DEV Community: Jash Unadkat

How to Run APK Online in a Browser

Jash Unadkat — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 09:05:31 +0000

The constant proliferation of new smartphones in the market introduces new challenges for software teams across the globe. They must consistently optimize their services for newly launched devices.

This stands true particularly for the Android ecosystem as it dominates the mobile landscape with a significant market share of 71%. The numbers clearly indicate that any app seeking to be successful must work flawlessly on Android.

The agile world of software development demands the delivery of new features at lightning speed. To achieve this, teams need an inclusive on-premise mobile device lab that enables developers and QAs to test their APK files across the latest and legacy Android devices.

It is not feasible for all organizations to have such a comprehensive device lab set up as it demands enormous investment and maintenance efforts.

This article addresses this challenge by demonstrating an intuitive method that will help developers and QAs run APK files online directly through a web browser.

How to Run APK Files in a Browser

With the advent of remote testing in the agile world, cloud-based software testing platforms have emerged as an ideal solution for meeting test requirements.

BrowserStack is one such testing platform that provides teams and individuals with a comprehensive infrastructure for hassle-free remote testing. One can instantly upload and run APK files online on the desired Android devices using its real device cloud.

The APK file is installed on a real Android device that is hosted in a secure cloud environment. This means that users can evaluate the performance of their Android app in real user conditions and debug faster.

One can test their APK file on real handsets from popular vendors like Samsung, OnePlus, Motorola, Pixel, etc. Moreover, they don’t need to worry about any complex setup or configurations. Simply Sign up > Upload APK file > Choose the desired Android handset> Start testing.

Follow the steps below to run APK online:

Signup for a free trial for Browserstack App Live.
Once the App Live dashboard opens up, click on the Upload button available near the Uploaded Apps section and upload the APK file to be tested.
Select the desired Android handset to test the app on. (Let’s consider testing on Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in this example). Refer to the image below for more clarity on the process.
This will initiate a new App Live session on the desired handset.
The selected APK file is downloaded and installed on the chosen device once the session begins.
Start testing the app’s features and functions.

That’s how easily one can run an APK file online on a real Android device directly through a web browser.

Developers and QAs can also leverage the following features available from the floating toolbar:

Device rotation to view the app’s appearance in Portrait and Landscape mode.
Geolocation Testingto test an app’s performance when accessed from different geographic locations.
Network throttler to simulate poor network conditions.
Capturing screenshots.
Viewing Open Apps running in the background.
Change Language feature to test apps in different languages.

Refer to the complete list of features here.

As mentioned earlier, the constant proliferation of the latest Android devices with distinct hardware configurations has introduced testing challenges for software teams. Teams constantly need to keep track of the newly launched handsets and acquire them for testing and optimizing purposes. This process can prove to be tedious and inefficient in the long run.

Using online APK runners like BrowserStack that offers a real device cloud with the latest devices helps teams to purely focus on their app testing efforts. Moreover, as the device cloud is updated regularly, teams get exclusive access to the latest handsets for instant testing.

All the APK tests are conducted on real devices, and it helps obtain accurate test results every time without any complex configurations. Signup for free to get started today!

How to Perform Globalization Testing

Jash Unadkat — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 10:15:12 +0000

What is Globalization Testing?

Globalization testing refers to the process of validating whether a website or an app delivers a customized user experience to users across the globe. These tests include validating whether the website or app adopts the language, currency, and time correctly based on the location it is accessed from.
Before understanding how to perform globalization testing, let’s discuss an important point.

Difference between Globalization testing and Localization testing

There’s a thin line between localization testing and globalization testing.

Localization testing is primarily performed to ensure that an application performs well for a specific geographic location or culture. The test efforts are restricted to a small group of users and it validates whether the application adapts UI changes correctly for a specific country.

Globalization testing focuses on validating the application’s behavior for diverse geographic locations. It tests the different currency formats, mobile number formats, and address formats supported by the application. It is performed keeping into consideration a broader set of audiences across different countries and continents.

Difference between Globalization testing and Localization testing

There’s a thin line between localization testing and globalization testing.

How to Perform Globalization Testing on Real Browsers & Devices

To ensure that websites deliver a truly globalized experience, testers must perform geolocation testing of websites and apps on real devices and browsers.

BrowserStack’s real device cloud enables you to run these tests across 3000+ real devices and browsers. This includes thousands mobile and desktop devices along with multiple versions of major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.).

