Apple’s current release of the Apple Watch has actually sustained excitement for owning the current Apple device and the next wearable. While wearables are just a small piece of the greater Internet of Things (IoT) industry, the market is quickly growing. With IDC forecasting 126.1 million devices shipped by 2019 and the around the world market for IoT options growing to $7.1 trillion by 2020, the concentrate on developing quality apps is now more crucial than ever.
However, dev/test teams are still having a hard time to welcome and integrate IoT into existing development cycles. The most significant challenge for companies that wish to develop for wearables is guaranteeing that quality matches user expectations. If a hotel chain states users can open their hotel space door using Apple Watch, it needs to occur.
How does the mobile app developer and tester fight the new challenges IoT brings to the leading edge? By adopting continuous quality as a process to enhance the speed of development, keep up with an increasing variety of devices that apps need to deal with, and minimize the variety of defects reaching production– eventually cultivating higher end-user complete satisfaction.
By testing the application in all circumstances (across a variety of devices, under various network conditions and traffic, etc.) and throughout the entire mobile app development lifecycle, dev/test groups can make sure that they reach the level of quality they’re intending for (the app works where you said it would work, and the brand you represent is being seen as you wish it to be seen).
Here are few considerations that developers/testers need to be aware of when developing wearable apps.
Adoption Is Growing
BI Intelligence approximates that the global wearables market will grow at a compound annual rate of 35 percent over the next five years, reaching 148 million systems shipped annually in 2019, up from 33 million systems delivered this year. Developers have to believe about the device lab and overall test coverage as new devices are added, in addition to distinct device platforms (e.g., Android wear).
Special Use Cases
Dev/test groups need to review and adapt to new use cases and include them in test strategies, the test environment and support tools. For example, you now have to test notifications on both wearables and smartphones in order to ensure a constant end-user experience and to drive app adoption on both devices.
Wearable Architecture
Due to the fact that of type restraints, it is necessary to develop and deploy apps through pairing technology. For example, combining the Apple Watch with an iPhone gives users access to a variety of apps running on the smartphone. The wearable interface is designed to work and communicate with the iPhone.
It is required to deploy app updates through the smartphone too. There is simply no method for end users to update or upgrade Apple Watch apps from the watch itself; it needs to be upgraded via the iPhone. This workflow creates new dependencies and alters the conventional SDLC.
Developers can no longer create an app without considering the wearables interface, as the app will now immediately synch to the wearable. So it’s required to test on both circumstances. There are going to be distinct deployments, upgrades and hardware certain considerations in the recently introduced SDLC.
Wearables Apps
Considering that wearable apps and smartphone apps are merging, one problem in either device will block the whole app from being released to the market. Testers need to make sure that existing development and test environments prepare and able to cover all user circumstances, protection goals and quality goals. Wearable apps differ from regular apps in design, functionality (subset of apps), app size, user interaction, hardware and sensors. For example, developers require to now test the sensors of the Apple Watch and how it reacts to alerts on heart rate. Users of the Apple Watch will want it to measure heart rate while carrying out a sporting activity. This will cause new considerations for the developers and testers.
Device Selection
As with mobile phone test coverage, wearables ought to also acquire comparable factors to consider such as market adoption, OS relevancy, target customer markets and supported abilities of the wearables (e.g., BLE– Bluetooth Low Energy, other sensors, and so on).
Consider leading device suppliers when choosing the very first watches to develop and test on. Extend your device coverage matrix to include new release and test cycles, which need to be regularly revitalized based upon market dynamics, market feedback and customer certain requests. Lastly, see to it that your app works independently– not just on a single device– which it is as platform agnostic as possible.
Existing QA Program
More tests to do! This is where automation ends up being vital. Wearables add more devices into the test protection matrix, and need changes in release speed. There is now an even greater need for a robust quality lab that can attend to both the demanding mobile demands in addition to the freshly complex wearables requirements.
A Proper Test Plan
It is crucial to understand that wearables are highly dependent on smartphone mobile apps. They need special use cases and functionality in very minimal conditions, which mandates devoted test case situations. To ensure you have a complete scenario, make sure your mobile-wearable test strategies cover the following:
- Functional (Real Devices)
- Performance Testing
- Interoperability (IOP)
- Memory Leak
- Setup Testing
- Usability Testing
- Security Testing
- Localization
- Connection
Environmental Conditions
Developers should also consider the effect of the mobile environment on wearable devices and apps. A low battery on a smartphone will affect synchronization with the wearable device and restrict its ability to carry out well and receive calls and notifications. Taking performance testing and different network conditions into account as part of any release cycle of your mobile app and wearable app is vital in order to guarantee a flawless end-user experience.
