Cross-device testing ensures a software program, website, or digital goods functions on multiple devices. This includes making sure the software works on phones, tablets, desktops, and laptops and offers the same experience. Software must be tested on all operating systems, browsers, screen sizes, and pixels. Since users can access the program under various hardware and software conditions, the purpose is to detect and fix issues.

Cross-device testing is difficult due to the variety of devices and systems. Keep track of all device and OS pairs, ensure UI and UX consistency, deal with different network conditions, and find the right balance between human and automatic testing.

Some ways to deal with these problems are to use responsive design, test on both real devices and emulators or simulators, use cloud-based testing platforms to get access to a lot of devices, add testing to the CI/CD pipeline, and set priorities for testing based on market data and analytics.

The parts that follow will go into more detail about these problems and look at useful tips and tricks for doing cross-device testing correctly, making sure that apps give users a great experience on all platforms and devices.

Problems With Testing On Multiple Devices

Cross-device testing is difficult due to differences in devices, operating systems, browsers, network conditions, and app usage. There are so many devices with different screen sizes, pixels, and tech powers that making apps run and look the same is difficult.

• Screen Sizes and Resolutions: Apps appear and work differently on different devices. It is difficult to ensure flexible design can adapt to all these conditions.

• Hardware Capabilities: Device hardware like processing speed, memory, picture quality, and sensors can affect app performance and functionality. Testers must consider these variances to ensure a consistent user experience across devices.

• Multiple Operating Systems: Many operating systems (OS) are updated regularly. This makes it hard to make sure that apps work with all of them.

• Browser Variations: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and other web browsers and versions of those platforms can show web apps in different ways. To find and fix interface problems, this needs to be tested thoroughly.

• Multiple Versions of Operating Systems and Browsers: Using different versions of browsers and operating systems makes testing harder. Because of the split, it’s hard to make sure that apps work the same way on all of these versions.

• Internet Speed Variability: To make sure performance stays the same, apps need to be tried on a range of internet speeds, from fast broadband connections to slower mobile networks.

• Connection Stability: To test the application’s performance under multiple network instability scenarios, such as disconnections and network type changes (such as Wi-Fi to cellular data), connection stability should be modeled.

• Different Input Methods: People use fingers, mic, computers, and voices to interact with electronics. Applications must be evaluated to ensure each input method works smoothly and intuitively.

• Scalability and Test Script Maintenance: Automated testing scripts must be updated constantly to work with new devices, OS versions, and application modifications, making maintenance difficult. It is also difficult to expand testing to new devices and systems.

Ways to Make Cross-Device Testing Work Better

Here is a thorough look at the ways to make cross-device testing work well:

1. Tools for Emulation and Simulation

In short, emulation and simulation tools make programs act like different hardware and operating systems. This lets you try your apps quickly and cheaply in a number of different settings.

These tools help find style and functioning problems early on. They can be added to the creation process, which lets changes happen quickly.

Emulators and models might not exactly copy hardware limitations or browser-specific drawing quirks, so they can’t fully replace testing on real devices.

2. Real Testing of Devices

There are online cloud platforms that let you connect to a huge number of real devices and browsers in the cloud. This means that teams can try apps in real-life situations without having to keep up an actual device lab.

Organizations that are worried about security or certain hardware interactions can make sure that key features work smoothly by keeping a few key devices on hand for testing.

3. Techniques for Responsive Design

The mobile-first approach makes sure that the design of an app works well on smaller screens by starting with the mobile form. Then, improvements can be made for bigger screens.

Using CSS media queries and flexible grid layouts makes sure that apps work well on screens of all sizes and orientations.

4. Testing for accessibility and usability

Automated tools can help find some accessibility problems, but checking apps by hand is still the best way to make sure that people with disabilities can use them on all devices.

We can learn a lot about user experience and usability problems by having real people try our products. This is something that automatic tests or developer testing alone might not show.

5. Testing Matrix and Setting Priorities

Finding and ranking the devices and browsers that most of the target audience uses can help testers focus their efforts where they will have the most impact.

New devices and browsers are coming out all the time. Reviewing and changing the testing grid on a regular basis makes sure that testing efforts stay in line with what users want right now.

6. Tests of network conditions and performance

Testers can learn more about how applications work in a variety of network conditions by using tools that mimic different network speeds and connection problems.

Another important part of testing is making sure that performance is optimized across all devices. This means that apps should start quickly and run easily even on older devices or networks that are slow.

7. Using Data and Comments to Help

Figuring out how people use apps on various devices by using analytics can give you data-driven information that can help you decide which tests to run first.

