There's nothing more frustrating than a mobile app that crashes right when you need it most. After all, we only use them for everything in our lives, from connecting with friends to managing businesses. So you can understand why users have zero tolerance for unstable apps.
In fact, a recent report on mobile app stability indicates that apps with crash-free rates below 99.7% consistently receive poor ratings, usually below three stars.
For a mid-sized app, that translates to thousands in lost revenue every month.
So is your reputation and revenue at the mercy of unforgiving users? As a tech lead for a mobile-first startup, I can tell you with a resounding NO! By addressing the seven gaps we’ll cover, you will have eliminated 95% of scenarios that could cause your app to crash.
Let’s consider the first.
The vast variety of devices today poses a significant challenge for building stable mobile applications. Different manufacturers, models and screen sizes, hardware capabilities, operating systems, and your app needs to work well across:
One bug might appear only on specific combinations of hardware and software, making it hard to catch during regular testing. This problem is particularly challenging for Android apps. Each manufacturer creates their own modified version of Android, which means an app that runs perfectly on a Samsung phone might crash on a Google Pixel. It is impossible to test your app on every device out there. So, how can you address this challenge?
Do this:
Implementing these strategies helps you manage device fragmentation while keeping costs reasonable.
Most mobile app tests are conducted under ideal conditions, with fast, stable internet connections in office buildings or homes. But your users face a different reality: Slow 3G connections, Unreliable public WiFi, Dead zones, switching between networks while moving.
This gap between testing and real-world conditions often leads to crashes when users try your app in less-than-perfect situations. How do you handle network challenges?
Do this:
Now your app can gracefully handle poor network conditions, providing a smooth user experience even in challenging connectivity situations.
Memory issues often start small but grow into major problems.
When your app keeps holding onto memory it doesn't need anymore, it takes up too much space, makes your app run slower, and eventually forces it to crash. This is especially problematic on devices with limited memory. So, how do you effectively manage memory?
Do this:
Catching leaks early in the development stage prevents bigger issues down the line.
When code encounters problems it wasn't prepared for, like trying to use data that doesn't exist or accessing items beyond a list's end, your app can crash without warning.
To prevent exception-related crashes, do this:
The goal is to catch problems before they become crashes and give users clear information when something goes wrong.
Apps rely on many moving parts that change often, such as operating systems and external libraries. Crashes and bugs can appear when these components are updated, but your app doesn’t handle them.
For a stable mobile app, you need to take a proactive approach to software updates. So, how can you be proactive?
Do this:
Following these practices helps maintain app stability across system updates and reduces the risk of compatibility-related crashes.
What seems like minor display issues can quickly become app-breaking problems. Issues like screen freezes during heavy tasks, broken layouts on different devices, and memory-intensive animations can seriously impact user experience.
To improve UI stability, do this:
Finally, test across multiple devices and screen sizes to ensure your app functions well with different resolutions and orientations. Altogether, implementing these strategies will result in a responsive and stable interface that works well across all devices
While simulators and emulators can mimic real devices to a great degree, they can't match all the quirks of actual devices. Real phones have unique characteristics that virtual testing misses, such as different ways of handling app permissions, varied processing speeds, real-world memory constraints, and actual touchscreen responses.
To implement better testing methods, do this:
Through comprehensive real-device testing, you can identify and fix issues that might be missed in simulated environments.
Each of these challenges requires specific attention and solutions to prevent app crashes effectively. By addressing these issues during development and testing, you can create more stable apps that users trust and are willing to pay for.
That is the end goal after all.