How Tricentis Tosca’s new mobile engine simplifies cross-platform testing and improves test coverage

Research shows that:

• 50% of mobile users won’t consider using apps with a 3-star rating, and 85% of users will skip apps with 2-star ratings.
• Release cadence is correlated with higher app store ratings. Frequent updates = higher ratings.
• The top eight iOS shopping apps are tested against a matrix of 41 unique devices, including various OS versions, manufacturer types, screen sizes, and more, while 24 devices are used for the top 15.

The future of mobile apps lies within the following three areas:

Cloud: 83% of enterprise workloads are in the cloud

• Demand for cloud-driven mobile apps will continue to grow.
• Cisco states that 90% of all mobile data traffic will gravitate to these platforms.
• There will be a rise in powerful mobile apps that retrieve data from the cloud.

Transformation: The mobile industry is transforming

• Apps will continue integrating upcoming technologies such as AI, ML, blockchain, IoT, and 5G.
• Mobile devices are moving out of the pocket and becoming wearable.
• The need for intelligent aggregation of content will promote app innovation.

User experience: Focus on user experience

• Apps are adapting to changing screen sizes, ergonomics, faster loading times, and consumer demands for user-friendliness, and are consuming less power with seamless data transmission.
• Users will continue to use an app only if it proves to be functional, efficient, and there are no performance issues.

Tosca Mobile Engine relaunch

With Tosca version 15.0, Tricentis puts mobile at the heart of our automation strategy, delivering a new robust mobile engine that emphasizes usability, user experience, performance, coverage, simplified mobile cloud connectivity, and more. For a first look and a demo of the key enhancements, join us for the mobile testing webinar.

Key enhancements in Tosca 15.0 include:

• Support for the latest iOS and Android OS versions and mobile devices
• Support for iOS on Windows, which enables testers to connect iOS devices with USB to a Windows machine
• Flutter support to simplify testing for Flutter-based apps
• React Native support to enable testing of RN-based apps
• Performance improvements by reducing overall cycle time
• Simplified mobile cloud connectivity
• Support for mobile testing across real devices, emulators, and simulators

To see a demo of these features, join us for a webinar on Feb. 9.

iOS on Windows

Have you ever thought of automating your test suites of iOS mobile apps on Windows?

The answer would probably be a definite “no,” because Xcode (the Integrated Development Environment [IDE] used to design and develop an iOS app) keeps you from automating and developing mobile apps on Windows. You couldn’t buy a PC running macOS because unlike Windows, Apple doesn’t let anyone license its OS with other manufacturers.

Times have changed and Tricentis managed to overcome the infrastructure requirement of having a macOS workstation to automate the testing of iOS devices. Now Tricentis Tosca contains everything you need to automate your test suites with iOS applications.

The new Tosca Mobile Engine enhances Appium’s driver and enables you to run iOS test automation on Windows, without the need for macOS or Xcode! Simply connect any iOS device to your Windows machine with Tricentis Tosca – as you usually do with Android devices – and start developing and executing automated mobile testing.

Flutter support

Flutter, which enables cross-platform app development, gives developers an easy way to build and deploy visually attractive, natively-compiled applications for mobile (iOS, Android), web, and desktop – all using a single tool. Despite its advanced capabilities and support, Flutter has its own testing libraries, but it usually requires a debug build. Tosca Mobile, on the other hand, provides you with great flexibility for testing Flutter-based iOS and Android apps. The new Tosca Mobile Engine, available in Tosca version 15.0, lets users develop and execute automated mobile testing scenarios against both debug and release builds.

React Native support

React Native is an open-source mobile application framework created by Facebook, Inc. It is used to develop applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, web, Windows, and UWP by enabling developers to use React’s framework along with native platform capabilities. Using the latest Tosca Mobile Engine available in Tosca version 15.0, users can develop and execute automated mobile testing scenarios against both debug and release builds.

Cycle time reduction

The new Tosca Mobile Engine delivers major engine and architecture changes, resulting in a high performing platform for both test development and execution. This applies to both local device execution as well as mobile cloud support.

Simplified mobile cloud connectivity

With Tosca, you can now run mobile tests on your desktop, DIY device farms, while also seamlessly integrating with cloud-based device farms. Because Tosca Mobile is cloud agnostic, you can use mobile devices from your mobile device farm of choice and experience simplified device connectivity for both test development and execution.

Real mobile devices, emulators, and simulators support

In today`s fast-paced world, velocity is the key, so it’s critical to begin testing mobile apps as early as possible. Developers can do that by testing the SUT with emulators and simulators. They can deploy their apps in the early stages of development and examine the look and feel of the tested mobile app. With Tosca 15.0, we’ve enriched the Mobile Engine with the support for mobile device emulators and simulators, in addition to real devices, which supports a shift-left approach and can also be used for debugging.

To learn more and see the new Tosca Mobile Engine in action, check out the webinar, Simplify mobile-first testing with Tricentis Tosca 15.0.