Mobile testing isn't just "web testing on a smaller screen" , it's a completely different beast. Here's what you're really up against. ──────────────────────────────────────── 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 100+ device combinations in the wild - OS fragmentation across Android versions - Performance that varies wildly between devices - Network conditions constantly changing ──────────────────────────────────────── 🔴 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 1. Device Fragmentation - The problem: Can't test on every device - The solution: Focus on top devices only. Ask the PMs or the Analytics team about the most common devices used for your app 2. Network Conditions - The problem: WiFi vs 4G vs 3G behavior differs dramatically - The solution: Simulate network throttling in your tests. Use tools such Chrome DevTools, Charles Proxy or Fiddler 3. Touch Gestures - The problem: Swipe, pinch, long-press all behave differently - The solution: Use mobile-specific testing frameworks 4. App State Interruptions - The problem: Calls, notifications, background tasks that kill your app session - The solution: Test interruption scenarios explicitly. Focus on Phone Calls, Low Battery and Notifications 5. Performance on Low-End Devices - The problem: Works on iPhone, crashes on budget Android - The solution: Test on minimum spec devices from the top 5 most popular for your app ──────────────────────────────────────── 💡 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Don't aim for 100% device coverage. Aim for 80% user coverage with smart device selection. Focus your testing budget on devices your actual users have, not every device that exists. ──────────────────────────────────────── 📌 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗦𝗗𝗘𝗧 𝗶𝗻 𝟯–𝟰 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀? Unlike software engineering or data science, QA Automation has no traditional university degree path. Most people stumble through trial and error for 12-18 months, piecing together knowledge from scattered YouTube tutorials and outdated blog posts.

In this post, I’ll break down the two most popular test automation frameworks: Playwright and Selenium, and what they mean for your automation strategy in 2026. ──────────────────────────────────────── 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 The automation framework you choose fundamentally determines: Test reliability - Will tests be flaky or stable? Development speed - How quickly can you write and maintain tests? Feature availability - What’s included vs. what requires additional setup? Team productivity - How much time is spent on plumbing vs. actual testing? Maintenance overhead - How often will framework limitations slow you down? ℹ️ Choosing the wrong framework leads to endless setup, flaky tests, and frustrated teams spending more time fixing infrastructure than writing tests. 🟢 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐢𝐧-𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Playwright is Microsoft’s modern test automation framework built from the ground up with everything a QA engineer needs, included out of the box. What comes built-in: ∙ Auto-waits and actionability checks ∙ API testing capabilities ∙ Screenshots and video recording ∙ Test generator (Codegen) ∙ Network mocking and interception ∙ Trace viewer for debugging ∙ Parallel execution Think of it as the “iPhone” of test automation - it just works, right out of the box. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: ∙ Microsoft (obviously - they built it) ∙ VS Code testing ∙ Modern startups building new test suites ∙ Teams migrating from Selenium for better reliability Playwright shines when organizations need: ∙ Fast test execution with built-in parallelization ∙ Reliable tests without flakiness from timing issues ∙ Full-stack testing (UI + API) in one framework ∙ Modern web support (Shadow DOM, iframes, web components) ∙ Quick onboarding for new team members 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐀 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Plug and play simplicity. ⓘ What This Means for Testing: ➤ One install, ready to go. No hunting for WebDriver binaries or configuring browser drivers ➤ Auto-waits eliminate flaky tests. Playwright automatically waits for elements to be actionable

The biggest mistake beginners make is picking a framework based on hype instead of their actual situation. This guide breaks down exactly which testing framework you should learn first and why your choice matters more than you think. ▶ 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝟭: 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗤𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Learn whatever framework your team already uses. Yes, even if it's outdated. Even if it's not the "best" choice. Why this matters: You'll have access to real production code, working examples, and experienced teammates who can answer your questions. You can start contributing meaningfully within weeks instead of months. The learning advantage is massive. When you're stuck on a problem, you can look at how your team solved similar issues. When you write your first test, senior engineers can review it. When something breaks, you'll see how professionals debug it in real time. Don't worry about learning an "old" framework first. The concepts transfer easily once you understand automation fundamentals. Getting hands-on experience with production code beats learning the latest trendy framework in isolation every single time. ▶ 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝟮: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝗡𝗼 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗤𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝘁 Learn Playwright. This is the clear choice for 2026, and here's exactly why. ● 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 Playwright is exploding in popularity right now. More companies adopt it every month, and its growth shows no signs of slowing. This means more job opportunities and a skill that will stay relevant for years. ● 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁 Microsoft uses Playwright for all their testing. That's not just endorsement, it's proof the framework can handle enterprise-scale applications. When a tech giant stakes their quality assurance on a tool, you can trust it's built to last. ● 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿-𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 Playwright handles all the complex setup for you. Logging, screenshots, video recording, waiting for elements - it's all built in. You don't spend weeks configuring infrastructure before writing your first test. You can start contributing value immediately.