An App Center alternative for the build-preview half
Visual Studio App Center retired on March 31, 2025 — sign-ins and API calls stopped, and Build, Test, Distribute, and CodePush shut down for good. Teams that used it for four jobs have been looking for a new home ever since, and the honest answer is that no single tool replaces all four. This page is for the half App Center's Distribute covered and its successors never quite did: the build→preview loop — push the build, watch it run, verify it works, and hand someone a link.
Try it with a live device
PreviewAPK is in private beta. Get early access to test your own builds.
What App Center was (and its retirement)
App Center bundled four capabilities under one roof: Build (cloud compilation from your repo, with 240 free build minutes a month), Test (UI tests on real devices), Distribute (upload a build, send tester groups an install link), and Analytics & Diagnostics (crashes and events) — plus CodePush for React Native. Microsoft announced the sunset in March 2024, and on March 31, 2025 it became final: no sign-ins, no API calls, no builds, no distribution. The Analytics and Diagnostics features got an extended runway, but for everything else, App Center is gone — and its users have spent the time since reassembling the stack from 2–3 specialized tools.
What replaced what, honestly
Most "App Center alternative" lists are written by CI vendors selling the whole job. The honest map is smaller — each piece went somewhere specific, and Microsoft's own migration notes say so:
| App Center feature | Where it went | The honest caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Azure Pipelines (with an App Center export feature), GitHub Actions, Bitrise, Codemagic | Many teams had already moved here before the shutdown — dedicated CI was more flexible. |
| Distribute | Firebase App Distribution, TestFlight, Google Play testing tracks | Microsoft named no direct successor. Install links moved to store-native channels; the preview half of distribution stayed homeless. |
| Test | BrowserStack App Automate, device grids, matrix testing | Fine for suites; not for "watch this build run". |
| Analytics & Diagnostics | Azure Monitor (with a migration path built for App Center customers) | Got the extended runway — the least urgent piece to move. |
| CodePush | Self-hosted or OTA alternatives | Most painful for React Native teams; a separate migration. |
See the gap? Builds got replaced. Install distribution got replaced. Nobody replaced the step in between: the build compiles, somebody needs to see it run, drive it, prove it works, and hand a human a link. That half is where PreviewAPK fits — it never pretended to be a CI, and it doesn't need to be.
When a running phone fits better
Your tester needs no device of their own
App Center Distribute sent install links to testers' own phones. A PreviewAPK link opens the app already running on a cloud phone in the browser — the tester needs no Android device, no install step, no provisioning. That's the share-an-APK wedge taken one step further: the file is replaced by the phone.
An agent can do the verifying
The fastest-growing testing workforce doesn't open test matrices or read crash dashboards. PreviewAPK is agent-first: 27 MCP tools for pushing, driving, screenshotting, and reading logs, plus UI-hierarchy navigation so the agent taps by label. Push the build your agent just produced and let the agent walk through it — that's the agent testing loop, and no matrix API was designed for it.
A view-only link, not an install
Distribution links ask the recipient to install something. A preview link asks nothing: it opens the live phone, view-only, for the founder, client, or tester who just needs to see the build. Every device carries a permanent preview link, which is why teams use it for preview deployments for Android and why the guide on sending test builds to testers starts with "show, don't ship".
App Center vs PreviewAPK, side by side
| App Center (retired) | PreviewAPK | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Retired March 31, 2025 | Live, in private beta |
| Core shape | Build / test / distribute / analytics platform | A cloud phone per slot for the build→preview loop |
| CI builds | Yes, with 240 free build minutes/mo | No — pair with Azure Pipelines, GitHub Actions, or Bitrise |
| Build→verify step | Not really its thing | The product: push the APK, drive the phone, screenshot, read logs |
| Agent access | None | 27 MCP tools + CLI + API, agent-first |
| Handing over | Install links to tester groups | A permanent preview link per device — no install |
| Pricing shape | Usage-based, 240 free build minutes/mo | Flat $25/mo per device, unlimited runs |
How PreviewAPK works
- Push a build — CLI, API, or an MCP tool call from your agent. The APK attaches to your device. Wire it into CI with the CI docs or the GitHub Actions preview flow.
- It boots in seconds on a cloud Android phone — a Pixel 9 Pro or Galaxy S24 running Android 10–15 — and streams to your browser. No SDK, no emulator, nothing to install, on either side.
- Drive it, or let your agent drive it — taps, typing, screenshots, UI hierarchy, and the session log, all through the same account. Idle sessions auto-stop after 15 minutes.
- Hand over the link — every device carries a permanent preview link for the human who needs to see it, the core of preview deployments for Android.
Priced flat at $25/month per device with unlimited runs. The agent guide and the docs cover the CLI, API, and MCP in full.
Keep going
Comparing the field? See the Sauce Labs alternative and the Kobiton alternative, the distribution side at Firebase App Distribution alternative, or the wedge itself: AI agent Android testing.
FAQ
When was Visual Studio App Center retired?
March 31, 2025. After that date you could no longer sign in or make API calls; Build, Test, Distribute, and CodePush shut down. Microsoft gave the Analytics and Diagnostics features an extended runway, but every other service is gone.
What is the best replacement for App Center Distribute?
No single tool replaced it. For install distribution, teams moved to Firebase App Distribution, TestFlight, or Google Play testing tracks. For the preview-and-verify half — a running phone you can drive and a link to hand over — that's PreviewAPK: push the APK, watch it run, share the link, at a flat $25/month per device.
Can PreviewAPK replace App Center Build?
No — and it doesn't claim to. App Center Build compiled your app; that job now lives in Azure Pipelines, GitHub Actions, Bitrise, or another CI. PreviewAPK starts where CI ends: it takes the finished APK, puts it on a cloud phone, and lets you or your AI agent drive it, verify it, and hand a human a link.
How does the pricing compare?
App Center's build tier included 240 free build minutes a month before usage-based charges. PreviewAPK is a flat $25/month per device with unlimited runs — no meter running while you watch the screen, and idle sessions auto-stop after 15 minutes.
Is PreviewAPK affiliated with Microsoft?
No. PreviewAPK is an independent product. Visual Studio App Center is a trademark of Microsoft; this page compares two tools for two jobs, nothing more.