Mobile Analytics is a powerful Apigee service that gives you insight into the operation of your mobile applications so that you can isolate and fix the source of errors or remove performance inhibitors.
In addition, Mobile Analytics allows you to remotely manage the configuration of your mobile apps. For example, you can change various application settings and immediately push out the changes.
Monitor usage
Developers typically spend a lot of time and energy building mobile apps with great features. But much of that effort is wasted if the app malfunctions or performs poorly. Mobile Analytics solves that problem by giving developers the analytical tools they need to dig into the “what” and “where” of an application error or performance glitch so that developers can isolate the source of a problem and fix it.
Suppose you just released a major functional update of your mobile app. A few days later, you start to see poor reviews of the app, with comments such as “the app is not working”. The description of the problem is vague at best, and you don’t know if the problem is truly a bug in the mobile app, poor performance of the app that makes it seem that the app is not working, or that one of your API dependencies is not working. You can use Mobile Analytics monitoring features to determine whether there is indeed a problem and if so, what’s its source.
For example, you can view the number of active sessions and users for your app over time, such as this week, and visually compare it to the previous week. Or you can view how long (on average) users are using your application. Significant drop-offs over time could indicate that users tried launching the application, were unable to complete their actions, and subsequently stopped using the app.
You can also view the number of active sessions for your app in other ways to get a fuller picture of how and where your app is used. You can view:
- By versions of your app. How many active sessions are for version 1 of your app, compared to version 2, compared to version n?
- By configuration type. How many active sessions are for a default configuration, compared to a Beta test configuration, compared to an A/B test configuration?
- By device platform. How many active sessions are for devices running a mobile platform such as iOS compared to others such as Android or Blackberry?
- By device model. How many active sessions are for devices running a specific mobile device model such as an Apple iPhone 4 compared to others devices such as a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or HTC ThunderBolt?
Learn more in Monitor your app’s use.
Examine error logs
In addition to monitoring app usage, Mobile Analytics tracks app errors recorded in the error logs. You can examine the number of errors logged for your app over time, something that can be very helpful in determining whether a perceived bug is actually a bug. Imagine that you released new function in your application this week. You can examine the number of errors logged for the app this week and compare it to the number of errors logged over the prior week (that is, the week before the new function was released). If you see a dramatic jump in the number of errors this week compared to last week, it suggests that a new feature is likely the source of the problems.
You can also view the errors logged for your app by versions of your app, by configuration type, by device platform, and by device model.
Get alerted to crashes and critical errors
Not only does Mobile Analytics track app errors, it also automatically alerts you if your app crashes or encounters a critical error. You’ll receive an email with information about what happened, where it happened (such as in which phone model, device ID, and operating system), and when it happened.
Analyze Network Performance
Poor network performance can lead to an unsatisfied user experience and is often perceived by the user as a failure in the mobile application. So it’s important to examine the performance of the network and identify bottlenecks.
Mobile Analytics gives you many ways to examine the performance of your network. You can get an overview that displays the number of requests made by your app, a count of errors, and response time in the network. You can also get a more specific focus on network performance. For instance, you can examine the network performance for specific carriers (such as AT&T or Verizon), or network types (such as 3G or 4G), or by versions of your app.
Remotely configure your app
Mobile Analytics enables you to remotely manage the configuration of your mobile apps. For example, in analyzing a problem, you might isolate its source to a particular mobile device type or operating platform. Using Mobile Analytics remote configuration features, you can change various application settings and then push the changes to specific devices or even to a percentage of devices as part of an A/B test. If the addition of a new feature is the source of the problem, you can change an application setting that disables the feature and push the change out. Customers get the updated app directly — there’s no need to deploy the updated app to an app store for customer download.
Learn more in Configure your app .
Get the complete picture
When used together, Mobile Analytics and API Analytics give you full end-to-end visibility into your mobile app — from what's happening on the device to what's happening on the API. Together they give you the ability to isolate issues and improve your mobile app. To learn more about API Analytics, see Monitor the performance of your API.