Setting up ways to get feedback from users and reply to it can help the app get better on all devices over time.

The efficiency of cross-device testing can be greatly increased by using a complete method that includes these options. Organizations can better meet the needs of their users and stand out in the digital world by making sure that apps work well and provide a good user experience on all devices.

How to Do Cross-Device Testing Right? 

Best practices for cross-device testing make sure that apps work well on all systems and devices. This all-around method helps find and fix possible problems early on in the development process, which saves time and money in the long run. 

For cross-device testing to work well, here are some of the best things to do:

1. Create a thorough plan for testing

Find out which devices, operating systems, and platforms your target group uses the most. Keep this list up to date with data from analytics and market research.

Make a thorough testing matrix that lists the browsers, devices, and OS versions that will be tried. This helps organize testing efforts and make sure that all important groups of users are covered.

2. Accept both manual and automated testing

When you can, automate. To save time and make sure everything is the same, use automatic testing for repeated and failure tests. For jobs that don’t need human opinion, automated tests are great.

You need to do manual testing to look into user experience aspects like usefulness, accessibility, and visual appeal that automatic tests might not fully catch.

3. Use real and virtual devices

Use real devices as often as possible to get the greatest idea of how the app performs. Use models and simulators to swiftly detect and fix issues, especially early in the project. You should try the device in person for a complete review.

4. Use responsive and “mobile-first” design

Make sure your app’s design is responsive, meaning it changes fast and appears nice on all devices and screen sizes.

Design for the tiny screen first, then make it bigger. This is called “mobile-first.” This method helps you focus on the most important features and get the best results on mobile devices.

5. Check in a number of different network situations

Use tools that replicate network speeds and conditions to test your app on 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, and offline connections.

6. Prioritize accessibility and usability testing

Make sure disabled individuals can use your app. Web apps should follow WCAG. Ask real users how the app works on different devices and how easy it is to use.

7. Continuous testing and integration

Add automatic tests to your CI/CD workflow. This makes sure that every change to the code is tried on all devices, which helps find problems quickly.

Test the app often while it’s being built, not just when it’s finished. This makes it easier to find problems and fix them quickly.

8. Follow changes in technology and how people use it

The world of devices and technology is always changing. To make sure your testing approach stays useful, keep up with new gadgets, running systems, and browser changes.

If teams follow these best practices, they can ensure they have a strong cross-device testing approach that improves their apps on all platforms and devices.

When you’re making software, it’s not easy to make sure that your app works perfectly on a huge range of devices, running systems, and websites. This problem is made even harder by how quickly technology is changing and how user gadgets are always changing. Now we need testing tools that run in the cloud. 

Cross-device testing can be done quickly, easily, and cheaply with these tools, giving you access to many devices and settings without the need for actual device labs. They let teams test more in less time, run tests for different situations, and keep a much smaller collection of devices, which saves a lot of time and effort.

Cross-device testing can be hard, but LambdaTest is the best cloud-based platform for making it easier. It has a huge number of features that are meant to make you more productive and make sure that all of your tests are covered. 

Teams can use LambdaTest to access a real-time browser experience that works on a variety of PC and mobile devices. This helps them find problems and fix them more quickly. The platform allows automatic Selenium testing, which runs code on various browsers and devices at the same time. This speeds up the testing process.

The ability of the platform to connect to well-known CI/CD tools makes testing easier and more important to the development process. This smooth connection makes sure that any changes to the code are tried directly on the chosen devices and browsers. This helps find and fix problems early in the development process. 

Additionally, LambdaTest has tools for visual regression testing that let teams quickly find visual differences in the UI across different devices. This makes sure that the app not only works well but also looks great on all screens.

When user happiness is very important and the wide range of devices used by users is a big problem, LambdaTest becomes a strong friend. It gives the development and quality assurance teams the tools they need to do thorough, fast, and all-encompassing cross-device testing, which leads to a better user experience on all platforms.

Conclusion

Cross-device testing is an important part of software development because it makes sure that apps give users a uniform, high-quality experience on all of their digital devices. As we learn more about how complicated modern technology is, this testing method becomes even more important. This is especially true since user gadgets and standards change so quickly. 

Developers and QA teams have to work extra hard to make sure that apps not only work perfectly on all devices, but also give users a fun and easy time using them. Cross-device testing is becoming an important way to deal with these problems because it lets you find and fix problems that could ruin the user experience. Organizations can protect the quality of their apps, make users happier, and stay ahead in the digital market by using a thorough testing method.