Companies with a strong presence in the mobile app development space should be prepared for significant changes. With the impending release of iOS 16 and Android 13, businesses and app developers will have to focus more on mobile applications and their quality. These OS releases are the biggest to date, and they could have a significant impact on the market.
In addition, there are a lot of new features that might cause issues for mobile app developers. They could be used to improve the usability and performance of your app over time or create unexpected bugs to solve in your test suites.
Mobile app testing, especially when mobile operating systems are set to release new versions, can be a daunting task. However, it can be smooth if your testing strategy is in place and users are appropriately selected for the test sets, risk-based testing, and feedback types. Testers should be ready with a testing plan to give an idea of what the new release will bring to consumers. But how do you plan for these changes?
In this article, we’ll explain what you need to consider before planning your next test, indicate how you can ensure that your testing is ready for the upcoming iOS 16 and Android 13 update releases, and show what steps you need to take after these updates become available.
iOS 16: Overview
In September 2022, compatible iPhones should receive the iOS 16 upgrade from Apple. Getting the iOS 16 Developer Beta 1 upgrade right away is possible. You must, however, be an Apple developer, so keep that in mind. There may be multiple beta upgrades before the final version is released. Consecutive beta versions by Apple could also bring further functionality.
In contrast to iOS 15, Apple made over 100 changes in this version. Many new features, updated designs, better apps, and little modifications have been made to improve the user experience.
Notifications and Lock Screen
The notifications now roll in from the bottom of the screen, which makes more sense as to how they should be presented. This is a change from how they previously appeared. Apple also introduced Live Activities, a new method of monitoring sporting events, Uber trips, exercises, and other activities from the Lock Screen.
The Lock Screen may now be heavily modified (by altering the colors and fonts, for instance) and enhanced with widgets for monitoring the weather, your Activity rings, or any other information you require quick access to. Additionally, you can build numerous Lock Screens with their background and widgets and switch between them effortlessly, similar to the faces on the Apple Watch.
These modifications don’t have many ios testing-related ramifications. However, it would be good to check these alerts across various layouts and devices running the new and older OS versions if your app does deliver push notifications to the user. Check the appearance to see if there are any presentation problems.
Accessibility
There are numerous accessibility improvements included in iOS 16. The first feature is Apple Watch mirroring, which enables complete control of your Apple Watch from your iPhone. Its Switch Control, Voice Control, and other functionalities are usable.
The updated Magnifier feature recognizes doors, persons, and image descriptions and offers comprehensive details. It can be used, for instance, to read the labels and signs on a door and figure out how to open it. Controls for the camera and brightness, contrast, filters, and other things can be kept.
A phone call or FaceTime video call can be ended using Siri or Voice Control. Ask Siri to turn on or off auto-answering for voice calls and FaceTime calls. Siri can use your AirPods to announce iPhone notifications.
More than 20 languages, including Bengali (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese, are now supported through VoiceOver and Spoken Content. Users of VoiceOver will receive audible and haptic feedback from Apple Maps that indicates the beginning of walking directions.
In terms of ios testing, automating as many of these situations as possible across all iOS devices and screen sizes is essential for speed and ongoing compliance with the WCAG and other regional standards. Teams must create their apps with accessibility fully enabled throughout the whole user journey because compliance with accessibility standards is quickly becoming a fundamental requirement for all digital apps, both online and mobile.
Messages
Apple revealed three significant updates to Messages. After a message has been sent, it can be edited or resend, and any topic can be marked as unread. Less significantly, there are many additional aesthetic components for personalizing your Memoji, such as various stances, haircuts, headgear, and nose forms.
Safety Feature
This crucial privacy feature lets you track who has access to your permissions and easily revoke them. It can reset the privacy settings for system apps and limit Messages and FaceTime to the device you’re using right now. It was created to help people dealing with domestic violence or other similar problems.
Apple Pay and Wallet
With iOS 16, you may use the Apple Pay Later feature to divide the price of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments over six weeks, all without incurring interest or late payment penalties.
All online purchases will have the Apple Pay Later option available anywhere Apple Pay is supported. These payments can be viewed, tracked, and returned directly from the Wallet app. Additionally, the wallet offers order tracking data for items bought using Apple Pay.
You can use your ID uploaded to your wallet to access apps that check your identity and age. Once you have reviewed and approved the permissions using Face ID or Touch ID, it will only communicate the necessary information with the app.
Additionally, you may safely share your hotel, home, business, or automobile keys via Messages, Mail, instant messaging applications, and more.
Compatibility
To run iOS 16, you must have an iPhone 8 or later.