Follow the steps below to get started with globalization testing of websites on BrowserStack:

Signup on BrowserStack Live or log in if you already have an account.
Once you log in, navigate to the Live Dashboard.
Select the OS-browser combination you wish to test on. (in this case, we choose Windows 11 and Chrome 97).
A new Live session begins once you choose the desired OS-Browser combination.
Once the Live session starts, select the Change Location option from the floating tool box.
Now enter the desired location from which you want to test your website. (For example, let’s consider Germany as the target location and BrowserStack as the website under test). Refer to the image below for clarity.

Note that the default location is set as None. Naturally, the results stay unaltered.

Once you navigate to a particular website or enter a search query after setting the location, the results will appear based on that specific location. For example, when you set the location as Germany, the search results start appearing as they would in Germany (as shown below).

This feature makes it easy for teams to evaluate their website’s performance in diverse geographies. Digital marketers too can leverage this feature to test the organic and paid ranking of their websites in different search engines.

Similarly, BrowserStack also empowers teams to perform globalization testing on real mobile devices (Android and iOS).

Just choose the platform (Android or iOS), and select the desired handset to test on from the Live dashboard. In the following example, we select Android OS and Samsung Galaxy S21 as the handset.

From the floating toolbar, select the Change location option and select the country of your choice.
As illustrated earlier, once the location is defined, it generates results as per the location accordingly. The image below represents search results for Germany for the search query BrowserStack (Google search) on Samsung Galaxy S21 (Chrome).
A similar method can be used for globalization testing on mobile apps using App Live.

As mentioned initially, more businesses are expanding their services for global customers. Having said this, developing a truly globalized application that maintains an edge over the competitors becomes imperative. Needless to say, it requires thorough globalization testing. Doing this ensures that companies can successfully reach out to the target audience and deliver tailored content.

BrowserStack’s real device cloud makes it extremely convenient for teams to remotely test their apps and websites on the desired environments. Simply sign up, select the required device-browser-OS combination, and start testing websites from different countries for free.

How to test websites from different countries or locations?

Jash Unadkat — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 16:10:32 +0000

Before getting started with the demonstration, let’s understand why it is necessary to test a website from different geographical locations AKA perform geolocation testing.

With the internet becoming the center of most people’s lives, businesses have started adopting the digital way by creating mobile apps and websites. Companies must necessarily establish a digital presence in order to make their products and services accessible to a wider number of customers.

To capitalize on marketing efforts, businesses serve tailored content and/or ads relevant to specific locations. Additionally, this tailored content must adhere strictly to the content distribution laws for particular geographies. In such cases, testers must verify that the right content is viewed by users in different geographies when they access a website or app.

Let’s consider food delivery sites as examples. Such websites rely heavily on the geolocation of a particular user. Teams need to ensure that these sites are displaying all the restaurants within the specific region where the user is located. Based on the customers’ location, the website should be able to provide a tailored list of restaurants near them.

Any discrepancies in terms of listings for a specific location can result in a significant loss of customers and potential revenue. This is why it is vital to perform geolocation testing.

BrowserStack makes it effortless to test websites from different countries or locations on real mobile or desktop devices.

Follow the steps below to test websites from different countries on real devices using BrowserStack.

Signup on BrowserStack Live or Log in if you already have an account
Once you have logged in, navigate to the Live Dashboard
Choose the operating system and browser you wish to test on. (For example, in this example, we choose Windows 10 and Chrome 84)
Once you choose the desired OS-Browser combination, a session will be initiated for the same.
Once the session begins, select the Change Location option from the floating tool-box and enter the desired location or a country from which you wish to test your website. (For the example below, we have considered Germany as the desired location and BrowserStack as the website under test). By default, the location is set to None; thus, the search results stay unaltered. However, once the location is set to Germany, and if you search for a random query like “hotels near me”, the search results appear in the German language. Refer to the image below to observe how Google provides localized search results for queries made from Germany.

As one can observe, the search results displayed are in German.

Similarly, BrowserStack enables teams to test websites from different countries on real mobile devices (Android and iOS). One just needs to choose the platform (Android or iOS), and select the desired handset to test on from the live Dashboard. For the following example, we select Android as the operating system and Samsung Galaxy S20 as the handset.

Like the steps defined earlier, once the location is defined, it will provide the results accordingly. The image below represents search results for Germany for the search query BrowserStack (Google search) on Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chrome).

With businesses expanding their services globally, testing features like Geotargeting, localization, and Geoblocking is mandatory. Doing this ensures that companies can successfully reach out to the target audience and deliver tailored content.

