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Jeroline | Posted on | 2 min Read

Challenges in Mobile App Testing

Mobile App Testing Challenges: A Comprehensive Guide

The mobile market has seen exponential growth over the past decade, largely driven by the mobile application industry. With more than 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide, mobile apps have become an integral part of our daily lives. This booming sector is expected to generate over $189 billion in revenue by 2020 through app stores and in-app advertising, and the demand shows no signs of slowing down. As mobile apps become more ubiquitous, the competition to create unique, high-performing apps has intensified.

Yet, as apps grow more complex and diverse, so do the challenges faced in ensuring their quality. Mobile app testing plays a pivotal role in meeting these challenges, especially as the industry evolves at a rapid pace. Below, we explore the common issues in mobile app testing and offer solutions to ensure apps remain competitive, reliable, and user-friendly.

1. Device Fragmentation: The Complexity of Multiple Devices

One of the most significant challenges in mobile app testing is device fragmentation. With countless manufacturers, models, operating systems, and screen sizes, testing across all devices is a daunting task. Android alone has a wide range of OS versions, with older versions still in circulation despite new releases. This fragmentation means that an app may perform flawlessly on one device but crash on another.

The Challenge

  • Operating System Fragmentation: Apps must function across multiple operating systems, such as Android and iOS. Even within these operating systems, there are variations in performance and compatibility across different versions (e.g., Android 10 vs. Android 12).
  • Device Variability: Different devices have varying processing capabilities, screen sizes, and resolutions, all of which can affect app performance.

The Solution

Testing on a range of real devices is the best way to ensure compatibility. This is where cloud-based platforms like Pcloudy come in. Pcloudy offers access to real devices with varying OS versions and configurations, allowing testers to check how their app behaves across multiple devices without needing physical access to each one.

Pro Tip: It’s crucial to prioritize testing on the most popular devices and operating systems to maximize your app’s reach.

2. Network Conditions: Testing for Real-World Scenarios

In today’s connected world, apps must perform well across a variety of network conditions. However, this introduces another layer of complexity in mobile app testing. Network issues, such as low bandwidth or weak signal strength, can drastically affect an app’s performance, leading to poor user experiences. According to studies, 53% of users will uninstall an app if it crashes, freezes, or has performance issues.

The Challenge

  • Network Fluctuations: Users frequently switch between Wi-Fi and cellular networks, both of which offer different speeds and signal strengths.
  • Latency and Packet Loss: Poor network conditions can lead to latency issues, dropped packets, or complete loss of connectivity, which can make even the best-designed apps frustrating to use.

The Solution

Testing apps under real-world network conditions is essential to ensure that they perform smoothly, even under poor network environments. Pcloudy offers network simulation tools that enable testers to replicate varying network conditions, from weak 2G signals to high-speed 5G or Wi-Fi, on real devices.

Pro Tip: Regularly test your app’s performance in low-bandwidth scenarios to ensure seamless user experiences in all conditions.

3. Choosing the Right Tools: Making or Breaking Mobile App Testing

The choice of testing tools can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of mobile app testing. There are numerous tools available in the market, each with its strengths and weaknesses. Selecting the right one based on your app type (native, hybrid, or web) and testing needs is critical.

The Challenge

  • Tool Overload: The number of tools available can be overwhelming. Each offers different features for automation, debugging, performance monitoring, and security testing.
  • Incompatibility: Not all tools are suitable for every app type. For instance, some may work well for native apps but not for hybrid or web-based apps.

The Solution

To navigate this landscape, it’s crucial to evaluate tools based on your specific app requirements. Pcloudy supports a wide range of automation tools, such as Appium, Espresso, and Selenium, making it easier for teams to test apps across multiple environments.

Consider the following when evaluating tools:

  • App Type: Your chosen tool should support native, hybrid, and web-based apps.
  • Cross-Platform Support: Ensure that the tool supports Android, iOS, and other potential operating systems like Windows.
  • Cloud Integration: Leveraging cloud platforms for test automation allows teams to access devices and results from any location, improving collaboration and efficiency.

