Page Summary
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Google Maps SDK for Android has evolved with key features like data-driven styling, advanced markers, and an upgraded map renderer for enhanced customization and performance.
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Releases have focused on improving map styling, introducing new map renderers, enhancing performance, and addressing various bugs and issues for a better user experience.
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Developers should stay updated with release notes to ensure compatibility, leverage new features, and address potential issues in their applications.
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Certain features and APIs have been deprecated over time; developers should migrate to newer alternatives for continued support.
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The SDK has progressed from its initial release to offer advanced functionalities like cloud-based styling, indoor maps, Street View integration, and more.
This page is updated with each product release. The changelog lists releases by date and includes any new features, bug fixes, and significant performance improvements. You can also browse and filter all release notes for all products in the Google API Console.
To subscribe to these release notes, add the feed URL of this page to your RSS feed
reader.
Consult the Getting Started documentation for information on how to download the most recent version of the Maps SDK for Android.
This page lists release notes for 2025 and 2026. For earlier releases, see the Maps SDK for Android release notes archive.
October 12, 2026
Release 20.1.0
The Maps SDK for Android version 20.1.0 is now available. See the Release Notes for information about this release and for all previous releases.
If you are a new user, see Set Up in the Google Cloud Console to start the installation process.
If you are an existing customer, see the upgrade instructions at Versions.
The default map color scheme is now MapColorScheme.FOLLOW_SYSTEM. Maps of type normal and terrain now automatically use a light or dark color scheme based on the device's system setting, unless you set a different color scheme using GoogleMapOptions.mapColorScheme or GoogleMap.setMapColorScheme. To keep the previous behavior, explicitly set the color scheme to MapColorScheme.LIGHT. For more information, see Map color scheme.
The Maps SDK for Android now supports Cloud-based maps styling. For more information, see the Cloud-based maps styling release notes.
August 07, 2026
Known Issue: StrictMode IncorrectContextUseViolation on Android 12+
Developers testing their applications on Android 12 (API level 31) and higher might encounter an android.os.strictmode.IncorrectContextUseViolation when StrictMode is enabled with detectIncorrectContextUse. This occurs because several internal UI components within the Maps SDK for Android's dynamite module (com.google.maps.api.android.lib6) are currently being instantiated using the Application Context instead of a proper UI Context.
This issue affects applications directly using the Maps SDK for Android as well as those using the android-maps-compose wrapper. The violation is internal to the Maps SDK for Android and isn't caused by client applications passing an incorrect context.
To prevent this violation from crashing your application during development and testing, we recommend temporarily modifying your StrictMode configuration. You can bypass the crash by either removing detectIncorrectContextUse from your StrictMode.VmPolicy or by setting the penalty to penaltyLog instead of penaltyDeath. Alternatively, you can use a penaltyListener to selectively suppress crashes caused by the Maps SDK while maintaining strict behavior for your own code:
val vmPolicyBuilder = StrictMode.VmPolicy.Builder()
.detectAll()
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.S) {
vmPolicyBuilder.detectIncorrectContextUse()
}
// Intercept violations and ignore those caused by the Google Maps SDK
vmPolicyBuilder.penaltyListener(Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor()) { violation ->
val stackTrace = violation.stackTraceToString()
val isGoogleMapsSDK = stackTrace.contains("com.google.android.gms.dynamite_mapsdynamite") ||
stackTrace.contains("com.google.maps.api.android.lib6") ||
stackTrace.contains("com.google.android.gms.maps")
if (!isGoogleMapsSDK) {
// Log or crash for your own app's violations
Log.e("StrictMode", "Violation detected:", violation)
// throw violation // Uncomment if you want penaltyDeath behavior for your own code
} else {
Log.w("StrictMode", "Ignored known Google Maps SDK IncorrectContextUseViolation.")
}
}
StrictMode.setVmPolicy(vmPolicyBuilder.build())
The engineering team has identified the root cause and a fix will be provided in a future release of the Maps SDK for Android.
January 31, 2026
Release 20.0.0
The Maps SDK for Android version 20.0.0 is now available. See the Release Notes for information about this release and for all previous releases.
If you are a new user, see Set Up in the Google Cloud Console to start the installation process.
