Based on what I’ve done in testing, when a new build comes in, I start with a smoke test to make sure things like app launch, button functionality, and login work. It’s a quick health check of the application. After that, if a developer fixes something like the search bar, I’ll run a sanity test to confirm that the fix didn’t break anything else around it.
Smoke = the bigger picture check.
Sanity = a targeted, focused check.