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I´m working as a software developer in my company and are mostly developing our app. When testing I’m using both my own phone and the emulator.

Recently my phone is starting to lack memory. My phone is working for my personal use but I can´t use it for testing the app that I’m developing. Should I ask my boss for a company phone?

I was thinking that maybe I could offer my boss that if he gave me some money I would update my phone and promise to have a phone where I can try the app for the next 2 years. Is that a good idea?

I work in Scandinavia btw

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    You can do it. He is free to accept or refuse. The best option is to ask him for a company phone, only used for testing purpose.
    – Gautier C
    Jun 16, 2016 at 14:05
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    It doesn't seem to be an obviously bad idea. Worst they are likely to do is laugh at you...
    – keshlam
    Jun 16, 2016 at 14:14
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    If you really want a company phone, just say that your personal phone is crashing a lot, not that it's lacking memory. An older phone or a phone lacking memory is actually an excellent device to test on because it's closer to what your target audience might be carrying.
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Jun 18, 2016 at 3:35

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You absolutely should get a company testing phone.

As it stands now, if your personal phone breaks, you can't do your job. You're also restricted from changing phones (say to/from iPhone and Android).

You also don't have a controlled environment, meaning the apps you install (and your carrier) could affect the application you're testing.

There are more reasons but this should be sufficient. As it stands, you're doing your employer a favor. It's not like you are using a personal machine to write software, you're using personal equipment to test it. Think about it. The company is relying on something that belongs to you. If you leave or get injured and are unable to work, the company no longer has a test environment. If you pitch it that way, it may sink in.

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There is no question whatsoever that any decent company will make a phone available to you that you need for developing phone software. Quite the opposite, if I asked my manager for a company phone now, he would ask why I didn't tell him earlier. (Actually, on my first day the office manager handed me a laptop and a box with a brand new phone; you might get a used phone if you were hired to replace someone who left their phone behind).

In your job, a phone is a required tool. Your company should supply you with the required tools. There shouldn't even be a question that they should supply you with the required tools.

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  • The company should definitely provide a phone since it is needed to do his job. But I'm not sure that his phone not being powerful enough is a great reason for needing a new phone. The company app will need to run on a lot of different phones if they don't give one to everyone. So the app requirements may be too much.
    – midfield99
    Jun 17, 2016 at 21:17
  • it is his own phone that he says doesn't have enough memory. He doesn't express this clearly, it could be that he has been taking lots of photos, downloaded lots of apps, and now he is running out of memory. It's absolutely legitimate to say "I didn't mind using my own phone for development, but now it's full and I can't use it for development anymore. And it's non of the company's business how many useless cat videos there are on my phone, you need to buy a works phone".
    – gnasher729
    Jun 18, 2016 at 20:37
  • Ah, that makes more sense. I thought he was saying his phone wasn't powerful enough for the app, not that he was filling up the space with personal stuff.
    – midfield99
    Jun 18, 2016 at 23:02

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