Lab Hardware Update: New Android and iOS Phones

It’s been a while since we posted an update but never fear – we’ve been adding additional Android mobile devices to our QA lab inventory. Recent acquisitions have brought in a number of new testing devices, including:

• Apple iPhone XS: Top-notch OLED display, powerful A12 Bionic chip for smooth performance, excellent dual cameras (low-light friendly), but limited storage and older (2018).
• Apple iPhone XR: Bigger LCD display for a more affordable price, still good resolution, A11 Bionic chip handles everyday tasks well, single camera good but not great in low-light, older model (2018).
• Samsung Galaxy S10: Stunning AMOLED display, powerful Snapdragon 855 for multitasking, feature-packed triple-lens camera with wide-angle and telephoto options, expandable storage (2019).
• LG G7 ThinQ: Vibrant LCD display (not OLED), capable Snapdragon 845 chip for most users, decent dual camera system (might struggle in low-light), expandable storage, budget-friendly option (2018).
• Motorola Moto G6: Super affordable, large display for basic use, basic performance suited for everyday apps (might struggle with games), single rear camera (weak low-light performance), expandable storage (2018).
• Google Pixel 3: Sharp OLED display, powerful Snapdragon 845 chip, excellent single rear camera with Google’s software magic (low-light strength), limited storage (2018).

Why Staying Current Matters

The Apple smartphones came out-of-the-box with iOS 12 installed (naturally), while the Android devices include some of the first models we’ve received that are running Android 9 (Pie) without an OTA upgrade. Most of the handsets that we pick up are still Android 8 native; even in this batch only the S10 and the Pixel 3 came with the current OS version. It seems likely that Android 9 will become the de facto new device standard around the time Android 10 releases.

Adding these new devices to our QA lab is a big deal for us. It means we can test apps on the latest and greatest phones and make sure everything works perfectly. We’re excited about what these new devices bring and how our testing can bring value to their users.

Keep checking in periodically if you are interested in the state of our QA labs, or contact us if you are interested in engaging our software quality assurance services for one of your projects.