4. Screen Size Variations: Ensuring Consistency Across Devices

Mobile devices come in various screen sizes, and ensuring that your app displays correctly on all of them can be challenging. Apps that look perfect on a large-screen phone may appear cluttered or disjointed on a smaller device.

The Challenge

  • Pixel Density: Different devices have varying pixel densities, which can affect the sharpness and clarity of app content.
  • Layout Adjustments: App elements need to adjust dynamically to fit various screen sizes without compromising user experience.

The Solution

Adopt responsive design principles to create adaptable UI layouts. This approach ensures that your app looks good on all screen sizes, from small smartphones to large tablets. Testing your app on real devices of varying screen sizes is crucial, and platforms like Pcloudy allow for testing on multiple screen configurations to ensure a seamless experience.

Pro Tip: Focus on adaptive designs rather than pixel-perfect layouts, as adaptive designs scale more effectively across different screen sizes.

5. Types of Mobile Apps: Native, Hybrid, and Web

Mobile apps come in three main forms: native, hybrid, and web-based apps. Each type requires a unique approach to testing.

The Challenge

  • Native Apps: Developed for specific platforms (iOS or Android), native apps tend to offer better performance but require separate testing for each platform.
  • Hybrid Apps: These apps combine elements of native and web apps. While easier to develop and maintain across platforms, they often face performance and compatibility issues.
  • Web Apps: Running in browsers, web apps must be tested across multiple browsers and operating systems, making compatibility a primary concern.

The Solution

Each app type comes with its own set of testing challenges, and it’s essential to customize your testing strategy accordingly. Pcloudy supports testing for all three app types, allowing teams to ensure that their apps meet the required standards of performance, usability, and functionality.

6. AI-Powered Test Automation: The Future of Mobile Testing

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing mobile app testing by automating complex testing tasks, generating test cases, and predicting defects. AI-driven testing can significantly reduce time and effort, allowing testers to focus on more critical aspects of app development.

The Challenge

  • Resistance to Change: Many teams are still reliant on traditional testing methods, hesitant to adopt AI-powered testing solutions.
  • Implementation Complexity: Integrating AI testing into existing workflows can be challenging without the right expertise or tools.

The Solution

AI-powered test automation, like the solutions offered by Pcloudy, helps automate repetitive tasks such as regression testing, bug detection, and performance analysis. AI-driven bots can create test cases, execute tests, and analyze results, enabling faster releases and higher accuracy.

Pro Tip: Embrace AI-based testing early to stay ahead of the competition. Automating repetitive tests frees up resources for more creative problem-solving.

7. Security and Compliance Testing: Safeguarding Data and Trust

In an era where data privacy and security are of paramount importance, ensuring that your app is secure and compliant with regulations is vital. The increasing number of cyberattacks and data breaches highlights the need for robust security testing.

The Challenge

  • Security Vulnerabilities: Apps are often vulnerable to attacks such as data leaks, insecure storage, and unauthorized access.
  • Compliance Regulations: Apps must comply with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS, depending on the region and industry.

The Solution

Incorporate security and compliance testing into your QA process. Test for data encryption, authentication, and security vulnerabilities. Pcloudy offers features like biometric authentication testing and encrypted device communication to ensure that your app meets the highest security standards.

Pro Tip: Regularly update your app’s security protocols to keep up with emerging threats and regulations.

8. Usability Testing: Ensuring a Seamless User Experience

Usability testing focuses on how user-friendly your app is, evaluating its ease of navigation, intuitive design, and overall user experience.

The Challenge

  • User Expectations: As mobile users grow more tech-savvy, they expect apps to be easy to use and navigate.
  • Cross-Platform Usability: Usability can differ across iOS and Android devices due to interface design differences.

