13 posts tagged with "Memory Leaks"

You know that feeling when your Flutter app works perfectly in testing… but starts lagging, stuttering, or crashing after users spend some time in it? That's often not a "Flutter problem." It's a memory problem.

Memory leaks are sneaky. They don't always break your app immediately. Instead, they quietly pile up - using more RAM, slowing things down, and eventually pushing your app to a crash. The good news? Most memory leaks in Flutter are avoidable once you know where to look.

Let's walk through some practical, real-world ways to prevent memory leaks in Flutter - no fluff, just things you can actually apply.

Have you ever dated someone who just… wouldn't let go?

You break up, move on, start fresh - and boom - they're still texting, still showing up in your life, refusing to be deleted.

That's your app with a memory leak.

It's holding on to screens, data, and objects long after it should've moved on. You've moved past the Activity, but it's still lingering in memory like a clingy ex who didn't get the memo.

The worst part? You might not even know it's happening.

But users will. They will feel it in the slowdowns, the crashes, the app that once felt smooth now feeling… emotionally unavailable.

And in Android, they're not just annoying. They're dangerous. They can slow down your app, cause freezes, and eventually - boom! A crash.

Let's dive into the most common memory leak scenarios in Android. I'll walk you through real-world examples, show you how to spot them, and most importantly, how to fix them.

"Hey… why does this screen freeze every time I scroll too fast?"

That's what my QA pinged me at 11:30 AM on a perfectly normal Tuesday.

I brushed it off. "Probably a one-off," I thought.

But then the bug reports started trickling in:

• "The app slows down after using it for a while."
• "Navigation feels laggy."
• "Sometimes it just… dies."

That's when the panic set in.

Memory leaks can be a common issue in mobile app development, including Flutter applications. When memory leaks occur, they can lead to reduced performance, increased memory consumption, and ultimately, app crashes. Flutter developers must be proactive in identifying and preventing memory leaks to ensure their apps run smoothly.

In this blog post, we will explore some best practices to help you avoid memory leaks in your Flutter applications, complete with code examples.

1. Use Weak References​

One of the most common causes of memory leaks in Flutter is holding strong references to objects that are no longer needed. To prevent this, use weak references when appropriate. Weak references allow objects to be garbage collected when they are no longer in use.

Here's an example of how to use weak references in Flutter:

import 'dart:ui';

class MyWidget extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _MyWidgetState createState() => _MyWidgetState();
}

class _MyWidgetState extends State<MyWidget> {
  // Use a weak reference to avoid memory leaks
  final _myObject = WeakReference<MyObject>();

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    // Create an instance of MyObject
    _myObject.value = MyObject();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    // Use _myObject.value in your widget
    return Text(_myObject.value?.someProperty ?? 'No data');
  }
}

2. Dispose of Resources​

In Flutter, widgets that use resources such as animations, controllers, or streams should be disposed of when they are no longer needed. Failure to do so can result in memory leaks.

Here's an example of how to dispose of resources using the dispose method:

class MyWidget extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _MyWidgetState createState() => _MyWidgetState();
}

class _MyWidgetState extends State<MyWidget> {
  AnimationController _controller;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _controller = AnimationController(
      vsync: this,
      duration: Duration(seconds: 1),
    );
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    _controller.dispose(); // Dispose of the animation controller
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    // Use the _controller for animations
    return Container();
  }
}

3. Use WidgetsBindingObserver​

Flutter provides the WidgetsBindingObserver mixin, which allows you to listen for app lifecycle events and manage resources accordingly. You can use it to release resources when the app goes into the background or is no longer active.

Here's an example of how to use WidgetsBindingObserver:

class MyWidget extends StatefulWidget with WidgetsBindingObserver {
  @override
  _MyWidgetState createState() => _MyWidgetState();
  
  @override
  void didChangeAppLifecycleState(AppLifecycleState state) {
    if (state == AppLifecycleState.paused) {
      // Release resources when the app goes into the background
      _releaseResources();
    } else if (state == AppLifecycleState.resumed) {
      // Initialize resources when the app is resumed
      _initializeResources();
    }
  }

  void _initializeResources() {
    // Initialize your resources here
  }

  void _releaseResources() {
    // Release your resources here
  }
}

4. Use Flutter DevTools​

Flutter DevTools is a powerful set of tools that can help you identify and diagnose memory leaks in your Flutter app. It provides insights into memory usage, object allocation, and more. To use Flutter DevTools, follow these steps:

• Ensure you have Flutter DevTools installed:

flutter pub global activate devtools

• Run your app with DevTools:

flutter run

• Open DevTools in a web browser:

flutter pub global run devtools

• Use the Memory and Performance tabs to analyze memory usage and detect leaks.

