile Dev cycles, continuous delivery and deployments are becoming key to success of any Mobile App strategy. We see an increase in this trend this year as well.
Role of Test Automation
Continuing on earlier point, Agile Dev cycles, continuous delivery and deployments are the new necessities for success of Mobile Apps.
The only way to succeed with above approach is to automate as much as possible. We see a rise in trend where organizations are effectively defining their tests pyramids. As the pyramids suggests maximum automation should happen at Unit tests level followed by API level tests. Scope of monkey and UI tests are driven by stability of App UI.
Growth of Open Source
We have seen rise of open source tools in last couple of years. Test Automation tools like Selenium and Appium are giving commercials tools a run for their Money. As the maturity and community support for open source tools are increasing, more and more organizations are adopting open source tools.Improved Focus on Security
The requirement for comprehensive security and penetration testing is set to increase exponentially in 2016. People store sensitive data on their mobile phones like bank details, credit card details and other personal data which can be easily used for carrying out financial thefts. Thus, testers need to focus on renewed security by implementing comprehensive security.
Internet of Things
With convergence of cloud and IOT, we see a rise in consumer IOT Applications.
These applications require testing solution that go beyond traditional methodologies and integrate Software validation with smart hardware triggers and touch of Human Experience.
Recently, lot of interesting developments like Google launching project Brillo – which is based on Android – Gives us hope that industry will move towards standardization and this will provide a big boost to development of IOT validation systems.
With the advent of smartphones into our lives, “Mobile First”, “Mobile Only” and “Enterprise Mobility” has become new buzz words. However, for any Mobile program or an app to be successful, it takes careful planning and execution of testing.
Traditional app testing is time consuming because it requires a huge, dedicated infrastructure and resources that is to be used periodically. It is safe to say that Mobile Device Cloud is the next big thing. Working on Cloud opens up new panoramas of opportunity for testing.
This is where pCloudy comes into the picture.
pCloudy is a mobile application testing platform designed to increase your App Testing coverage while saving significant time and cost. All this with a simplicity you wouldn’t believe until you see it yourself. So, what makes pCloudy the simplest app testing platform?
‘’No requirement of additional softwares’’
Test with Real Devices (yes, it’s all real devices) through Public Cloud – Increasing test coverage was never so easy
pCloudy allows users to test on a wide-ranging list of real iOS and Android mobile devices and tablets. Now, you can ensure that your App is compatible with a variety of devices. You can also replicate and fix your production bugs easily.
Single click access to real devices – Super easy
Firstly, accessing their cloud device is made really simple. Access to real devices is a single click away using any Html5 browser. With security being a key factor, pCloudy makes sure information is protected and is secure over web sockets.
Single click access to testing tools – Save time
pCloudy provides single click access to tools like “Screenshot”, “Live Logs”, “Crash Reports”, “Performance Metrics”, “Videos” and “Geo-location”. Imagine how much time do you spend performing these steps on each device.
Any time parallel execution of Automation scripts – Save time and Increase coverage
Creation of Automation scripts for Mobile Apps is easy. What’s challenging is “How to run the scripts in parallel on real devices during regression run”? “How to create consolidated reports with Device level stats built-in?
Whatever is your Automation framework (over Appium, Calabash or Robotium), you can focus on script creation and leave the rest to pCloudy. You can also run it directly using your build integration system like Jenkins
pCloudy allows automation run on any no. of devices in parallel. (Yes, truly in parallel). Imagine the coverage you can achieve and how much time can you save?
Increase efficiency of your lab
One of the most novel features of pCloudy is that they offer an “in-premise” setup at your organization. To make a demanding test schedule for an organization simpler, pCloudy provides the essential hardware and give you the liberty to set up your own secure device lab. With this, you will have complete control of your own on-premise lab with multiple benefits like plug-in play, day zero installation, no limitation on the number of concurrent logins, and a smooth mobile device management where you can monitor devices closely. There is no limitation of number of devices which can be attached to an on-premise setup. Apart from this, you can increase the USB hub to the main setup easily as per your requirement.
‘’Unlimited numbers of devices can be attached to an in-premise setup’’
“Users who wish to prolong their iPhone’s battery life can enable Low Power Mode under Settings > Battery.
Once enabled, Low Power Mode changes the battery indicator in the top right corner to yellow, reminding users that their device is running in a more efficient state.
In Low Power Mode, iOS conserves battery life by enacting certain energy-saving measures. For example, the system may:
Reduce CPU and GPU performance
Pause discretionary and background activities, including networking
Reduce screen brightness
Reduce the timeout for auto-locking the device
Disable Mail fetch
Disable motion effects
Disable animated wallpapers
The mode automatically disables when the battery level rises to a sufficient level again.