Although that is the headline, older devices could not receive the full benefits of iOS 16. Apple cautions that certain features, such as the new Live Captions accessibility function, are only available on iPhones 11 and later. In contrast, others, including Door Detection and People Detection, require an iPhone 12 Pro or later to have a LiDAR scanner.
It’s a significant improvement over the previous year. According to Apple, iOS 15 would function on ancient devices like the iPhone 6s (2015) and original SE (2016). They are no longer listed as supported, and the iPhone 7 is also no longer available.
The iOS 15 OS version should be tested on the devices mentioned above by engineers and developers who observe fair usage (many of which are still extremely popular globally). In these situations, testing with iOS 15 will guarantee that the new app updates function and run effectively on these devices. Naturally, this will inevitably have an impact on your testing plan.
Android 13: Overview
In August 2022, Google is anticipated to release Android 13 in its final, stable form.
When Android 13 “Tiramisu” launches later this year, Google’s Pixel smartphones are among the first to get it. Since each OEM must select how much time to devote to creating their UX skins, it is impossible to predict when non-Pixel devices will get the Android 13 upgrade.
Google has put more of an emphasis on privacy and security measures. In general, Google is adding all the new features to enhance the overall user experience and performance of the Android device. Some of the changes are visible, but most are happening behind the scenes and are not immediately visible to users.
Language Customisation On App-By-App Basis
Although Android has always allowed you to select your favorite language from many languages, the desired language is used throughout the entire device. Changing languages at the system level would be necessary if you want to do so. Although developers are permitted to use their in-app language options, most don’t. Users that speak more than one language may wish to select a different language for each program.
NFC Payments For Secondary User Profiles
On Android 13-powered smartphones, Google may look at last let secondary profiles conduct contactless payments using NFC. Android, in contrast to iOS, supports numerous user accounts per device. However, you can still not set up and use NFC payments through secondary user accounts. This may be due to security reasons. Android 13 may change all of that.
Photo Picker
The new Photo Picker incorporates a function that is already present in iOS 15. Instead of sharing your entire gallery, you can decide which individual photographs to communicate with an app. Limiting what apps can view to the specific information you want to share gives an additional layer of privacy.
Accessibility
Android will now include support from Google for braille displays. If you’re not familiar with them, braille displays enable people with visual impairments to use computers and read text that would typically appear on screens. They work with smartphones, computers, and other devices and can connect via Bluetooth or USB.
With Android 13, Google removes the need for vision-impaired users to interact with them through the BrailleBack app. Android 13 Beta 3 will launch the feature.
New Testing Strategy
App developers and testers should assess their present ios testing and android test automation lab setup and their whole testing suites in light of the critical improvements for iOS 16 and Android 13 to prepare for what is coming in the next few months.
The critical considerations for app developers and testers to keep in mind ahead of the iOS 16 and Android 13 releases include:
Update Mobile Device Testing Lab
Ios16 and Android 13 are coming soon. These two significant updates will mean that you may need to update your devices and labs sooner than later to ensure that your app has the newest versions of these operating systems. You will need to prepare your mobile device testing lab accordingly.
Upgrade Existing Test Scenarios
The iOS 16 and Android 13 updates will change some of the existing capabilities that app developers and testers use in their tests.
- Refactoring the test code may be necessary due to modifications to the test automation framework.
- Perform sandbox assertions to test your complete iOS and Android application against the beta versions of iOS 16 and Android 13.
- Investigate platform-specific bugs and problems.
New Test Scenarios
You need to create new test cases and integrate them into your test runs for any new required platform capabilities, such as landscape Face ID support in iOS 16 and other new features. It is best to allocate time to design and create new test cases for newly supported features, such as accessibility adjustments inside the app or other improvements that can use the new iOS/Android platform features.
Events in the market are significant because other changes are taking place. Teams must budget time for the upcoming sprints to prepare for the new mobile OS releases and consider these disruptions. Both developers and testers must make sure that their apps are functional, performant, secure, and accessible in time for the upcoming GA releases. It won’t happen if their timetable doesn’t include set times.
Bottom Line
If your app has a flexible Mobile app testing strategy and is updated on the released date, you can deliver the right experience to your end-users. As you plan for each release, endeavor to understand how new features will affect your existing test scripts and design a plan to cover all scenarios. Before the release of your app, consider placing one final review on each device you have been testing. It is crucial for quality control of the build and to ensure the best user experience.
Remember that your application will soon compete with a completely new platform, whether the just-released iOS 16 or the most recent Android 13 version. It’s critical to start preparing for that possibility as soon as possible to ensure that you and your team are ready for the arrival of the following significant mobile OS update.