5. Use APM Tools​

Even if a thorough testing is done, chances of memory leaks happening in production cannot be ruled out. Use APM tools like Appxiom that monitors memory leaks and reports in real time, both in development phase and production phase.

Conclusion​

Memory leaks can be a challenging issue to deal with in Flutter apps, but by following these best practices and using tools like Flutter DevTools and Appxiom, you can significantly reduce the risk of memory leaks and keep your app running smoothly. Remember to use weak references, dispose of resources properly, and manage resources based on app lifecycle events to ensure your Flutter app remains efficient and stable.

Happy Coding!

Jetpack Compose is a modern Android UI toolkit introduced by Google, designed to simplify UI development and create more efficient and performant apps. While it offers numerous advantages, like a declarative UI syntax and increased developer productivity, it's not immune to memory leaks.

Memory leaks in Android can lead to sluggish performance and even app crashes. In this blog post, we'll explore the possibilities of causing memory leaks in Jetpack Compose and common reasons behind them. We'll also provide code examples and discuss strategies to prevent and fix these issues.

Understanding Memory Leaks​

Before diving into Jetpack Compose-specific issues, let's briefly understand what a memory leak is. A memory leak occurs when objects that are no longer needed are not released from memory, causing a gradual increase in memory consumption over time. In Android, this is typically caused by retaining references to objects that should be garbage collected.

How to Avoid Memory Leaks in Jetpack Compose​

1. Lambda Expressions and Captured Variables​

Jetpack Compose heavily relies on lambda expressions and function literals. When these lambdas capture references to objects, they can unintentionally keep those objects in memory longer than necessary. This often happens when lambdas capture references to ViewModels or other long-lived objects.

@Composable
fun MyComposable(viewModel: MyViewModel) {
    // This lambda captures a reference to viewModel
    Button(onClick = { viewModel.doSomething() }) {
        Text("Click me")
    }
}

In this example, the lambda passed to Button captures a reference to the viewModel parameter. If MyComposable gets recomposed, a new instance of the lambda will be created, but it still captures the same viewModel reference. If the old MyComposable instance is no longer in use, the captured viewModel reference will keep it from being garbage collected, potentially causing a memory leak.

To avoid this, you can use the remember function to ensure that the lambda captures a stable reference:

@Composable
fun MyComposable(viewModel: MyViewModel) {
    val viewModelState by remember { viewModel.state }

    Button(onClick = { viewModelState.doSomething() }) {
        Text("Click me")
    }
}

Here, remember is used to cache the value of viewModel.state. This ensures that the lambda inside Button captures a stable reference to viewModelState. As a result, even if MyComposable is recomposed, it won't create unnecessary new references to viewModel, reducing the risk of memory leaks.

2. Composable Functions and State​

Composables are functions that can rebuild when their inputs change. If you're not careful, unnecessary recompositions can lead to memory leaks. Composable functions that create and hold onto state objects, especially those with a long lifecycle, can cause memory leaks.

@Composable
fun MyComposable() {
    val context = LocalContext.current
    val database = Room.databaseBuilder(context, MyDatabase::class.java, "my-database").build()

    // ...
}

To mitigate this, prefer creating and closing resources within a DisposableEffect:

@Composable
fun MyComposable() {
    val context = LocalContext.current

    DisposableEffect(Unit) {
        val database = Room.databaseBuilder(context, MyDatabase::class.java, "my-database").build()
        onDispose {
            database.close()
        }
    }

    // ...
}

​

3. Forgetting to Dispose of Observers​

Jetpack Compose's LiveData and State are commonly used for observing and updating UI. However, not removing observers correctly can result in memory leaks. When a Composable is removed from the UI hierarchy, you should ensure that it no longer observes any LiveData or State.

@Composable
fun MyComposable(viewModel: MyViewModel) {
    val data = viewModel.myLiveData.observeAsState()

    // ...
}

To address this, use the DisposableEffect to automatically remove observers when the Composable is no longer needed:

@Composable
fun MyComposable(viewModel: MyViewModel) {
    DisposableEffect(viewModel) {
        val data = viewModel.myLiveData.observeAsState()
        onDispose {
            // Remove observers or do necessary cleanup here
        }
    }

    // ...
}

Conclusion​

Jetpack Compose is a powerful tool for building modern Android user interfaces. However, like any technology, it's essential to be aware of potential pitfalls, especially regarding memory management.

By understanding the common causes of memory leaks and following best practices, you can create efficient and performant Compose-based apps that delight your users.

In the world of iOS app development, memory management plays a crucial role in delivering smooth user experiences and preventing crashes. Building memory-efficient apps is not only essential for maintaining good performance but also for optimizing battery life and ensuring the overall stability of your application.

