How do emulators & real devices compare in passkey testing?

Vincent Delitz

Vincent

Created: January 8, 2025

Updated: April 28, 2025

Testing Passkey Implementations

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Passkey testing: Comprehensive guide on functional, performance, and penetration tests to ensure secure, seamless authentication for enterprise applications.

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How Do Emulators and Real Devices Compare in Passkey Testing?#

Both emulators and real devices play an important role in passkey testing, each offering distinct advantages and limitations. Here’s how they compare:

emulators vs real devices passkey testing

1. Advantages of Emulators#

  • Cost-Effective: Emulators eliminate the need for physical devices, reducing hardware expenses.
  • Broad Coverage: Easily simulate a wide range of devices, operating systems, and browsers.
  • Efficiency: Ideal for repetitive testing tasks, such as verifying UI consistency across platforms.
  • Controlled Environment: Enables precise testing under specific conditions, like network configurations or device settings.

2. Limitations of Emulators#

  • Limited Realism: May not replicate real-world hardware and biometric interactions accurately.
  • Performance Gaps: Lacks the ability to test device-specific behaviors, such as hardware acceleration or biometric input delays.
  • Restricted Scenarios: Cannot simulate certain real-world conditions, such as device heat, battery levels, or physical inputs.

3. Advantages of Real Devices#

  • Real-World Accuracy: Provides a true representation of user experiences, including hardware-specific quirks.
  • Biometric Testing: Enables testing of fingerprint or facial recognition features used in passkey authentication.
  • Cross-Device Scenarios: Validates the functionality of passkeys across actual hardware combinations.
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4. Limitations of Real Devices#

  • Higher Costs: Requires investment in maintaining a diverse set of devices for testing.
  • Time-Consuming: Physical setup and maintenance can be slower compared to emulators.
  • Limited Scalability: Testing on multiple real devices simultaneously is resource-intensive.

5. Best Practices#

  • Combine Both Approaches: Use emulators for initial broad testing and real devices for final validation.
  • Device Matrix Testing: Develop a testing matrix that includes both emulators and key real devices to ensure compatibility and accuracy.
  • Cloud-Based Solutions: Leverage tools like BrowserStack or Sauce Labs to access real devices on demand.

By balancing the use of emulators and real devices, enterprises can ensure thorough and cost-effective passkey testing while maintaining high accuracy and reliability.

Read the full article#

Testing Passkey Implementations

Read the full article

Passkey testing: Comprehensive guide on functional, performance, and penetration tests to ensure secure, seamless authentication for enterprise applications.

Read the full article

Already read by 5,000+ enterprise security leaders.

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