✦ Task type · App testing
Android onboarding tests, specified by device tier
On iOS you test an app. On Android you test an app on a device, and the difference is the whole reason this brief looks different from the iOS one.
Android onboarding tests answer a narrower question than the iOS version, and pretending otherwise is what produces results nobody can act on. You are not testing whether the flow works. You are testing whether it works on a class of device.
What to put in the public brief
- Android, and the minimum OS version
- The device tier you need, described in plain terms
- Whether they will sideload or join a testing track
- That a screen recording is required
- Roughly how long the run takes
Keep the app name, the build and any credentials private.
What to put in the private instructions
Say how they get the build, step by step
Include the unknown-sources warning if there is one, and say it is expected. A tester who stops at a security prompt has produced a recording of your distribution method rather than your onboarding.
Give an outcome, not a tap sequence
"Get to the point where you have created your first entry." A route tests instruction-following; an outcome tests the app.
Ask for the exact device and Android version
Manufacturer, model and build number. "Samsung, recent" is not a data point you can reproduce against.
Ask them to note anything that felt slow
Perceived performance is a first-run killer on mid-range hardware and it never appears in a crash log.
Proof worth requiring
Ask for
The full screen recording, the device model and Android version, and one line on anything that felt slow or looked wrong rather than broken.
Do not ask for
Logs or a bug report format. You are buying a first-run experience from a normal user; asking for structured triage selects for testers who are not normal users.
When this task type is the wrong tool
If you need reproduction of a known crash on a known device, this is the wrong instrument — that is QA with a specific repro, not first-run research.
If the app is not yet installable outside your own team, nothing here can run. And if you want the same question answered on iPhone, the iOS version of this brief differs in exactly one respect: you can stop worrying about which device it is.
Common questions
How is this different from an iOS test?
Fragmentation. An iOS run tells you about your app; an Android run tells you about your app on one manufacturer's software on one hardware tier. Specify the tier and run separate campaigns for each, because a mid-range device on a two-year-old Android version fails differently from a current flagship and averaging them hides both.
Which devices should I ask for?
Whatever your install base actually holds, which is usually further down-market than teams assume. If you have no data yet, run one campaign on current mid-range hardware and one on anything at least three years old. The second is where the findings are.
What reward is fair?
Twelve to twenty-two dollars, a little above the iOS equivalent. Sideloading an APK or joining a testing track is more work than tapping a TestFlight link, and the people with older devices are exactly the ones you must not underpay to reach.
Should I use Play internal testing or an APK?
Internal testing if you can, because it matches how a real install behaves. If you send an APK, say explicitly in the private instructions that they will see an unknown-sources warning and that it is expected, or your recordings will be of people hesitating at a security prompt.
Thinking of taking this task?
The same job, from the other side. Rewards are set by the poster, so treat these as the range this task type usually sits in rather than a promise.
- Usually pays
- $12 to $22
- You need
- An Android phone, often an older or mid-range one
- Proof expected
- A screen recording plus your exact device and Android version
Older hardware is frequently what the poster needs. You may see an unknown-sources warning when installing; that is expected and the brief will say so.
Create a worker accountTest your Android onboarding
Set the reward, the device tiers and the number of testers. Workers with matching hardware reserve a spot; your build link stays private until they do.
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