In this blog post, we will explore some best practices and techniques for building memory-efficient iOS apps using Swift.

Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) in Swift​

Swift uses Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) as a memory management technique. ARC automatically tracks and manages the memory used by your app, deallocating objects that are no longer needed. It is essential to have a solid understanding of how ARC works to build memory-efficient iOS apps.

Avoid Strong Reference Cycles (Retain Cycles)​

A strong reference cycle, also known as a retain cycle, occurs when two objects hold strong references to each other, preventing them from being deallocated. This can lead to memory leaks and degrade app performance.

To avoid retain cycles, use weak or unowned references in situations where strong references are not necessary. Weak references automatically become nil when the referenced object is deallocated, while unowned references assume that the referenced object will always be available.

Example:

class Person {
    var name: String
    weak var spouse: Person?
    
    init(name: String) {
        self.name = name
    }
    
    deinit {
        print("\(name) is being deallocated.")
    }
}

func createCouple() {
    let john = Person(name: "John")
    let jane = Person(name: "Jane")
    
    john.spouse = jane
    jane.spouse = john
}

createCouple()
// Output: John is being deallocated.

In the example above, the spouse property is declared as a weak reference to avoid a retain cycle between two Person objects.

Use Lazy Initialization​

Lazy initialization allows you to delay the creation of an object until it is accessed for the first time. This can be useful when dealing with resource-intensive objects that are not immediately needed. By using lazy initialization, you can avoid unnecessary memory allocation until the object is actually required.

Example:

class ImageProcessor {
    lazy var imageFilter: ImageFilter = {
        return ImageFilter()
    }()
    
    // Rest of the class implementation
}

let processor = ImageProcessor()
// The ImageFilter object is not created until the first access to imageFilter property

Release Unused Resources​

Failing to release unused resources can quickly lead to memory consumption issues. It's important to free up any resources that are no longer needed, such as large data sets, images, or files. Use techniques like caching, lazy loading, and smart resource management to ensure that memory is efficiently utilized.

Optimize Image and Asset Usage​

Images and other assets can consume a significant amount of memory if not optimized properly. To reduce memory usage, consider the following techniques:

• Use image formats that offer better compression, such as WebP or HEIF.

• Resize images to the appropriate dimensions for their intended use.

• Compress images without significant loss of quality.

• Utilize image asset catalogs to generate optimized versions for different device resolutions.

• Use image lazy loading techniques to load images on demand.

Implement View Recycling​

View recycling is an effective technique to optimize memory usage when dealing with large collections of reusable views, such as table views and collection views. Instead of creating a new view for each item, you can reuse existing views by dequeuing them from a pool. This approach reduces memory consumption and enhances the scrolling performance of your app.

Profile and Analyze Memory Usage​

Xcode provides powerful profiling tools to analyze the memory usage of your app. Use the Instruments tool to identify any memory leaks, heavy memory allocations, or unnecessary memory consumption. Regularly profiling your app during development allows you to catch and address memory-related issues early on. Also, you may use tools like Appxiom to detect memory leaks and abnormal memory usage.

Conclusion​

Building memory-efficient iOS apps is crucial for delivering a seamless user experience and optimizing the overall performance of your application. By understanding the principles of Automatic Reference Counting (ARC), avoiding strong reference cycles, lazy initialization, releasing unused resources, optimizing image and asset usage, implementing view recycling, and profiling memory usage, you can create iOS apps that are efficient, stable, and user-friendly.

Remember, memory optimization is an ongoing process, and it's essential to continuously monitor and improve memory usage as your app evolves. By following these best practices and techniques, you'll be well on your way to building memory-efficient iOS apps using Swift.

Memory leaks can be a significant concern for Android developers as they can cause apps to become sluggish, unresponsive, or even crash.

In this blog post, we will delve into the various ways memory leaks can occur in Android apps and explore Kotlin-based examples to better understand how to detect and prevent them.

By identifying these common pitfalls, developers can create more efficient and robust applications.

1. Retained References​

One of the primary causes of memory leaks in Android apps is the retention of references to objects that are no longer needed. This occurs when objects that have a longer lifecycle than their associated activities or fragments hold references to those activities or fragments. As a result, the garbage collector is unable to reclaim the memory occupied by these objects.

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    private val networkManager = NetworkManager(this) // Retained reference
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)
        // ...
    }
    
    // ...
}

class NetworkManager(private val context: Context) {
    private val requestQueue: RequestQueue = Volley.newRequestQueue(context)

    // ...
}

In this example, the NetworkManager holds a reference to the MainActivity context. If the MainActivity is destroyed, but the NetworkManager instance is not explicitly released, the activity will not be garbage collected, resulting in a memory leak.

