How to Use Apptim for Mobile Performance Testing

The article is created in partnership with Apptim editorial team.

Mobile performance is a significant aspect of mobile user experience that developers and testers can’t overlook in 2020.

According to AppSamurai, app crashes cause 87% of app uninstalls. Yikes!

Apptim is a new, free tool that can be used during development and mobile app testing to catch critical bugs faster and identify new performance issues in an app.

The tool automatically measures app render times, power consumption, and resource usage while capturing crashes and more on Android and iOS devices. And these features make it an excellent addition to the performance testing service toolset.

Apptim consists of a desktop application that can be used on Windows to test native Android apps and on MacOS to test native iOS and Android apps. It also has a web-based workspace where you can save your reports and share them with team members that you’ve invited.

Apptim’s Features

• Native and hybrid app testing: Apptim evaluates the performance of native mobile apps or hybrid apps (but it only captures data from the native part).
• Performance and bug reports: After each test session, the tool generates a report regarding the performance metrics and another report for each bug that you may find during your test session with Apptim.
• JIRA Integration: Through an API key, it integrates with Jira, so you can publish and track bugs directly in this project management tool.
• Test on real devices: In order for this tool to do its own thing, you must connect your mobile device with a USB cable to the PC where Apptim is installed.
• Easy to use: Apptim’s user interface is elegant and intuitive, making it a simple tool to use. In addition, on its website you can find detailed documentation that will help you through your first steps with the tool and there is the option to ask for support every step of the way.

What’s unique about Apptim is that you don’t need an SDK in order to start capturing performance information. This makes it easy for manual testers, developers, and even product owners to run a test.

Once you’ve installed Apptim, you can run your first test and obtain performance results in as little as five minutes.

Setting Up Apptim

There’s a simple two-step process to configure Apptim.

First, you can create an account on the Apptim website and then download the Windows or iOS desktop application. Apptim requires installing some dependencies, which it will list for you, and after clicking “Install Dependencies,” will begin to install for you if they are not already installed on your computer.

To run a test, simply connect a device to your computer through a USB cable and open Apptim. You will be prompted to choose to either start a new test or compare test sessions.

Once you click “Start a new test,” it will ask you to confirm your mobile device and then you can select the app on the device that you want to test or search for it by name.

Then, it will ask what type of test you’d like to run. Currently, only exploratory tests are supported, but in the future, there will be the option to run a bot test.

Next, it will ask you to add a name to your test and press “Start” to begin your exploratory testing session.

During the test

At any moment during your testing session, you can choose to report a bug or take a note. You can end your testing session anytime by clicking on “End Session.”

Report a bug

When you click on “Report bug,” you will be prompted with a new screen where you can give the bug a title and description, add a tag, and attach a video and screenshot that were automatically captured. You also have the option to edit the screenshot.

Take a note

When you click on Take a note, you will be prompted with a new screen where you can write a Note, a Risk identified, an Idea, or just a To do as a reminder for later. You can also attach a screenshot.

Review session

Once you end your testing session, you will see a summary with bugs, ideas, risks, and notes taken.

Apptim reports

Once you’ve finished your test session, Apptim generates a report with a summary of all of the performance data that it has automatically captured for you while you were testing the app’s functionality. It also generates a separate report for each bug recorded.

In each Apptim report, you’ll find:

• A screen recording of the device during the execution of the exploratory session
• Alerts and warnings related to the user experience
• Alerts and warnings related to the usage of device resources, with reference thresholds, shown in yellow or red depending on their severity
• Test environment data (device, app, version info, etc)
• Crashes/exceptions details with associated screenshots, and the exact minute of the session in which it happened in order to locate the specific moment in the video
• Detail of resource usage with associated graphs
• Logs and downloadable artifacts collected during the test

Here are some screenshots of what an Apptim Report includes:

Here you can also see an example of an Apptim report.

Apptim for mobile performance testing

These days, mobile performance is more crucial than ever, but it’s also a challenge to gain visibility into all of the factors that impact it. Apptim provides easy-to-read reports for developers to check mobile app performance, review logs, and crash details. Teams can now release new versions of their app with confidence by getting full visibility on app performance trends.