Android VS iOS app testing

Now people live in the digital century – the age of mobile devices, electronic gadgets, IoT products, wireless connections, electronic entertainment services, and so on. People use mobile devices for various purposes: obtaining information, paying bills, communicating with friends, solving business tasks, playing games, etc.

Each mobile device requires a special software program that will ensure the correct operation of its hardware. Today, the most popular operating systems for mobile devices are Android and iOS.

What are the differences between iOS and Android development?

• Programming language. Current applications are built in Java (for Android-based programs) and Objective-C (for iOS-based programs). Some developers prefer Java because it is easily understood and implementing the same feature will require less Java code compared to Objective-C. But today one more programming language is used. It’s called Swift. This open source language was created by Apple.

• SDI. To encode, the special place is required. It is an integrated development environment, for example Delphi, NetBeans, Visual Basic, etc. Google has Android Studio. Previously, the Eclipse IDE and the Android Development Toolkit were used to create Android-based applications. Apple uses only XCode.

• BONE. When developing iOS-based applications, developers and testers can only use Mac OS. But Android-based programs can be created on Mac, Linux, and Windows. It is an advantage. Besides that, Mac OS is more expensive than Windows.

Since the development procedure and architecture of Android and iOS products differ, mobile testing of applications of both operating systems will also have specific characteristics.

What aspects influence mobile testing?

• Deployment. The number of Android devices is higher than iOS and the update process takes longer compared to iOS. As a result, Android testing requires more time and more resources and effort. Also, sometimes for multiple product lines it is not anticipated to get the latest updates. IOS devices don’t have that problem.

• Screen size and resolution. The diversity of Android devices causes difficulties for testing. There are many Android devices with different screen sizes and layouts. IOS products are generally similar and will take less time to verify.

• Capabilities. Each Android device has its own functionality and performance capabilities and these specific characteristics should be taken into account during Android testing. For proper operation, the software product requires the defined capabilities.

• Usability It is more difficult to run usability tests of the Android application since the interface of various devices is different. Furthermore, it also depends on the version.

In conclusion, the general testing procedure for both iOS and Android mobile apps is the same. But Android testing will require more time and resources due to the large number of devices available.