To prevent this, ensure that any objects holding references to activities or fragments are released when no longer needed, typically in the corresponding onDestroy() method.

2. Handler and Runnable Memory Leaks​

Handlers and Runnables are often used to schedule tasks to be executed on the UI thread. However, if not used correctly, they can lead to memory leaks. When a Runnable is posted to a Handler, it holds an implicit reference to the enclosing class, which may cause memory leaks if the task execution is delayed or canceled.

class MyFragment : Fragment() {
    private val handler = Handler()

    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState)

        val runnable = Runnable { /* Some task */ }
        handler.postDelayed(runnable, 5000) // Delayed execution
    }

    override fun onDestroyView() {
        super.onDestroyView()
        handler.removeCallbacksAndMessages(null) // Prevent memory leak
    }
}

In this example, if the MyFragment is destroyed before the delayed execution of the Runnable, it will still hold a reference to the fragment.

Calling removeCallbacksAndMessages(null) in onDestroyView() ensures that the pending task is removed and prevents a memory leak.

3. Static Context References​

Holding a static reference to a Context, such as an Activity or Application, can cause memory leaks since the object associated with the Context cannot be garbage collected as long as the static reference exists. This issue is particularly prevalent when using singleton classes or static variables.

class MySingleton private constructor(private val context: Context) {
    companion object {
        private var instance: MySingleton? = nullfun getInstance(context: Context): MySingleton {
            if (instance == null) {
                instance = MySingleton(context.applicationContext)
            }
            return instance as MySingleton
        }
    }

    // ...
}

In this example, the MySingleton class holds a static reference to a Context. If the Context passed during initialization is an activity, it will prevent the activity from being garbage collected, leading to a memory leak.

To avoid this, consider passing application context or weak references to avoid holding strong references to activities or fragments.

Leak Detection Tools​

Two tools that help in detecting memory leaks in Android apps are LeakCanary and Appxiom.

LeakCanary is used in development phase to detect memory leaks.

Appxiom detects memory leaks and can be used not just in debug builds, but in release builds as well due to its lightweight implementation

Conclusion​

Memory leaks can have a significant impact on the performance and stability of Android apps. Understanding the different ways they can occur is crucial for developers.

By paying attention to retained references, handling Handlers and Runnables properly, and avoiding static Context references, developers can mitigate memory leaks and build more efficient and reliable Android applications.

In today's mobile development landscape, memory management is a crucial aspect to consider when building Android applications. Building memory efficient Android applications requires a combination of good coding practices, use of modern development tools, and adherence to the latest Android development standards.

In this blog post, we will explore how to build memory efficient Android applications using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.

What is Kotlin?​

Kotlin is a statically typed programming language that was developed by JetBrains in 2011. It is designed to be interoperable with Java, which is the official language for developing Android applications.

Kotlin provides several features that make it easy to write concise, expressive, and safe code. Some of these features include null safety, extension functions, lambda expressions, and coroutines.

What is Jetpack Compose?​

Jetpack Compose is a modern UI toolkit for Android development that was introduced by Google in 2020. It is built on top of the Kotlin programming language and provides a declarative way of building UI components.

Jetpack Compose aims to simplify the UI development process by enabling developers to write less boilerplate code, reduce the number of bugs in the codebase, and improve the performance of the UI.

Tips for Building Memory Efficient Android Applications using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose​

Here are some tips for building memory efficient Android applications using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose:

1. Use Kotlin's Null Safety Feature​

Kotlin's null safety feature helps to reduce the number of null pointer exceptions that can occur in an Android application. Null pointer exceptions are a common cause of memory leaks in Android applications.

By using Kotlin's null safety feature, you can ensure that variables are always initialized before they are used. This helps to reduce the number of memory leaks in your application.

2. Use Lazy Initialization​

Lazy initialization is a technique that allows you to initialize a variable only when it is needed. This technique helps to reduce the amount of memory that is used by your application. In Kotlin, you can use the by lazy keyword to implement lazy initialization.

Here is an example:

private val myVariable: MyObject by lazy { MyObject() }

3. Use the ViewModel Architecture Component​

The ViewModel architecture component is a part of Jetpack that provides a way to store data that is required by a UI component. The ViewModel is designed to survive configuration changes, such as screen rotations.

By using the ViewModel architecture component, you can avoid reloading data every time the UI component is recreated. This helps to reduce the amount of memory that is used by your application.

4. Use the Compose UI ToolKit​

Jetpack Compose provides a declarative way of building UI components. Declarative UI development makes it easy to create UI components that are efficient and performant. By using Jetpack Compose, you can avoid creating custom views and layouts, which can be a source of memory leaks.

