{"id":1097,"date":"2020-02-28T18:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T12:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gallop.net\/blog\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2022-07-27T19:31:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T14:01:04","slug":"mobile-testing-with-simulators-emulators-physical-devices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coforge.site\/cigniti\/blog\/mobile-testing-with-simulators-emulators-physical-devices\/","title":{"rendered":"Which are the best mobile testing tools – Simulators, Emulators, or Real devices?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mobile testing today has become a nightmare due to the huge number of devices and configurations that mobile apps and websites need to be cross-checked against.\u00a0<\/span>If an organization wants to retain and grow its database of users<\/span>, it must invest in\u00a0<\/span>these\u00a0<\/span>tests\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span>\u00a0confirm<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0the smooth running of\u00a0<\/span>its\u00a0<\/span>apps<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>If the apps fail to perform seamlessly<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>users\u00a0<\/span>very easily move on to other apps by competitors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, today we have a host of debugging tools for testing the apps thoroughly, end-to-end. These tools may be categorized into three broad categories: emulators, simulators,\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0real devices. Well, there are a lot of people who may say that emulators and simulators must be clubbed as a single group \u2013 sure, if mimicking the outer behaviour of an object may be considered the same as mimicking the internal behaviour of an object. Real device testing does what the name implies \u2013 tests the apps as they run on your smartphones.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a deeper look at\u00a0<\/span>each of these<\/span>\u00a0categories.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While testing on a real device requires the use of\u00a0<\/span>an<\/span>\u00a0actual phone, emulators and simulators are based on the concept of virtual testing. Virtual testing involves testing\u00a0<\/span>the app on a<\/span>\u00a0software that provides the same functionality as provided by the real phone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For testing mobile apps, an emulator may be a desktop application that mimics the hardware and OS of the applications to be tested. A simulator does not mimic the hardware\/OS, but rather the basic behavior of a device. While simulators are usually simpler, they are not as useful as emulators. Real device testing checks the functionality of mobile applications to ensure that the app will work as desired.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emulators provide better results (vis<\/span>–<\/span>a<\/span>–<\/span>vis simulators) as they can be used to test specific situations and also mimic multiple devices. While a lot of device manufacturers create simulators,\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>mulators are often used more as they are relatively cheaper \u2013 specifically if compared to real devices.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emulators & Simulators vs. Mobile\u00a0<\/span><\/b>devices<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let us try to compare what provides better benefits in the following scenarios:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n