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:

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.