5. Use View Binding​

View Binding is a feature that was introduced in Android Studio 3.6. It provides a way to reference views in your XML layout files using generated classes. By using View Binding, you can avoid using findViewById(), which can be a source of memory leaks.

Here is an example:

private lateinit var myView: MyViewBinding

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    myView = MyViewBinding.inflate(layoutInflater)
    setContentView(myView.root)
}

6. Avoid Using Static Variables​

Static variables are variables that are shared among all instances of a class. They can be a source of memory leaks if they are not properly managed. In Kotlin, you can use the companion object to create static variables.

Here is an example:

class MyClass {
    companion object {
        const val MY_STATIC_VARIABLE = "my_static_variable"
    }
}

By using the companion object instead of static variables, you can avoid potential memory leaks caused by static variables.

7. Use the Right Data Structures​

Choosing the right data structures is critical to building memory efficient Android applications. When selecting data structures, you should consider the size of the data, the frequency of access, and the type of data operations that you will be performing.

Some of the data structures that you can use in Kotlin include:

• Arrays: Use arrays for collections of primitive data types, such as integers and booleans.

• Lists: Use lists for collections of objects. Lists are more flexible than arrays and can handle different data types.

• Maps: Use maps for key-value pairs. Maps are useful for storing and retrieving data quickly.

• Sets: Use sets for collections of unique objects. Sets are useful for removing duplicates and performing operations on unique objects.

8. Avoid Creating Too Many Objects​

Creating too many objects in your Android application can cause memory issues, such as excessive garbage collection and memory leaks. To avoid creating too many objects, you should:

• Use constants: If a value is constant, declare it as a constant variable.

• Reuse objects: If an object can be reused, avoid creating new instances.

• Use object pooling: Object pooling involves reusing objects instead of creating new instances. Object pooling can help to reduce the number of objects that are created and improve the performance of your application.

9. Use Profiling Tools​

Profiling tools can help you to identify memory leaks and performance issues in your Android application. Android Studio provides several profiling tools that you can use to optimize the performance of your application.

Some of the profiling tools that you can use include:

• Memory Profiler: The Memory Profiler provides a visual representation of the memory usage of your application. You can use the Memory Profiler to identify memory leaks and optimize the memory usage of your application.

• CPU Profiler: The CPU Profiler provides a visual representation of the CPU usage of your application. You can use the CPU Profiler to identify performance issues and optimize the performance of your application.

• Network Profiler: The Network Profiler provides a visual representation of the network usage of your application. You can use the Network Profiler to identify network-related performance issues and optimize the network usage of your application.

10. Test Your Application on Different Devices​

Testing your Android application on different devices can help you to identify memory and performance issues that may not be visible on a single device. Different devices have different hardware configurations and performance characteristics, and testing your application on multiple devices can help you to identify issues that may affect a specific device.

11. Use Leak Detection Tools​

Popular tools that help in detecting memory leaks in Android apps are LeakCanary and Appxiom. LeakCanary is widely used in development phase to detect memory leaks. Appxiom is used both development phase and production phase. It detects memory leaks, memory spikes and abnormal memory usage.

Conclusion​

Building memory efficient Android applications is critical to providing a good user experience. By using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, you can build efficient and performant Android applications that are easy to maintain.

By following the tips outlined in this blog post, you can optimize the memory usage of your application and improve its performance.

Performance testing is a critical aspect of iOS app development. It ensures that the app performs optimally, providing a seamless user experience. With millions of apps available in the App Store, it is imperative that an iOS app must perform well to succeed.

In this blog, we will explore what iOS app performance testing is, the best practices to follow, and the tools available.

What is iOS App Performance Testing?​

iOS app performance testing is the process of testing an application's performance and behavior on iOS devices. The testing process includes evaluating the app's response time, speed, stability, scalability, and resource utilization. The goal of iOS app performance testing is to identify any performance issues before the app is released to the public.

What to test?​

• Memory usage including memory leaks, abnormal memory usage, memory spikes.

• Battery drain

• CPU usage

• Network call performance issues, Error status codes in responses, delayed calls, duplicate calls.

• App Hang

• Screen responsiveness

• User flow and logic

Steps in iOS App Performance Testing​

• Define Test Objectives - The first step in iOS app performance testing is to define the test objectives. This includes identifying the target audience, user scenarios, and performance goals.

• Identify Performance Metrics - The next step is to identify the performance metrics that need to be tested. This includes response time, speed, stability, scalability, and resource utilization.

• Create Test Environment - The test environment should be created to simulate real-life scenarios. This includes configuring the hardware and software components, network conditions, and device settings.

