Nowadays, many users abandon mobile apps after one use. While developing a mobile app, developers must focus on its user experience across various devices and platforms to keep users engaged and prevent mobile app abandonment. Also, the developers must evaluate the user experience delivered by the mobile app throughout the development process. As a form of external user acceptance testing, mobile app beta testing tools help developers assess the user experience delivered by a mobile app before its commercial launch.
While performing beta testing, the mobile app testing professionals make the mobile app available to limited users or selected user groups. The beta testers identify the bugs or defects in a mobile app by using it under real-time conditions. Also, the feedback shared by beta testers helps developers to boost the app’s functionality, performance, usability, and user experience. The QA professionals can further user specialized tool to distribute the beta builds and set up beta testing efficiently. They also need to follow the Do’s and Dont’s of mobile app testing.
Overview of 7 Widely Used Mobile App Beta Testing Tools
1) TestFlight
Apple has developed TestFlight to accelerate beta testing of iOS apps. The testers can use the tool to invite real users to evaluate the app using their email addresses and collect their feedback on various aspects of the app. TestFlight further allows users to get an iOS app tested by both internal and external testers. The users can make the iOS app available to a team of 25 internal testers. Each internal tester can further evaluate the app on 30 devices. At the same time, the user also has option to invite up to 2000 external testers to evaluate the beta version of an iOS app. He can even use TestFlight to get up to 100 iOS apps tested simultaneously by internal and external testers.
2) HockeyApp
Microsoft has developed HockeyApp with features to simplify beta distribution of app for Android, iOS, and Windows. The testers can use HockeyApp to make distribute their mobile apps to various distribution groups. But they can control the accessibility of the app fully. The tool further generates crash reports and helps users to collect feedback and suggestion of beta testers. They testers can even use user metrics to check how the app is being accessed and used by individual users. The latest version of HockeyApp aims to deliver enhanced mobile DevOps experience to enterprise users.
3) Applivery
Applivery helps users to customize mobile app development lifecycle by integrating continuous deployment, beta testing, and feedback collection. The API provided by Applivery enables testers to distribute beta builds by creating distribution sites. The users even have option to create a multiple distribution sites based on varying requirements. Applivery further provides feature to accelerate bug reporting and user feedback collection. The testers can use automatic updates to make beta testers use and evaluate the right build and update the app. At the same time, they can use real-time analytics to track app downloads and gather user-level information.
4) TestFairy
TestFairy comes with features to accelerate beta testing of Android and iOS apps. It is further designed with features to simplify and effectuate crowd testing. TestFairy helps testers to monitor actions and behaviour of individual users by recording videos. The testers can assess various aspects of a mobile app – memory, CPU and network – simply by seeing videos. Also, the beta testers can send their feedback and suggestions seamlessly to the testers. TestFairy further helps testers to evaluate a mobile app by generating crash reports and logs. At present, TestFairy is being used by a several large enterprises including Samsung, Adobe, Citi, Groupon and HP.
5) Ubertesters
Unlike other mobile app beta testing tools, Ubertesters enables users to test their mobile app without deploying internal testers. An enterprise can use Ubertesters to get its mobile app evaluated by independent testers in a distributed environment. The enterprise can also opt for crowdtesting to get the mobile app tested by experienced testers with real devices and platforms and under real-world conditions. At the same time, an enterprise can also use Ubertesters to simplify, monitor, and manage the entire mobile app beta testing process. At present, Ubertesters supports both iOS and Android platforms. It also comes with features to accelerate build distribution, bug reporting, feedback collection, and team management.
6) Installr
The commercial mobile app testing tool helps users to make an iOS or Android app to beta testers quickly. The testers can use Installr to install an Android or iOS app with any email address and without login credentials. They can even manage the app efficiently through the user interface (UI) provided by Installr. The testing professionals also have option to invite or uninvited beta testers for individual builds. The command line tool provided by Installr makes it easier for testers to upload new builds for beta testing and integrate the builds into their continuous deployment environment.
7) DeployGate
The features provide by DeployGate help testers to share the beta version an iOS or Android app quickly and efficiently. The developers can further assess the user experience of the mobile app continuously by sharing the in-development app with beta testers. DeployGate further enables testers to create an automated environment for the beta builds, and monitor the app installs and logs directly on a screen. Also, the beta testing tool automatically assigns revision numbers, while allowing testers to restore past versions without any delay.
On the whole, a tester has option to choose from several mobile app beta testing tools. Some of these tools support multiple mobile platforms, while others are platform-specific. Likewise, the mobile app beta testing tools also differ from each other in terms of features, performance, and usability. That is why; the tester must evaluate various mobile app beta testing tools based on the predefined mobile app testing strategy.
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