Impact on Apps
Your app should take additional steps to help the system save energy when Low Power Mode is active. For example, your app could reduce the use of animations, lower frame rates, stop location updates, disable syncs and backups, and so on.
What if your App is resource intensive, and user is trying to use the App when iPhone is in the low power mode? You App might crash. Regardless of the scenario, You need to make sure your app works and the best way to do that is to conduct mobile app testing on real devices. You need to put your App through rigorous testing on low power scenario on real devices.
Apps are the ‘new thing’. We are living in an era, where, you click on your mobile screen for your evening cup of ‘cuppa’. With the advent of technology and internet, mobile phones and services are getting personalized like never before! And to compliance these services, numerous number of apps are appearing every day to suit different platforms. Among the apps, the demand for consumer apps is the highest, but various enterprise applications are also evolving to support various businesses. Due to the ever-growing demand for mobile apps, app makers and developers are shifting their focus towards creating strategies and roadmap before launching their applications. It is easier to launch an app with features and functionality required by a particular service, but it is pretty critical to have a rigorous and a flawless mobile testing plan before the deployment.
Testing is a crucial step, where developers can ensure the quality of the app they are going to release. No one wants to release an app full of bugs, or which allows a lot of pop-ups. A faulty GUI, or a confusing UX, can be the reasons for the sad demise of your app before it creates its own space in the app market. That’s why mastering the art of mobile app testing has become the primary objective for any developer to sustain in the market.
Mobile App testing throws many new kinds of challenges
There are numbers of real devices available in the market and for which developers have to go through large numbers of tests
There are frequent changes in mobile apps. It has become difficult to keep pace with the changes.
Availability of the right Mobile App Infrastructure, the right device matrix and the right tool set is a very selective process!
Simulating or reproducing bugs reported by users are extremely difficult as they are mostly related to a specific device.. Bugs are always progressive in nature. And that’s why the cost of development increases significantly.
Current Approach
The typical testing approach involves use of simulators or emulators with a combination of internal mobile lab (selected set of devices). These approaches don’t provide full testing coverage. Bugs are found when an app is launched in the market. It leads to overall high cost of quality. Organizations have started to look at Automation to reduce cycle time and increase test coverage. But, without a proper Mobile lab infrastructure, it doesn’t yield good result.
Solution: Future is cloud
Blog site e-testing notes, “Cloud-based testing makes it possible to collaborate more effectively, to test across multiple platforms with less hardware, and to spend less on testing efforts, both long and short term.”
Why is cloud based Mobile App Testing the way to go?
Produces better quality apps by testing on the widest possible variety of devices available, while reducing capital budgets.
Cloud offers a ready infrastructure for Automation runs, which results an Increase in test coverage.
Quickly reproduce bugs reported from the market.
It allows easy collaboration between various teams.
Boosts the Agile development process by allowing easy integration within a continuous process.
It saves cost as the same lab can be accessed by geographically distributed teams.
Cloud lets you access devices which have been stopped in the market. For example, there are still many users in India use the old Android versions like 2.3 on phone, like Samsung Galaxy Star Duos.
Conclusion:
Effective use of cloud can shorten cycle times, improve app quality, and reduce capital budgets by bringing order to the chaos of mobile app development and testing.
Have you heard the term “Internet of Things” or “IOT” lately? The answer might be yes for most of you. Have you wondered what’s the buzz all about? What do we call “things” here? And, what is it to do with Internet? We will try to understand the phenomenon in this article.
Firstly we need to understand what are “things” here?
We are talking about physical things. It could be anything objects, appliances, vehicles, buildings, Animals, people, anything on planet.
Secondly, these things have to be transformed into smartThing. So, what are SmartThings?
As you can see in the depiction below, physical objects become smart objects when they get associated with sensors and an IP.
Lastly, how these smart objects communicate over Internet?
Once physical objects have sensors and an associated IP, these objects get the ability to send and receive data. This data can be transferred using internet and can also be stored on cloud. Moreover, this data can be consumed by various Applications, mostly Mobile Applications.
This means Your App on Mobile device can communicate to a physical object like your freeze or your keys or your light switch in your house. It can receive information and send commands to perform actions.
This whole ecosystem is termed as Internet of Things.
So, how does it impact our life? In fact, this can impact our lives beyond our imagination.
In future, Google will not only remain a search engines for web content but you will also be able to perform operations like this.
Or
Your fridge will send you an alert on your Mobile phone to bring milk packets as soon as you reach a super market.
By now, you would have observed that IOT is about connecting our physical world to Internet. It’s predicted that by 2020 there will be 50 Billion smart Objects. And, every human being will be surrounded by 3000 to 5000 smart Objects.
Does it trigger any thought, how are you going to test applications built for Internet of Things? We will soon be discussing that in our upcoming post.
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