Have you recognized that everyone is mobile! And almost everyone socialize with mobile internet (this socialization doesn't mean to have sharing with anyone close to you, it means to chat/share/discuss online with anyone far to you). Since the ratio of using mobile devices are getting increased, needs for mobile testing is also increased. Many companies have developed mobile applications and mobile website to increase their customer satisfaction and to catch up with their rivals especially in e-commerce sector. In this post, I want to share :) some information how to test mobile application with your desktop.
Mobile websites/applications target mobile devices but testing everything may not be possible with your devices, or not effective! For some test case like searching, defining cookies; checking links, redirection can be tested easily with your web browsers. For example, Apple's Safari and Internet Explorer can be used for mobile testing.
- Safari: you must activate the development menu. You can activate it by:
Safari > Setting > Preferences or press < Ctrl+, >
- Then you can see development option in menu. To change the user agent follow the these steps:
Safari > Menu > Develop > User Agent > iPhone
Now you can run your application in an emulation of an iPhone. By right click and inspect element you can open debugging console. There are lots of information you may need for testing. For example, you see the cookies by clicking the Cookies tab.
- Internet Explorer: Internet explorer has developed new feature for emulation. You can change user agent by:
Internet Explorer > F12 > Emulation or Ctrl+8
In my experience, this feature can not be replaced by testing on real devices. This method simulates the devices you select so it is not a real device's browser and don't forget even if the browser is simulated correctly, hardware and Internet connection are still your computer.