[Tooling] Migrate Prototype Builds from App Center to Firebase App Distribution

[AliSoftware]

Description

This migrates the Prototype Builds to be uploaded to Firebase App Distribution instead of App Center.

This is done in the context of App Center shutting down at the end of the month.

Internal references:

• pdnsEh-1zD-p2
• paaHJt-7S2-p2
• 186-gh-Automattic/apps-infra-plans

Release Timing

Important

We might want to wait before merging this until our internal documentation—about how to use our internal tools to enroll to Firebase App Distribution—has been updated.

Testing

• Check that the information shown in the PR comment looks accurate, including the build number (expected to be set to the Buildkite build number) and version (expected to use the PR number)
• Add yourself to the appropriate Testing Group via our MC tool (/mobile/firebase-app-distribution/testers/), then accept the invitation email you received
• Scan the QR code in the PR comment with your iPhone and confirm you can install the prototype build on your device

[wpmobilebot]

📲 You can test the changes from this Pull Request in Simplenote Prototype Build by scanning the QR code below to install the corresponding build.

	App Name	Simplenote Prototype Build
	Build Number	1276
	Version	PR #1704
	Bundle ID	com.codality.NotationalFlow.Alpha
	Commit	ed73636
	Installation URL	5eqq3svo4kbmo

Automatticians: You can use our internal self-serve MC tool to give yourself access to those builds if needed.

[twstokes]

@AliSoftware what's the plan for the App Center in-app updates?

[AliSoftware]

what's the plan for the App Center in-app updates?

@twstokes Good question.

1️⃣ For now I have not touched the integration of the App Center SDK into the app's codebase.

Adriana already asked MSAppCenter support (p1741753079329079/1741720379.500719-slack-CRFJMURFG) what will happen with the SDK once the service is sunset, and their answer was basically that the apps integrating the SDK will still work (as in: not crash just because the service was sunset), and endpoints that the SDK call will just return 200 for a time. So at least there's that.

2️⃣ But that still means that at some point we'll need to remove the App Center SDK from the codebase (Podfile, Swift/ObjC code, Info.plist, .pbxproj) to clean this up¹ (and because it probably won't continue to work forever)

Then we could decide if we want to integrate the FirebaseSDK into the codebase in its place (to get the similar in-app update feature on the FAD front), or just don't bother and drop the support for those in-app updates prompts… which for Prototype Builds don't really make sense anyway (especially given the CFBundleVersion / Build Number is overridden to use the BUILDKITE_BUILD_NUMBER for Prototype Builds).

Footnotes

1. I've added an item for this in our roadmap and in the migration view/board to track this. ↩

[twstokes]

LGTM 🚀