• Develop Test Plan - A detailed test plan should be developed, outlining the test scenarios, test cases, and expected results.

• Execute Test Plan - The test plan should be executed as per the defined scenarios, and the app's performance should be evaluated under different conditions.

• Analyze Test Results - The test results should be analyzed to identify performance issues and bottlenecks.

• Optimize App Performance - Based on the test results, the app's performance should be optimized to ensure that it meets the performance goals and objectives.

Tools for iOS App Performance Testing​

• Xcode Instruments - Xcode Instruments is a powerful tool that can be used for iOS app performance testing. It provides a wide range of profiling and debugging tools that can help identify and resolve performance issues.

• Charles Proxy - Charles Proxy is a tool that can be used to monitor network traffic, including HTTP and SSL traffic. It can be used to test the app's performance under different network conditions.

• XCTest - XCTest is an automated testing framework provided by Apple for testing iOS apps. It can be used to create automated performance tests.

• Firebase Test Lab - Firebase Test Lab is a cloud-based testing platform that provides a wide range of testing capabilities, including performance testing.

• BrowserStack - Cloud based testing platform with a range of features to identify and debug issues while testing.

• Appxiom - SaaS platform that reports performance issues and bugs in iOS apps in real time. It detects Memory issues, screen responsiveness, crashes, rendering issues, network call issues over HTTP and HTTPS and much more in development, testing and live phases of the app.

Best Practices for iOS App Performance Testing​

• Test Early and Often - iOS app performance testing should be an integral part of the development process, and testing should be done early and often.

• Use Real Devices - Testing should be done on real devices to simulate real-life scenarios accurately.

• Define Realistic Test Scenarios - Test scenarios should be defined based on real-life scenarios to ensure that the app's performance is tested under realistic conditions.

• Use Automated Testing - Automated testing should be used to reduce the testing time and improve accuracy.

• Monitor App Performance - App performance should be monitored continuously to identify any performance issues and bottlenecks.

• Collaborate with Developers - Collaboration between testers and developers can help identify and resolve performance issues early in the development process.

Conclusion​

iOS app performance testing ensures that the app performs optimally, providing a seamless user experience. By following best practices and using the right tools, iOS app developers can identify and resolve performance issues early in the development process, resulting in a high-quality app that meets the user's expectations. It is essential to test the app's performance under different conditions to ensure that it performs well under all circumstances. Therefore, app performance testing should be an integral part of the iOS app development process.

Performance monitoring and continues bug monitoring are critical parts of the Mobile App development lifecycle. As mobile devices become more powerful and users expect more from their apps, it is essential to ensure that apps are performing well and are free of bugs. One way to achieve this is by using Application Performance Management (APM) tools.

APM tools are designed to help mobile app testers and developers detect and diagnose performance issues and bugs in their apps. These tools provide a wide range of information about an app's performance, including memory usage, CPU usage, network activity, and more. This information can be used to identify bottlenecks, memory leaks, and other issues that can negatively impact an app's performance.

One of the main benefits of using APM tools is that they can help app developers and testers find and fix performance issues before they become a problem for users. By identifying issues early in the development process, teams can make changes to improve performance and ensure that the app is stable and reliable. This can help reduce the number of crashes and improve the overall user experience.

Another benefit of using APM tools is that they can help developers and testers understand how users are interacting with their apps. This can be especially useful for understanding how different user segments are interacting with the app, which can help teams optimize the user experience and make improvements that will have the biggest impact.

In short, APM tools are an essential tool for mobile app testers and developers. They help teams identify and fix performance issues and bugs, improve the user experience, and ensure that apps are stable and reliable. By using APM tools, teams can deliver better quality apps and create a more positive user experience.

Visit appxiom.com to know more about how Appxiom can help you with monitoring performance and bugs in mobile apps.

Year 2020 started with the fear of pandemic induced economic recession. But it seems technology domain was less unaffected than expected. Reason for this is the increased dependency on technology. This increase in demand reflected in the number of bug reports Appxiom handled in 2020. Appxiom captured 464 Million bug reports which is 45 times the count for 2019.

We analysed the bug types to get an understanding about the common issues reported in mobile apps. We decided to share this data to help developers to focus more on such issues and to improve the quality of mobile apps.

Bug stats for iOS apps​

​

In 2020 Appxiom captured 138 Million bug reports from 624 iOS apps built on Objective C or Swift. This is from an install base of 1.3M devices.

API related bugs are the most common bugs in iOS and contribute 42.9% of all issues reported, followed by memory leaks at 25%. Crashes contribute 14.3% of bugs. Frame skips came next at 9.5%.

