How We Test Smartphones And Tablets

By Matt Humrick
published

Today, we outline the strict testing procedures used to obtain accurate data and discuss each test that we perform on smartphones and tablets.

Introduction

Advances in transportation, networking, and wireless technologies have allowed our society to become increasingly mobile. And whether we’re moving to another room in our home, down the street to a coffee shop, or to a city halfway around the world, our computers, which we’ve become so dependent upon, need to come with us. Laptops are still the go-to mobile device for getting real work done; however, they’re too big and bulky to comfortably use while laying in bed, and you certainly can’t put one in your pocket and carry it everywhere you go. For these reasons, tablets and smartphones are stealing screen time from traditional PCs and laptops as we increasingly use them to browse the Web, read books, watch TV and movies, play games, socialize, find a place to eat, and yes, even get some work done. Both hardware and software must evolve as we continue to find new uses for these amazing devices.

Since we carry these devices with us everywhere we go, they are even more personal than personal computers. So it’s no surprise that mobile devices vary so dramatically in size, design, performance, and price. With so many options available, and so much marketing hype, it can be difficult to choose the device that’s right for you.

Whether you’re a curious enthusiast or trying to make an informed buying decision, understanding how a device performs is both interesting and crucial for a positive user experience. This is why an in-depth performance evaluation is part of our comprehensive product reviews.

Hey, this is not easy!

Testing mobile devices presents many challenges, however. For starters, they contain a lot of hardware, from internal components such as the SoC, memory, and storage to external components such as the display, cameras, and speakers, all of which have some impact on user experience. Software plays a vital role too, and how all of these pieces work together affects battery life.

The biggest challenge when testing complete, working systems is collecting data in an uncontrolled environment. Mobile devices by their very nature are connected devices, constantly sending and receiving data from the cloud. Apps running in the background wake periodically to collect data, send notifications, or any number of things. Security software installed by the OEM or carrier may perform a routine scan. The operating system is constantly busy too. All of this activity leads to a system with a high degree of entropy.

Matt Humrick
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • blackmagnum
    Thank you for clearing this up, Matt. I am sure us readers will show approval with our clicks and regular site visits.
    Reply
  • falchard
    My testing methods amount to looking for the Windows Phone and putting the trophy next to it.
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    It's called a phone. Did I miss something? Phones should be tested for call clarity, for volume and distortion, for call drops. This is a set of tests for a tablet.
    Reply
  • MobileEditor
    It's called a phone. Did I miss something? Phones should be tested for call clarity, for volume and distortion, for call drops. This is a set of tests for a tablet.

    It's ironic that the base function of a smartphone is the one thing that we cannot test. There are simply too many variables in play: carrier, location, time of day, etc. I know other sites post recordings of call quality and bandwidth numbers in an attempt to make their reviews appear more substantial and "scientific." All they're really doing, however, is feeding their readers garbage data. Testing the same phone at the same location but at a different time of day will yield different numbers. And unless you work in the same building where they're performing these tests, how is this data remotely relevant to you?

    In reality, only the companies designing the RF components and making the smartphones can afford the equipment and special facilities necessary to properly test wireless performance. This is the reason why none of the more reputable sites test these functions; we know it cannot be done right, and no data is better than misleading data.

    Call clarity and distortion, for example, has a lot to do with the codec used encode the voice traffic. Most carriers still use the old AMR codec, which is strictly a voice codec rather than an audio codec, and is relatively low quality. Some carriers are rolling out AMR wide-band (HD-Voice), which improves call quality, but this is not a universal feature. Even carriers that support it do not support it in all areas.

    What about dropped calls? In the many years of using a cell phone, I can count the number of dropped calls I've had on one hand (that were not the result of driving into a tunnel or stepping into an elevator). How do we test something that occurs randomly and infrequently? If we do get a dropped call, is it the phone's fault or the network's? With only signal strength at the handset, it's impossible to tell.

    If there's one thing we like doing, it's testing stuff, but we're not going to do it if we cannot do it right.

    - Matt Humrick, Mobile Editor, Tom's Hardware
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    The reply is much appreciated.

    Not just Tom's (I like the site), but everyone has stopped rating phones on calls. It's been driving me nuts.
    Reply
  • KenOlson
    Matt,

    1st I think your reviews are very well done!

    Question: is there anyway of testing cell phone low signal performance?

    To date I have not found any English speaking reviews doing this.

    Thanks

    Ken
    Reply
  • MobileEditor
    1st I think your reviews are very well done!

    Question: is there anyway of testing cell phone low signal performance?

    Thanks for the compliment :)

    In order to test the low signal performance of a phone, we would need control of both ends of the connection. For example, you could be sitting right next to the cell tower and have an excellent signal, but still have a very slow connection. The problem is that you're sharing access to the tower with everyone else who's in range. So you can have a strong signal, but poor performance because the tower is overloaded. Without control of the tower, we would have no idea if the phone or the network is at fault.

    You can test this yourself by finding a cell tower near a freeway off-ramp. Perform a speed test around 10am while sitting at the stoplight. You'll have five bars and get excellent throughput. Now do the same thing at 5pm. You'll still have five bars, but you'll probably be getting closer to dialup speeds. The reason being that the people in those hundreds of cars stopped on the freeway are all passing the time by talking, texting, browsing, and probably even watching videos.

    - Matt Humrick, Mobile Editor, Tom's Hardware
    Reply