The Solution

Conduct usability testing on real devices to gather feedback from real users. Cloud-based platforms like Pcloudy allow for real-device usability testing, providing insights into the app’s user experience across different devices and operating systems.

9. Battery Usage: Avoiding Power-Hungry Apps

Battery consumption is a critical factor that can impact app usage and customer retention. An app that drains battery quickly is likely to be uninstalled by users.

The Challenge

  • Performance Optimization: Apps that use GPS, background processes, or frequent notifications can quickly drain battery power.
  • Device-Specific Impact: Battery usage can vary across devices, especially those with older hardware.

The Solution

Test for battery efficiency on various devices using real-device cloud testing environments like Pcloudy. Analyze how your app consumes battery power and optimize where needed to ensure it runs smoothly without excessive battery drain.

10. Memory Leaks: Preserving Device Performance

Memory leaks occur when an app uses excessive memory, causing performance issues like slowdowns or crashes. This can lead to a poor user experience, especially on devices with limited resources.

The Challenge

  • Resource Management: Apps need to manage memory effectively to avoid crashing or slowing down the device.
  • Device-Specific Issues: Memory management can vary depending on the device’s hardware.

The Solution

Implement memory profiling tools during your app’s development and testing phases. Regularly test your app on different devices using Pcloudy to identify and fix memory leaks.

11. Geolocation Testing: Apps that Depend on Location

For apps that rely on geolocation features, such as navigation or ride-hailing apps, ensuring that location services work across different regions is crucial.

The Challenge

  • Location Variability: GPS performance can vary based on the user’s location and the accuracy of their device’s GPS hardware.
  • Testing Across Regions: Simulating different geolocation scenarios can be difficult without access to real devices in those regions.

The Solution

Use cloud platforms like Pcloudy to simulate geolocation testing on real devices in different geographic regions. This ensures your app’s location services work accurately across the globe.

12. App Localization: Adapting for Global Markets

Apps often need to be localized to different languages, currencies, and cultural contexts. Ensuring proper localization is essential for expanding into global markets.

The Challenge

  • Text Expansion: Some languages, like German or Russian, take up more space than English, which can break layouts or text boxes.
  • Cultural Sensitivity: Localization isn’t just about language—it’s also about ensuring that the app’s design and functionality make sense in the target culture.

The Solution

Conduct thorough localization testing, focusing on the user interface, translations, and regional features. Pcloudy allows testing in real-world scenarios for apps localized into multiple languages and regions.

13. Accessibility Testing: Meeting User Needs

Accessibility testing ensures that your app is usable by people with disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairments. Ensuring your app meets accessibility standards is vital for inclusivity and can be a regulatory requirement in many regions.

The Challenge

  • Regulatory Compliance: Many countries have strict accessibility regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S. or the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in Canada.
  • Wide Range of Disabilities: Apps must be tested for a range of disabilities, including vision impairments, hearing impairments, and physical disabilities.

The Solution

Use accessibility testing tools to check your app’s compatibility with screen readers, voice commands, and other assistive technologies. Test your app on different devices using Pcloudy to ensure it meets accessibility guidelines.

14. Interruption Testing: Handling Disruptions Gracefully

Interruption testing evaluates how well an app handles interruptions like phone calls, text messages, or low battery alerts. These interruptions are common during real-world app usage.

The Challenge

  • App Stability: Apps must be able to handle interruptions without crashing or losing user progress.
  • Consistent Experience: Interruption handling should be seamless across different devices and operating systems.

The Solution

Perform interruption testing on real devices to evaluate how your app reacts to common disruptions. Cloud platforms like Pcloudy allow testers to replicate interruptions during active app sessions, ensuring smooth recovery and minimal disruption.

15. App Store Compliance: Ensuring Successful Submissions

Each app store (Google Play, Apple App Store) has specific guidelines for app submission. Failing to comply with these guidelines can result in rejection, delaying your app’s release.

The Challenge

  • Guideline Variations: App store guidelines differ between platforms, and ensuring compliance with both can be time-consuming.
  • Performance Criteria: Stores often have performance benchmarks that apps must meet to be approved.