Bugs in iOS apps

Bug stats for Android apps​

​

Appxiom captured 324 Million bug reports in 2020 from 1853 android apps built on Java or Kotlin. Total install base is 2.1M devices.

Memory leaks are the most common bugs in android and contribute 29.7% of all issues reported, followed by screen load delays at 25.4%. Crashes contribute 23.7%% of bugs. API bugs are at 9.5%.

Bugs in Android apps

Conclusion​

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While we do not claim this to be an exact representation of state of mobile app bugs across millions of apps out there, this data has some clear indicators. Higher density of memory related bugs is a major concern, and one of the reasons is that a good number of the memory leaks go unnoticed during development phase. API bugs and crashes are issues that could be identified before going in production, but looks like a not so small number of them make it to live apps.

Though it is often advised to keep the app’s memory footprint as low as possible, developers tend to overlook this aspect during app development. As a result, the elements that consume the app’s memory go unchecked, which leads to the app consuming an abnormal amount of the device’s memory.

When the iOS app consumes a considerable amount of allocated memory, it leads to an out of memory exception, resulting in an app crash and affecting user experience. This makes it important for developers to be notified about abnormal memory usages in both development and production environments at the earliest.  

Abnormal memory usage occurs when unused memory is not reclaimed properly or because of inefficient object reuse.​

With Appxiom, abnormal memory usage can be detected at the earliest and developers get to fix the issue fast.Appxiom is an automated bug reporting tool that is capable of detecting abnormal memory usages and memory spikes in iOS apps.

Using Appxiom to track memory issues in iOS​

With a simple 3-step integration process, Appxiom framework for iOS detects and reports abnormal memory usage in both development and production environments. Please visit our documentation page for more details. 

Tracking memory usage with Activity trail​

Appxiom reports high memory usage when the iOS app consumes more than 30% of the physical memory. The bug report will have data points like activity trail with memory usage patterns along with device and device state information, which will aid developers to reproduce the bug. 

Activity Trail from an issue reportActivity trail consists of a list of events that occurred one minute prior to the issue occurrence. The app events along with the percentage of free memory available at each point are displayed in a chronological order. 

Components of Activity trail​

Section of Activity Trail

Activity​

The activity segment has details of the app events. The user event will have two components separated by a colon

•  The name of the class in which the event gets reported

•  The textual description of the event.

Timestamp​

The timestamp segment has details related to the time at which the event gets recorded. 

Free Memory​

The memory segment also contains the percentage of free memory available for the app at the time of the event. 

How Appxiom helps in finding the root cause​

Abnormal memory usage reported by AppxiomLet’s consider a use case as indicated in the above screenshot. Here, Appxiom has detected high memory usage in an iOS app. The issue is that the app’s memory usage crossed 2587213824 bytes, which is more than 30% of the physical memory size i.e 8589934592 bytes. 

With an in-depth evaluation of the activity trail section in the issue report, we understand that while loading the first banner image, the free memory was around 79%. But when the final banner image was loaded, the memory dipped down to almost 71%. So with each banner image, the amount of free memory available goes down. By analysing the issue further in code, we can come to the conclusion that the root cause for the free memory dip was that the allocated objects for banner images are not released. 

This scenario may lead to an app crash. In order to avoid the app from crashing, Appxiom detects and reports whenever the app consumes more than an ideal amount of free memory.

Activity trail helps developers to pinpoint where exactly the issue is so that necessary changes can be made in the code and a patch version be released fast. 

Custom Activity Trail events​

Apart from default events, Appxiom allows developers to set custom app events in activity trail (refer our Objective-C and Swift documentation) with an API, which can be called anywhere in the code. These custom events will be recorded and shown along with default app events in the activity trail section in Appxiom dashboard. 

Along with high memory usage and spikes, Appxiom also detects memory leak in iOS apps. To know more read our blog Detect memory leaks in iOS

Apart from memory-related issues, Appxiom capable of detecting and reporting crashes, API call issues, frame rate issues, ANR, function failures, exceptions, delays and custom issues.  Appxiom is available for iOS as Objective-C and Swift Frameworks, watchOS as Objective-C and Swift Frameworks, and Android as Java and Kotlin SDKs platforms. 

Visit appxiom.com to know more about Appxiom. Detailed documentation is available at docs.appxiom.com

One of the challenges mobile app developers face is collecting as much relevant data to reproduce bugs reported during testing and more so production. In production even detecting bug occurrences becomes a challenge. Manual bug detection and data collection in Android mobile apps during testing and development environment is time consuming and in production it is near impossible. Here is where tools like Appxiom aid the developers.

Appxiom is an automated, light-weight bug reporting SDK for Android apps that helps developers to reduce the bug fixing time by providing clear and crisp issue reports with detailed data points for effective root cause analysis.