BrowserStack’s real device cloud empowers teams to choose the desired platform devices and browsers. Simply sign up, select the required device-browser-OS combination, and start testing websites from different countries for free.

How to Test IE on Mac

Jash Unadkat — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 10:43:26 +0000

It’s no secret that the glory days of Internet Explorer (IE) are behind us. IE holds a global market share of 1.08% in the desktop browsing space. Having said this, let’s try to answer an important question.

Is it still relevant to test and optimize web applications for Internet Explorer?
While the low market share of Internet Explorer might make it seem like one can simply avoid testing websites on IE, this is not the case.

Here’s why:

Despite its low market share, bear in mind that IE has significant brand recognition. It is still one of the most recognizable browsers in the world.
There are users (generally older individuals) who might have used IE for over a decade, making IE their default browser. Hence, choosing not to optimize your website for IE can lead to loss of revenue & traffic from such customers. To provide a truly inclusive experience, one must optimize web apps for Internet Explorer.
Providing a seamless surfing experience for IE will establish brand credibility by offering a more browser-agnostic experience.
Now, let’s explore the challenges faced by QAs using macOS to test websites on IE.

Note: Internet Explorer was a native browser solely developed for the Windows operating system (OS). Microsoft bundled it as a pre-installed application for its OS. This means that users cannot install IE as a standalone application on a third-party operating system i.e MacOS devices.

Earlier, the only way QA engineers using macOS could test websites on IE was by using virtual machines with a Windows environment or by downloading the Internet Explorer emulator on Mac. Needless to say, these are time-consuming and effort-intensive methods that don’t always provide reliable results.

So how does one address this challenge?

Testing Websites on a Cloud Platform with Real IE Browsers

Teams can simply leverage a cloud-based testing platform that enables them to test websites on real device-browser combinations remotely. This allows the developer or tester to examine how actual end-users would interact with their website on a specific browser or browser version.

BrowserStack offers a diverse range of real browsers (IE, Edge, Chrome, Safari, etc.) for this very purpose. For example, one can test on Internet Explorer(v 6-11), Edge (v80-96), and so on directly through their web browsers regardless of the operating system they use.

The whole infrastructure is cloud-based, which means one simply needs to sign up for free -> Log in -> Choose the desired OS-browser-version combination -> Start testing.

Note: BrowserStack doesn’t simulate Internet Explorer on macOS or Windows. All website tests for IE are conducted on real browsers installed in real environments. To know more, testing on Emulators vs Simulators vs Real Devices

Let’s consider a sample scenario wherein a QA tests a website on IE 11 using macOS. The user simply needs to:

Signup for free on BrowserStack Live.
Navigate to the Live dashboard.
From the dashboard, choose the appropriate Windows and IE version (IE 11 in this case). Refer to the image below for clarity.

Once the desired browser version is selected, a new Live session is initiated in the browser window instantly.

Now, enter the URL of the website and start testing on IE 11 without any additional setup or configurations. It is unarguably the simplest method to test websites on Internet Explorer through a Mac device.

Note: Additionally, Mac users can also leverage the Test IE Chrome extension to directly test websites on Edge or IE through the Chrome browser.

Testers can also leverage BrowserStack’s Local Testing feature to perform interactive testing and debugging for their websites on real desktop browsers – in dev environments. QAs can test work-in-progress web and mobile apps at scale without hosting them on public staging environments.

In the latest Windows versions, Edge is the default browser. Similar to the use case illustrated above, one can also run remote interactive tests on the desired versions of Edge from their browser. Simply select the appropriate OS-browser-version combination from the Live dashboard as shown below.

Apart from the latest and legacy browser versions, teams also get access to the following features available in the toolbar once a Live session begins:

Geolocation testing to test website performance when accessed from a unique geographic location.
Instant bug reporting (through Jira, Trello, Slack, Github) from the Live dashboard.
Responsive testing to test websites in distinct screen resolutions (like 1024×768, 1280×800, 1820×1024, and so on).

As mentioned earlier, the market share of Internet Explorer might make it seem like teams can avoid optimizing for it. However, to provide a truly inclusive browsing experience for users and organizations that prefer browsing through IE to date, teams must go the extra mile to deliver a seamless IE experience.

Platforms like BrowserStack make it effortless for QA teams to achieve this arduous task. It empowers them to test and optimize websites on real Internet Explorers rather than using an Internet explorer emulator for macOS, thereby guaranteeing accurate results every single time.