The Solution

Before submitting your app, ensure it meets all necessary guidelines. Test your app’s experience, security, and overall quality on multiple devices and operating systems using Pcloudy to minimize the risk of rejection.

Conclusion: A Holistic Testing Strategy

Mobile app testing involves overcoming a wide range of challenges, from ensuring compatibility across numerous devices to handling network variability, memory leaks, and accessibility. A successful testing strategy combines real-device testing, cloud-based automation, AI-driven test automation, and comprehensive security testing to deliver a high-quality app experience.

Pcloudy provides a robust cloud-based platform for mobile app testing, offering access to real devices, network simulation, and AI-powered automation. By adopting a well-rounded approach to testing, you can ensure

Suyash Dubey | Posted on | 2 min Read

How to Measure the Success of End to End Testing

End to end testing is done to make sure that the application behaves as expected and the flow of actions from starting to end is complete without any issue. To explain with an example, suppose you are the end user and you are using the app to book a flight. So first you will launch the app and click on the flight’s icon on the home page. Then you will enter the destination, date and other required details. Now you will choose your preferred flight, book the seat, enter the passenger details and make the payment. Once this is done, you will get the ticket and a follow-up email on your registered email ID.
 
Now in this scenario, if the screen takes a lot of time to load the next page or if the book button does not work then this will be an unpleasant experience for the user. So we can figure out if there are any issues from starting to the end of the process. It’s not just about the UI functioning but also the data encryption and security, information flow between other internally used platforms integrated to the app, proper functioning of the firewall and more. This is where end to end testing comes into the picture to make sure that everything works well under any circumstances.
 

How to Perform End to End Testing

While performing end to end testing the first thing to do is to analyze the requirements and set up the test environment. Then you need to evaluate the main system with the connected subsystems and define the responsibilities of all systems involved. Make a list of the testing methods and the description of the standards to be followed. Once that is done you can create the test cases and track the requirement matrix. Finally, you need to save the output and input data before testing each system.
 

Measuring the success of the end to end testing

To perform end to end testing efficiently and save time and effort, a matrix should be created. Some parameters should be defined to gauge the success of the testing performed. These measurements will help you define the testing matrix:
 
Test case status: A proper visualization of the test cases prepared can be observed through graphs and compared with the number of tests that were initially planned.
Tracking Test progress: This measurement will help you to get the details of the tests completed on a weekly basis. It will be easy to keep a track of the test that failed and those that passed.
Defect details: Tracking of the bugs occurred and the issues surfaced should be done one a weekly basis and keeping a track of the defects that were opened and closed on the basis of priority.
Environment availability: Here we need to take a note of the amount of time allotted for running a test in an environment and the time actually spent on performing end to end testing.
 

Best Practices to Perform End to End Testing

End to end testing can be very time consuming and we can save some time and effort by following some steps. It is always better to plan in advance before initiating the testing process.
 
Prioritize: Chances of defect increases as the test cases become complex with more components and it becomes difficult to debug them. Therefore it is better to perform unit testing and integration testing to resolve issues that are easier to detect. After initiating the End to end testing you can also start doing smoke and sanity testing to keep an eye on the high-risk scenarios.
Manage the Environment: The requirements need to be documented and the system administrator needs to be informed about it to meet the requirements before starting the testing. The system setup should be proficient enough to run the test cases and keep your staging environment close to the production.
Optimize: After test completion, you need to clear the test data so that the environment is restored and can be used for testing again. This will make the environment ready to start at any moment.
Risk Analysis: Focus on the features that are crucial and on failure can cause a high risk. Prepare a risk assessment matrix which will come in handy in these situations.
Limit Exception testing: Use low-level unit testing and integration testing for exception scenarios and use end to end testing to deal with typical user scenarios.
 

