The Advantages of a Cloud Based Environment
A global overview by WeAreSocial.com (2017) revealed that more than half of the world’s web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Additionally, Gartner states that by 2018, more than 50 percent of users will go to a tablet or smartphone first for all online activities. So, it is not surprising that today’s software development is based on a mobile-first, even if it is not mobile-only, imperative. But for all these dramatic changes, developers still struggle when it comes to mobile testing. The best way to reduce the complexity of infrastructure, device maintenance and continuous testing is to use a cloud based mobile device lab.
A mobile device lab offers many advantages, such as:
Reproducible Tests - real devices are the highest-fidelity kind of test device. Your users are using real devices, and hopefully the same ones that you have available for use in testing (whether manual or automated). Nothing beats reproducing user-reported bugs on the exact devices which the users experienced problems. With a cloud-based real device lab, cost is minimized and the difficulty of procurement erased.
Speed - A device lab has dedicated hardware which has been tuned by the manufacturer precisely for the purpose of running apps as fast as possible. It is usually the case that both app performance and automation software performance are improved when running on real devices.
Performance - Because real devices have their own CPUs, GPUs, and other hardware components, real devices are to be preferred when doing any kind of performance testing. Virtual devices can give at best a relative view of app performance, because they are running virtualized system instructions, or on a host OS. Even then, relative reports need to be scrutinized closely, because system events external to the virtual device can affect its operation. Performance data captured from real devices is relevant even in small quantities, because it reflects the experience of your users.
Device Fragmentation - leveraging a real device lab is the best way to address device fragmentation among a company’s user base. Especially on Android, the number of distinct mobile devices used by your customers can easily be in the dozens. Using a device lab with multiple devices and OS versions will help ensure proper coverage for the company’s target customers.
The most efficient and effective way to reduce the complexity of mobile testing is to use a cloud based mobile device lab. This is a proven way to reduce cost and increase coverage across the mobile landscape.
To get started on mobile testing in a cloud environment with Sauce Labs, sign up for a free trial today.