First things first, Appxiom has an easy three step integration process.

• Register with Appxiom using the ‘Get Started’ button in https://appxiom.com and login to the dashboard. 

• Use ‘Add App’ to link your Android app to Appxiom.

• Integrate Appxiom SDK to your app as a gradle library.

For a more detailed integration guide, visit our documentation pages for Android (Java & Kotlin).

Appxiom is capable of reporting multiple bug types in Android apps. Some of the main types of bugs in Android apps are,

Types of Issues captured and reported by Appxiom​

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Memory Leaks​

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Memory Leaks occur in Android apps when unused objects are not cleared from the device’s memory. Appxiom SDK has out of the box capability to detect memory leaks in Android apps. and reports it to the dashboard with data points like class stack, activity trail, device and device state info. 

Memory Leak in Android

Crashes​

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App Crashes are fatal and will affect the user experience, which may lead to user’s uninstalling the app. 

App Crash in AndroidWith basic integration, Appxiom SDK is capable of reporting crashes along with data points like device and device state data, activity trail and full stack trace.

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API Failures​

With a single line of code, Appxiom SDK is capable of reporting API issues like status code errors, delayed API call executions or even duplicate API calls. Appxiom reports API failures with detailed data points including network parameters like full URL, request-response headers and request body. 

API Issue in Android

Abnormal memory usage​

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When an app consumes a high amount of device’s memory, Appxiom SDK immediately reports it. Activity trail in issue report will enable developers to identify the reason for the spike in memory usage.

Abnormal Memory Usage in Android

Function failures​

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Issues in code level functions like unexpected return value, delay in function execution are called function failures. Appxiom SDK provides a single line API to track code level function failures. Data points like function parameters are sent along with each issue report with will aid developers in fixing the issue fast.

Function Failure in Android

Feature failures​

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Using the function tracking API, SDK allows developers to chain multiple functions. Once chained Appxiom will monitor if the second function is executed within the stipulated time (can be set by the developer) after the execution of the first function. If not, then Appxiom SDK reports it as an issue. This will enable developers to report any app feature failures.

Feature Failure in AndroidBug reports will include data points like activity trail, function parameters and return values.

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Custom issues​

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Appxiom SDK provides a single line API for developers to report any custom issues. 

Custom Issue report in Android

ANR​

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ANR or App Not Responding occurs due to frame rate issues in Android, that block the UI thread for more than 5 seconds. By tracing the Activity trail events, developers can reproduce and can fix ANR issues fast. 

ANR report in Android

Screen loading delay​

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Delay in loading of any activity or fragment will be automatically reported by Appxiom SDK. 

Screen Loading delay in AndroidNow, let us take a look at the data points in bug reports of Appxiom that help developers to reproduce the bugs effectively. 

Data Points Explained​

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Error insights​

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Error insights help the developers to find commonalities across occurrences for faster root cause analysis. Error insights consist of information like bandwidth strength, battery level, low memory warning, OS versions, device names, country name and timezone offsets. 

Error Insights from an issue report in Android

Activity Trail​

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Activity trail is a list of chronologically ordered app events, that helps developers to identify where the issue occurred. It consists of three components, 

• The Activity segment, that has the details of the app event.

• The timestamp segment, that has time at which the event got recorded.

• The memory segment, that shows the percentage of free memory.

Activity-trail from an issue report in Android

Stack trace​

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Stack trace helps the developers to track the exact line of code where the crash occurred.

Stack trace from an issue report in Android

Network Parameters​

Network parameters provide in-depth information on network request and response data. Network parameters will have request headers, request body, request body size, response headers, status code and response body size. 

Network parameters from an issue report in Android

Device & Device State info​

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Device & Device state info gives the developer information about the device and the state of the device at the time of bug occurrence.

Device and Device State data from an issue report in Android

Function Parameters​

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Function parameters section of data points will contain parameter value and data type of all the parameters passed to the function being tracked during runtime.

Function parameters from an issue report in Android

Data Security & Data Privacy​

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Appxiom SDK is architectured in such a way that all our app users remain anonymous to the system as we do not collect any PII which ensures data privacy. All data collected, sent and stored by Appxiom are secured with end to end encryption. Appxiom is also GDPR compliant.

Call back mechanism​

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For every issue that is raised by the Appxiom SDK, a callback function will be triggered, which allows developers to handle the issue gracefully. You can read more about the same in our Java and Kotlin documentation pages.

Appxiom is also available as Objective-C and Swift frameworks for iOS and watchOS. Visit appxiom.com to know more about Appxiom Detailed documentation is available at docs.appxiom.com.