Conclusion

With the rapid enhancements in the app technology and the increasing use of technologies like IOT, the development teams have to make sure that the app has a smooth functionality. The end users can be very choosy in this competitive market and so it’s necessary to perform end to end testing of applications to provide a good user experience.

 
Related Articles:

  • Start to End Guide for Mobile App Testing
  • 5 Best Practices App Testing Companies Must Follow for Success
  • Top 5 Tips for Successful Mobile Application Testing
  • Mobile Devops+Agile – Challenges and Keys to Success
  • Functional Testing Vs Non-Functional Testing

    • Avinash Tiwari | Posted on | 2 min Read

    13 Advantages of Automation Testing

    Automation Testing Advantages

    With an incessant advancement in technology and mobile eco-space, it is becoming extremely challenging for companies to maintain the quality and efficiency of mobile app development. Testing being one of the major business critical activities is often neglected because of the time and cost limitations. This ultimately leads to a compromised product quality, dissatisfied customer, delayed delivery and an increase in the overall quality costs. The major reasons for an increase in costs can be an ineffective test strategy, underestimated effort of generating a test case, delay in testing or keeping pace with the device fragmentation. Test automation helps to better the development process of a mobile app in multiple ways. Test automation is generally associated with increased effort and the results pay off quickly in return.

     

    Benefits of Automation Testing

     

    1. Faster feedback: Automation of testing actually comes as a relief for development and testing engineers during different phases of an app development life-cycle. It helps to better the communication among coders, designers, product owners and rectifies the potential glitches with no delay. It also increases the efficiency of the development team.

     

    2. Saves time: Writing codes in manual testing is a tedious process especially when the testers have to write long scripts while doing regression testing. The requirement of fast bug free delivery of apps is not fulfilled and companies have to suffer business losses.

     

    3. Early Bug Detection: Unlike manual testing, bugs can be detected early during the development phase in an automated testing which saves a lot of time during Mobile app development life-cycle for both developers and testers.

    Want to test your Mobile App?

    Join pCloudy Platform!

    Signup for Free

     

     

    4. Re-usability of Scripts: Testing automation makes the lives of the testers easy. The scripts can be reused with no or minimal changes in the script. These scripts can be used multiple times no matter if there are changes in the OS version of the device. The scripts and steps are stored and it helps to repeat the test without skipping or forgetting any step.

     

    5. Running tests anytime, anywhere: Automated testing help test engineers to run their tests 24/7. If the test engineer has to leave early for the day, he can easily schedule the tests and leave the office. The test results will be ready by the time he logs in again next morning.

     

    6. Distributed Test Execution: Automation testing cuts down complexities with its distributed test execution feature. It helps the testers to run a test script on more than one computer or shared network or servers simultaneously. So, only an automation testing tool is the requirement rather than multiple tools.

     

    7. Robust and simpler reporting: Automation testing gives us the benefit of tracking each test script. All the test scripts executed will be visible in visual logs. The reports generated can evidently show the number of test scripts already executed, scheduled, their reported bugs or issues and the ways in which they have been fixed.

     

    8. Testing Capabilities: Automated testing offers an unmatched and huge testing capability. The mobile app needs to be tested on multiple devices, OS versions, screen sizes etc. which can be efficiently done through automated testing and not by manual testing. In fact, it is almost impossible to get perfect results through manual testing.

     

    9. Better Test Coverage: Test automation can easily execute thousands of different complex test cases during every test run providing coverage that is impossible with manual tests. It can only be possible through automated testing as it can run test scripts on multiple computers with varied configurations. It can look inside an application and see memory contents, data tables, file contents, and internal program states to determine if the app is functioning as expected.

     

    10. Less Manual Effort: If an enterprise has implemented automation tools for testing, then it can accelerate the process and reduce the manual effort multi-fold. Less number of people will be required for a project and they can be utilized for different projects.

