Introduction
Not having a Mac used to be a roadblock for would-be iPhone app developers. Not anymore. Here’s how the same developers are testing their products on iPhone and iPad devices through an online browser, and what makes this approach better than using Xcode or an iOS device.
Step 1: Sign Up and Upload Your App File
Create an account with an online service that provides browser-based mobile testing. Go to the upload page and add the application’s .ipa file you need to examine on iOS devices. If you’re testing a web page rather than an app, you’ll be able to enter a URL. This is the equivalent and substitute for iPhone testing via Xcode because the application testing process on iOS simulator online is performed on a remote server rather than on your local computer.
Step 2: Choose Your Device and iOS Version
On the next screen, choose the iOS device or version you want to test. Make sure to select multiple devices and operating system versions because a layout that looks fine on newer iPhones could appear incorrectly on an iPad or a lower-end iPhone.
Step 3: Write or Record Your Test Steps
Describe the actions that the application should perform: tapping on a login button or typing in a search field, for example. Make a video recording of the touch inputs if the text entry looks to be a tedious or slow task. Either method will produce a test case that can be used to identify malfunctions when the app is updated.
Step 4: Run the Same Test Across Multiple Devices
Select several device-version combinations and execute the test simultaneously rather than sequentially. This will save time rather than wasting it on multiple single-device tests.
Step 5: Simulate Real World Conditions
Slow the connection speed to observe how the application behaves on a weak GPRS connection, revealing annoying delays and broken animations. Edit the location information to see if the application provides correct directions, chooses the nearest restaurant, or displays prices in different currencies. These are just a few examples of the types of edits that can be made to test the application’s response to various inputs.
Step 6: Check Visual Consistency Automatically
Let the program make screenshots of the interface and compare them to reference images. This is a speedier means of spotting moving components and visual differences like button location or color changes.
Step 7: Test the Full User Journey, Not Just One Screen
Many apps allow users to begin an activity on one device and finish it on another. Most notably, people often start using a web page on their phones and complete the process on their laptops. Make sure that the application is working properly by installing it on different devices.
Step 8: Confirm Results on Real Devices Before Launch
The visual part of the tests works well on simulators, but some aspects of the applications can be tested only on a real device. Run the test suite once more as an iOS simulator for testing the application’s basic behaviors, then install the application on an actual iPhone to make sure that the camera, Face ID, and other hardware components are working correctly.
Step 9: Connect Everything to Your Build Pipeline
Rather than waiting until the final hour before launch to run a battery of tests, set up automatic test execution in Jenkins, GitHub, or Azure DevOps. This will ensure that problems are discovered early enough to fix them.
Final Thoughts
Testing applications for iPhone on Mac is no longer the only option, but it is significantly more convenient than performing all of the steps described above. By executing the proposed solution only once, you will be able to ensure that all subsequent builds of the application are operating normally.
