Why Real Device Testing Is Better Than Emulators

by TestFort News Editor on 10/18/2018

When it comes to website testing, one should be thorough and predict any possible flaws that might occur. Each development stage brings its challenges. It is crucial to address them all and not miss anything. Any unnoticed bug may cause serious damage to the project. This is where website testing comes in handy. However, the question is how to do it with maximum benefit and minimum losses. First of all, let’s go over the basics.

Website testing on a real device?

A real device is a physical gadget used for manual testing of the websites. It can show exactly how a product will look on a client’s handset. Real device testing is as close as you can get to reality. Meaning that is how the customers use their devices in daily life.

Website testing with an emulator?

An emulator is not a real device but a software program mimicking their functionality. It is a virtual device allowing to recreate user’s behavior patterns emulating the real software and operating system.

Real devices vs Emulators in website testing

Why may one need such testing anyway? The most obvious reason is to test responsive design: how well does a website look on any given screen. However, the testing itself is aimed at debugging and recreating possible usage scenarios.

Some say different testing options are more or less suitable for various development stages. For instance, emulators are said to be effective during the first phases. The real devices are needed on the final testing stages more. To understand this, let’s dive into details.

	Real devices	Emulators
Suitability	When testing a website on a real device, one gets precise and reliable detailed data. It is suitable for the stages of the project close to launching when there’s no margin for error.	Great for short time-frame projects when there may be no time for finding and buying a real device. Moreover, emulators are often easy-to-download and ready-to-test straight away. However, the results are less reliable.
Cost	Real devices are costly, however, more precise in testing showing a lot more of possible issues.	Emulators don’t cost as much, allowing to debug under the tight budget.
Closeness to real scenarios	Through manual testing, QAs get the real look and feel of the website as if the user was testing it. Real devices provide for the context – something emulators are incapable of: battery issues; incoming alerts issues (including calls and messages); an accurate color resolution under different circumstances (broad daylight, nighttime, etc.); accurate device memory; allow rough performance testing.	Emulating software testing lets QAs see the main issues with a website in the so-called lab conditions. Emulators are close to real scenarios, but cannot recreate the original devices along with a ton of independent variables. It may create a misleading impression for the users using the same validations in reality.

Bottom line

We at TestFort are sure there is nothing better than testing a website on a real device. Our big team of certified specialists is eager to assist clients with any projects. We have 250+ various real devices, which our QAs use to test and debug.

We believe that emulators may be good for the initial development stages when flaws are not as critical and costly. Whereas during the next period, it is crucial to use real devices to avoid releasing a defective product. Thus, one needs to think about website testing before even starting a project to ensure everything goes well before it goes into production.

TestFort team provides high-quality QA services for almost two decades. We are open to new challenges and aim to help you in achieving the best possible quality of software, mobile, and web applications. Contact us and let’s polish your product to perfection.

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