With so many apps being developed, a mobile app development company needs to test their app before submitting it to the app store for launching in order to decrease chances of human error. However, a lot of time may be consumed by the testing process. Automating this process of testing in an organized manner can considerably decrease the precious time needed for the testing process. As testing is the most critical and important phase of the app development lifecycle, automated testing tools are a must for enhancing the quality of your app as well as saving your precious time spent on the testing process.

A large number of automated mobile app testing tools are available and may be available either freely or paid. Though some of these are newly created, and others have been created long back, each tool has specific characteristics that make it unique. Though iPhone app development company is using automated testing for iOS apps as it has many advantages, the market is saturated with testing tools, and this can make selecting the right tool challenging and even exasperating for iPhone app developers. Here we discuss important features of a few iPhone app testing tools every app developer should be aware of.

Appium

• Open source, cross-platform test automation tool
• Used for testing native iOS apps, hybrid iOS apps with Xamarin technology, Android apps with versions 2.3 onwards
• Supports many programming languages, so you can use any web-driver compatible language like Java, Ruby, C#, Javascript, PHP, Node, Python, Objective-C and few others from the web-driver library for writing test case
• Works like a server running in the background
• Uses WebDriver interface for running tests
• Uses standard automation APIs on all platforms, so you don’t need to modify or recompile your app in any way
• Allows use of any testing framework
• Does not need installation of anything else on the device
• Can be setup easily on a different platform
• No need of re-compiling mobile app on a different platform
• Can be integrated with other tools using Java

Frank

• Selenium for native iOS apps
• Lightweight, UI-based automation tool
• Uses a combination of Cucumber and JSON commands
• Allows fairly tolerant tests as it has a clean CSS-like selector syntax
• Pre-defined steps that may be used right away for your tests
• Contains a live introspection tool, symbiote

• Integrates with CI
• Records video of test runs to show the app in action
• Can run your tests on both the Simulator and Device

KIF

• Stands for “Keep It Functional”
• Open source framework
• Objective C based framework purely meant for iOS automated testing
• Automation framework integrates directly with XCTests and available with a "KIFtestCase" which can replace "XCTTestCase"
• Used when business folk are not involved in writing or reading test specs.
• Has active community and support
• Accesses UI elements by their accessibility labels
• Impressive command line and CI

Testdroid

• Solid mobile game testing platforms for Android and iOS games
• Cloud-based mobile application testing tool
• Fastest means of testing the app with different HW platforms, screen resolutions, and OS versions
• Price range varies from $499- $4999/ month as per requirement
• In-App development costs are reduced along with operational and unpredictable costs
• Improves app rating and daily active users

Appium studio

• Absolutely free tool
• Supports iOS 11 beta thereby guaranteeing OS version support
• Allows users to start testing within minutes
• Supports stable and parallel execution of test scripts
• Reduces operational costs
• Helps improve coverage with out-of-app testing
• Results are presented in clear reports
• Test iOS apps on Windows and MAC machines
• Parallel execution possible
• Uses device reflection, Object Spy, and unique XPath for writing and recording tests
• Detailed reports with step-by-step screenshots and videos generated
• Covers more tests on any device and with any application type - native, web, or hybrid
• Tests outside the app (including barcode and check scanning, audio features, GPS simulation, TouchID, system apps)

Calabash

• Open source testing platform for iOS and Android apps
• Backed by Cucumber and runs acceptance tests
• Cucumber framework hosts all testing statements and manages to run them
• Statements are written in English-like language and easy to understand
• Advantageous large community for support
• Gesture support like swipe, pinch and rotate
• Needs access to source code
• Programming may be done in Ruby only (This turns-off some people who prefer using Python or Java).

Picking the best automation testing tool

As an app developer, you need to identify the tests that need to be automated followed by researching and analysing the automation products that meet your automation needs. A pilot study needs to be conducted for comparing the two best tools as per your requirements and budget, thereby selecting the best suitable tool. After this is advisable to discuss the chosen automation tools with other stakeholders explaining the reasons for your choice in order to get their approval before proceeding to tests automation.