     

    11. Improves Accuracy: We have been saying this time and again that automation testing overcomes the shortcomings of manual testing. It has improved the accuracy to a great deal by giving error-free results unlike manual testing where testing is error-prone, delays the delivery and increases the cost. It is especially a boon in stress testing where getting error free results in manual testing is almost impossible.

     

    12. Return on Investment: One of the most important advantages of automation testing is the return on investment to the organization. Every enterprise analyses the return it would get out of its investment and then would go for creating a test automation framework. Automated testing offers immense returns in terms of faster testing, error-free results, less manual effort. If the enterprise has automated testing tool, then the testing would be more efficient and accurate and easy.

     

    13. Volume: You can run your tests on more than 500 devices in automation testing which is impossible in manual testing.

     

    One of the most important business advantages of automation testing is the return on investment to the organization. There are many advantages of automation testing tools as they are a crucial component in the DevOps toolchain. The importance of automation testing comes into picture when you have to run the test cases with different data and conditions several times.

     

    Conclusion

     

    Automation testing not only helps in saving time and improving accuracy, it does value addition to all the stakeholders involved in the app development lifecycle. Although testing automation offers such huge benefits, but many organizations have not adopted it in its entirety because of its initial cost associated with its configuration. With Agile testing and DevOps methodologies being widely followed in the IT industry, it is advisable to automate your testing processes completely with renowned automated testing tools to get the best results.

    Want to test your Mobile App?

    Join pCloudy Platform!

    Signup for Free

     

    For more information check out this video:

    Anshuman Chatterjee | Posted on | 2 min Read

    Explore Full Power of pCloudy Platform – Improve Quality, Speed and Efficiency

    Explore Full Power of pCloudy

    pCloudy understands that businesses need their apps to be rolled out faster than before, without bugs, crashes, functionality issues, UI glitches, memory drainage and well, everything wrong with every app you uninstalled on your phone within minutes of using them.

     

    We simplify testing. More importantly, this platform will equip, enable and guide you to provide single-click access solutions to the battling issues that can easily drive a developer nuts. This platform allows you to test real Android and IOS devices directly from your browser using real Mobile Devices to click-and-perform Manual and Automated Testing for maximum coverage.

     

    Here are the most frequently used App Testing Use Cases you might be interested in.

    Manual App Testing

    Automated Testing

    Responsive Testing of Mobile Web

    Next Gen Mobile App Testing

    Continuous Integration

    Integrate your own Tools

    Avinash Tiwari | Posted on | 2 min Read

    pCloudy Plugin for Android Studio

    Plugin for Android Studio

     

    An Overview

    pCloudy has released a plugin for Android Studio which provides you access to the platform for performing manual and automation testing of mobile apps from within Android Studio IDE.

    For Manual Testing

    Now you can build and upload your Android Apps to pCloudy devices directly from your Android Studio project workspace.

    For Automation Testing

    If you are using Appium as automation tool and have created your Automation scripts as a project in Android Studio, you can run the scripts directly on pCloudy devices.

    Prerequisites

    1. An account in pCloudy with enough credits.
    2. An API Access key for authentication with pCloudy.com
    3. Chrome Browser on local machine
    4. Android Studio IDE
    5. Android Studio pCloudy plugin

    Preparation

    Reference the JAR files to Eclipse
    Make a note the API Username and API Access Key

    How to Install the Plugin

    1. Download the Android Studio plugin for pCloudy
    2. Open your Android Studio > go to Setting icon of Android Studio > Select Plugins > All available plugins are shown which can be filtered with the help of Show feature as per requirement.
    3. Click on Install plugin from disk > Browse and select location of your downloaded Android Studio plugin of pCloudy
    4. Click on OK
    5. Now, you can see that pCloudy plugin has been successfully integrated to Android Studio.

