During the early years of technology, people used computers for almost every technical need. These needs started from creating a small document and went up to access the internet. However, with the advancement of technology, people started to realize the importance of portability.
Suddenly, consumers began to develop an urge to access the internet on the go. This urge was fueled by the introduction of innovative smartphones in the market. Therefore, web development companies started to hastily introduce their mobile applications in this segment. However, the complexity of this application began to rise with the increasing demands of the customers. Companies started to use a mobile emulator online to perform browser testing of these applications.
With this article, we are going to analyze everything that you need to know about testing your application on an emulator.
Reason for the Rise in a Browser Emulator Online
The diversity of the technical market continued to increase until it reached a limitless boundary. For instance, if we consider the mobile industry, then we will see that almost 1,000 new Android devices are released every year. This piece of data is enough to justify that developers can’t keep every device available for physical testing. This is because it will incur a fortune for the development and maintenance charges. The quickest solution to this problem was the introduction of browser emulators. These emulators help developers to create new instances of every browser according to their will. Developers can also adjust the visuals and aesthetics of the browser according to the devices they want it to run on.
The use of emulators and simulators are some things that help individual creators and small companies to stay in the competition. Certain platforms also help developers to perform emulator testing on cloud grids. Using cloud grids, the developers can initiate the testing processes from anywhere in the world.
The Reasons to Use browser Emulators
Now let’s take a quick look at five of the most decisive reasons to use a browser emulator online:
1. Affordability
Affordability is the primary reason that forces developers to introduce a browser emulator online. Individual creators can’t spend millions of dollars setting up a physical device testing lab. On the other hand, many browser emulators are available for free and can be implemented on almost every device. Certain browser emulators help to perform testing on browser versions that are no longer available in the market. This process is essential as a survey suggests that 80% of users seldom update their browsers. The open-source nature of multiple browser emulators also helps the developers to implement changes according to the requirements.
2. Easy setup process
Another major advantage of a browser emulator is that it doesn’t require you to use any form of third-party apps. This means the developers do not have to go through the hassle of installing any unnecessary software on the device. It also helps to reduce the setup process and the learning curve for new developers. In this competitive Software Development Industry, no creator can waste any time behind unnecessary processes. Different companies provide rich documentation processes that help developers to get started with browser emulators. They also provide all the data required to utilize all the features offered by these emulators.
3. Replicates both software and hardware environments
Using browser emulators, the developers can replicate both the Software and Hardware sides of a device. This means the developers can analyze how the behavior of the application changes according to a specific configuration of a device. This factor is particularly important because data shows that almost 60% of the users do not update their devices before two years. So, software development companies must ensure that they provide optimal support to even Legacy devices. This is yet another step that can help companies to maintain their position in this competitive market. It can also show performance changes due to hardware acceleration on high-end devices
4. Analyses the effects of user interactions
In this modern industry, most applications require the user to interact with them. For instance, for an E-Commerce application, the user has to go through all the available menu options and select the desired product. These actions also consist of sensitive processes like financial transactions and storage of user data. So, for this process, the developers must ensure that the application can handle all this process effortlessly. Using Browser emulators, the developers can mimic the actions of real users. So, this process can help to get a definite idea about the reaction capabilities of a web application.
5. Early levels of testing
Using emulators, the developers can verify the functioning of the application at early levels of the development process. This process has a vital role in maintaining the proper deadline of the application development process. It also provides ample time for the testing team to debug the issue and remove it before the production phase. Using this process, the developers can also simultaneously integrate the development and the testing phase. Integration of both phases also helps to improve the synchronization between different teams involved in the application development process.
Major Cons of Browser Emulators
As we all know, nothing in this world is perfect. So, browser emulators also have their share of disadvantages. Let us take a quick look at some of the major disadvantages of browser emulators that developers must be aware of:
1. Emulators cannot help to create a great user interface
It is not a good decision to use a browser emulator for testing the functionality of the user interface. This is because it does not provide a wide variety of user interactions for testing purposes. For instance, there is a vast difference between using a mouse for interaction and a human finger on touch devices. Moreover, various human interactions or habits are almost impossible to replicate with the help of emulators. For instance, certain processes like pinch to zoom, double tap to select, and triple tap to close have a critical role in improving the end-user experience.
2. Lack of accuracy in the test cases
The accuracy of browser emulator test results has been a debatable matter for several years now. Many experienced developers believe that it is impossible to verify the functioning of the application without real user interaction. For instance, software can’t understand how the application reacts to multiple physical obstacles like low bandwidth, lack of charge in the device, and many more. These are certain areas that call for real device testing, at the very least. Moreover, there is no accurate way to test the performance of various sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes with the help of browser emulators. The only solution to this problem is the use of various platforms that support real device testing clouds. We will elaborate more on this topic in the later part of this article.
3. Emulators do not cover a wide range of devices
Many developers have the misconception that emulators can create the environment of almost every device in existence. However, it is wrong as certain devices are completely impossible to emulate. Moreover, the developers have to create different combinations of multiple devices and operating systems. For instance, there can be hundreds of combinations for just a few operating systems, devices, and Browsers. Therefore, it is an easy guess that emulators cannot conduct most of these complex processes. Therefore, the developers must use real devices to develop reliable software that can give the best User experience to the customers. Customer satisfaction is very critical for building a reputation for a brand.
4. The developers cannot compromise the platforms and customizations
The OEM manufacturers tend to overlay the personal skins, layers, and customizations on top of the intended operating system. These customizations sometimes remove the native feeling of the operating system and can deviate from accurate results. These customizations can also lead to multiple compatibility issues on different devices. Extensive testing on real devices is the only solution to overcome this problem. The developers have to verify the functioning of the application in real-world scenarios to conclude that it can perform flawlessly, irrespective of the given use case. This is yet another step that helps companies to ensure optimal user satisfaction for building brand loyalty. The developers can also conduct extensive research on the target audience to get a better idea of user preferences.
Tools and Platforms for the Proper Introduction of Browser Emulators
As we already discussed in the previous section, it is almost impossible to generate accurate results with emulator or simulator testing. So, the developers need to use certain tools and platforms that can help them to combine these results with real device testing. Moreover, the developer should be very careful while choosing any tool, as it can have a massive impact on the final test result. The support of multiple programming languages, easy access, presence of community support is some of the factors that the developers must consider while choosing this tool. Let us use the example of LambdaTest to improve our understanding of this concept:
To understand the basics, LambdaTest is a cloud platform that helps developers to perform e2e testing of their web and mobile applications. During this process, the developers ensure the application retains its peak performance, visual aesthetics, and simplicity irrespective of the device, browser, or operating system.
LambdaTest generates highly dependable test results by combining reports from real devices, emulators, simulators, and virtual machines. LambdaTest allows developers to verify the functioning of the application on more than 3000 different browsers. It also has a special feature to verify the functioning of local web applications. The cloud platform of LambdaTest provides an extensive testing ground that eliminates the hassle of maintaining a physical device lab.
The Final Verdict
So, we can conclude that browser emulators are double-sided swords. It can be highly useful for developers when used correctly. One thing the developers must remember is that they should never rely on emulator test results only. The wisest decision is to combine it with other testing processes just to verify the dependency.
During this process, the developers should also remember that certain tools and platforms can greatly help in the implementation of browser emulator testing. It is also the role of application development companies to spread proper awareness regarding this process. In the end, the ultimate goal for an application should be to provide the utmost level of user satisfaction.
