<p>Firebase App Distribution is a service provided by Google that allows developers to distribute their iOS and Android apps to testers. The service is built on top of the Firebase platform and integrates seamlessly with other Firebase services such as Crashlytics and Analytics.</p>
<p>Firebase App Distribution has limited capabilities when it&#8217;s compared to Appcircle.</p>
<h2 id="adhoc">Apple Ad Hoc UDID and Provisioning Management</h2>
<p>Firebase expects developers to add test device UDIDs to Apple Developer Portal. The developer also needs to add each UDID to provisioning profiles. Firebase doesn&#8217;t keep track of provisioning profiles. It&#8217;s not easy to get the UDID of the device. The UDID is a unique string that identifies each iOS device and can be obtained by connecting the device to iTunes or using a third-party tool. A provisioning profile contains a list of the UDIDs of the devices that are authorized to run the app. If the developer forgets to add the UDID of each tester or forgets to update each target&#8217;s provisioning profile, the application will not install.</p>
<p>Appcircle streamlines the process of adding UDIDs and provisioning profiles, making it easy for developers to distribute their apps to testers and internal teams. Appcircle allows you to register the UDID of testers by simply installing a configuration profile. When testers install this profile, it automatically registers this device to App Store Developer Portal. Adding a device to provisioning profiles can be done automatically or manually. You may check our <a href="https://docs.appcircle.io/testing-distribution/apple-devices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documentation</a> to learn more about this process.</p>
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<h2 id="mandatory-google-account">Mandatory Google Account</h2>
<p>Testers must have a Google account to download apps from Firebase App Distribution. Creating a Google account for Firebase App Distribution may raise privacy concerns for some users. Creating a Google account for Firebase App Distribution gives Google access to your data, which may limit your control over your data and how it&#8217;s used.</p>
<p>Appcircle doesn&#8217;t enforce any kind of email limitations. You can distribute your builds to any email address. Appcircle allows you to share your build artifacts with a public link without any email requirements. You may even set a static username and password to further protect your artifacts.</p>
<h2 id="easier-integration">Tester Portal</h2>
<p>Firebase provides a user-friendly interface for testers to access and download builds. However, it requires testers to log in with a Google account, which can be a barrier for some users.</p>
<p>Appcircle offers a separate distribution screen for easy download and installation of apps by testers. This approach eliminates the need for testers to create an account, streamlining the testing process.</p>
<h2 id="easier-integration">Public Link</h2>
<p>Firebase requires testers to log in with a Google account even when using a public link to access the app. This requirement can limit the ease of distribution and accessibility for testers.</p>
<p>Appcircle allows developers to share the app with a public link without requiring account creation. Additionally, developers can set a static username and password to enhance security while providing easy access to testers.</p>
<h2 id="easier-integration">Tester Limit</h2>
<p>Firebase imposes certain constraints on the number of testers, which can limit the scalability of the testing process.</p>
<p>Appcircle provides a scalable solution with no stringent limitations on the number of testers, allowing developers to distribute their apps to a larger audience without restrictions.</p>
<h2 id="easier-integration">Resign Binaries</h2>
<p>Firebase does not provide a resigning binary feature, focusing only on initial signing procedures.</p>
<p>Appcircle supports resigning iOS and Android binaries within the platform, offering greater flexibility and control over the distribution process.</p>
<h2 id="easier-integration">Easier Integration</h2>
<p>If you want to upload your artifacts to Firebase, you need to use firebase cli. Firebase CLI requires two kinds of authentication; token and service account. The token is deprecated and creating a service account is a complicated procedure. It is possible to create a service account that may access other resources besides Firebase App Distribution.</p>
<p>Appcircle Test Distribution is fully integrated with our build module. Enabling Auto Distribute settings automatically uploads build artifacts to given test groups.</p>
<h2 id="user-management">User management</h2>
<p>It is not easy to manage testers on Firebase. You need to keep track of testers and tester groups. This can be quite problematic for large organizations. It is easy to add or remove testers or share specific builds with testers who are not even in tester groups. UI allows sending build artifacts to anyone without any email requirements.</p>
<h2 id="rich-api">Rich API</h2>
<p>Firebase has limited public API. For example, there&#8217;s no easy way to download build artifacts manually from Firebase. It is also not possible to add the testers to a particular tester group automatically.</p>
<p>Appcircle has a rich API for both downloading artifacts from a given commit id and adding testers to any tester group. Appcircle&#8217;s API documentation can be accessed from <a href="https://api.appcircle.io/openapi/index.html?urls.primaryName=build" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a></p>
<p>Appcircle also has a <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@appcircle/cli" target="_blank" rel="noopener">command line application</a> to consume APIs easily.</p>
<h2 id="store-submission">Store Submission</h2>
<p>Firebase App Distribution does not allow for distribution through the App Store, Google Play, or Huawei App Gallery, so developers must rely on other distribution methods to release their builds to the store.</p>
<p>Appcircle can send the same artifacts to both internal testers and stores. It is easy as enabling a toggle in the configuration screen. Appcircle can distribute all build artifacts to any destination.</p>
<h2 id="store-submission">Reporting</h2>
<p>Firebase does not provide aggregate reports, only indicating who has downloaded the app, which can limit the insights developers can gain from the testing process.</p>
<p>Appcircle provides detailed reports, including an App Sharing Report and an App Versions Report, offering valuable insights into the distribution and testing process.</p>
<h2 id="store-submission">Advanced Security</h2>
<p>Firebase App Distribution integrates with Google Cloud Platform&#8217;s IAM, providing basic access control through GCP IAM roles. However, it lacks native Single Sign-On (SSO) support and more advanced IAM role mapping capabilities.</p>
<p>In contrast, Appcircle supports comprehensive IAM/SSO authentication and authorization options, ensuring that only authenticated roles have access to the appropriate resources. With advanced IAM role mapping, you can seamlessly migrate your existing user groups and roles into the Appcircle platform, simplifying the onboarding process and maintaining consistency with your organization&#8217;s access policies.</p>
<p></p>
<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>In summary, Appcircle streamlines the process of distributing your iOS app to testers. It simplifies the process of adding UDIDs and provisioning profiles and offers additional features such as distribution, gathering test results, and integration with other services. With Appcircle, you can focus on what really matters – developing your app.</p>

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