    Select pcloudy plugin and click on OK to proceed. Here, we are going to install pCloudy plugin for Android Studio from local disk. Click on Install plugin from disk
    install-plugin-from-disk

    pCloudy plugin for Android Studio has been integrated successfully.

    pcloudy-plugin-over-android-studio

    Click on pCloudy plugin icon shown on Android Studio. pCloudy Login page opens. Enter your Username and Access Key and click on Login. Your login credentials are verified. Click on OK to proceed.
    pcloudy-plugin-over-android-studio

    Note: This is one-time task. Credentials will be valid until you logout.
    Now, you are ready to use the Android Studio Plugin for pCloudy.
    Manual Functional Testing of App

    After successful login, upload your app screen appears. Workspace page helps you to select application path of your local machine.
    successfully-authenticated

    Cloud Drive page lets you to select app from the list and click on Next to proceed.
    upload-your-app

    Local Drive lets you to upload your app from your local machine to perform testing.
    upload-a-project-file

    Mobile Browser enables you to use mobile browser for testing.
    use-mobile-browser-for-testing

    After selecting app, the next step is choosing a device. Select and Connect to devices page provides you list of devices which can be filtered by using filter parameters (Android/iOS, Manufacturer, and OS version). Select duration of your testing. The device will get booked for selected time duration.

    When you click on Next, you get a message “Please wait while we open the pCloudy Platform on your default browser for Manual Testing. Please advised that…”
    select-and-connect-to-devices

    Just after few seconds, you will be redirected to the connected device page over pCloudy to perform manual functional testing of your app on selected device.
    briefing

    Automation Testing of App

    Similarly, the first step towards performing automation testing is selecting an app from workspace/cloud drive/local drive or use mobile browser.
    my-application

    Select your desired device; select duration of automation testing. You can filter devices displaying devices by using filter options (Android/iOS, Manufacturer, and OS version). Click onNext to proceed.
    choose-devices

    Note: Here, you can select multiple devices as well.

    Finally, you get corresponding pseudo code for performing Automation testing of app. You can copy this pseudo code to clipboard and use it within your Automation script…
    paste-the-code-and-proceed

    You will need the pCloudy java connector jar file for the above code to work. The pCloudy-java-conector.jar contains the API wrappers, classes & methods to use the pCloudy RestfulAPIs (without knowing how to call rest webservices from java). The gson.jar is a well known, opensource google library. You should add the pCloudy-java-connector.jar in its build path as a reference within your java project containing appium scripts.

    Avinash Tiwari | Posted on | 2 min Read

    Test Your Apps on Real Devices Using Cool Plugins

    Test Apps on Real 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 Devices as well. It is also important to test your mobile apps on different devices based 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 Drive or from local
    • select multiple real devices from a cloud (Public, Private, On-premise) to test your app
    • run test scripts in parallel on multiple devices
    • perform Automation or Manual Testing

    How does it work?

    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

    Download and install the plugin:

    Avinash Tiwari | Posted on | 2 min Read

    What is pCloudy Trying to Solve?

    How many devices you have tested your applications on? How are you making sure your application is indeed working on all the devices available in the market?

    Yes one must test the application on Real devices, rather quite a lot of devices available in the market and must not rely only on emulators or one or two devices available with the developers. If so, you know that it’s difficult, primarily because of fragmentation in Android space. There are 9+ os versions, 8+ display resolutions, 5+ aspect ratios , 10+ physical device sizes & OEM customizations. All these factors are getting wider and wider day by day. So testing your application on all the devices is impractical because it consumes whole lot of time and buying so many devices is too expensive.

    optimus-Net-169

    Now what? First you should bring out an optimal set of devices which is derived by considering all the above factors in fragmentation. It turns out that its still too expensive to buy these devices. To avoid investing in buying a moving target of devices, you should try to lease the devices. You can save your efforts of buying & managing the moving target and of-course lot of money.

    This is exactly pcloudy is trying to solve, Real Android Devices on cloud for you to lease the devices only for the duration you need to finish your task. You will get access to Real Android Devices through any modern browser to finish your manual testing anddebugging. This tool is being used by lot of testing and development communities across the world today.

    Below are few feature from this wonderful tool.
    Lets make better apps, better experience together….