If you are an existing customer, see the upgrade instructions at Versions.
The Maps SDK now supports Transit layers. You can display the public transit network of a city on your map using the setTransitEnabled() method. For more information, see Set up the transit layer.
This release removed the deprecated org.apache.http.legacy library from the SDK's AndroidManifest.xml. In applications that load the legacy map renderer, this deprecation will introduce a regression causing java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError crashes.
In order to resolve this issue and ensure that the necessary legacy Apache HTTP library is available to your application, you must add the following line within the <application> tag of your own app's AndroidManifest.xml:
<uses-library android:name="org.apache.http.legacy" android:required="false" />
April 14, 2025
Release 19.2.0
The Maps SDK for Android version 19.2.0 is now available. See the Release Notes for information about this release and for all previous releases.
If you are a new user, see Set Up in the Google Cloud Console to start the installation process.
If you are an existing customer, see the upgrade instructions at Versions.
February 20, 2025
As of this release, crosswalks, sidewalks, and road lane markings may be visible on the map in certain metropolitan areas worldwide. Lane markings may not be visible on all roads even in areas where they are supported. The areas where these elements are visible may vary over time. When visible, crosswalks and sidewalk elements can be styled using Cloud-based map styling.
July 30, 2024
You can now use data-driven styling for datasets with your apps. Data-driven styling for datasets lets you upload your own geospatial datasets, apply custom styling to their data features, and display those data features on maps.
For more information and examples, see Data-driven styling for datasets.
The Maps SDK now supports data-driven styling for boundaries. Data-driven styling for boundaries lets you access Google's polygons for administrative boundaries, apply styling to boundary polygons, display them on your maps.
For more information, see Data-driven styling for boundaries.
June 25, 2024
Release 19.0.0
The Maps SDK for Android version 19.0.0 is now available. See the Release Notes for information about this release and for all previous releases.
If you are a new user, see Set Up in the Google Cloud Console to start the installation process.
If you are an existing customer, see the upgrade instructions at Versions.
Updated the default colors for maps to match the new colors that are already available in the Google Maps app. For more information, see New map style for Google Maps Platform.
You can now set the map color scheme to dark, light, or to use the system settings.
For more information and examples, see Configure a map.
When you choose to upgrade your app to Maps SDK for Android version 19.0.0, you must target a minSdkVersion of 21 (Android version 5.0.x, Lollipop) or higher.
For example, in your app's build.gradle file:
android {
compileSdk 34
defaultConfig {
minSdk 21
// ...
}
}
For more information, see Set up an Android Studio project.
Because we will be decommissioning the legacy map renderer, the MapsInitializer.Renderer.LEGACY value for the MapsInitializer.initialize() method in the Maps SDK for Android
is deprecated as of Maps SDK for Android v19.0.0.
Instead, use the latest map renderer.
March 11, 2024
In March of 2024, Google began to automatically update all the deployed apps on a device to use the upgraded renderer. Automatic updates will occur incrementally over the coming months based on the device, meaning your device might not be updated right away.
Automatic updates apply to all apps running on devices that meet the minimum device requirements, regardless of the version of the Maps SDK for Android used by the app.
If you encounter any issues, please file it by using our public issue tracker: https://issuetracker.google.com/savedsearches/6719309.
For more information, see New Map Renderer.
February 20, 2024
In the initial release of the upgraded map renderer for Maps SDK for Android version 18.2.0, the device hosting the render required 2 GB or more of data storage. That requirement has been removed.
For more information, see New Map Renderer.
December 07, 2023
The Google Maps Platform now offers updated cloud-based maps styling in the Google Cloud Console, enhancing your ability to create a customized map experience for users of your Android applications. Learn more at New Cloud Styling Overview.
October 18, 2023
Release 18.2.0
The Maps SDK for Android version 18.2.0 is now available. See the Release Notes for information about this release and for all previous releases.
If you are a new user, see Set Up in the Google Cloud Console to start the installation process.
If you are an existing customer, see the upgrade instructions at Versions.
With the release of version 18.2.0 of the Maps SDK for Android, Google switched the default renderer from the legacy renderer to the upgraded map renderer. With version 18.2.0, the map renderer used when you build a new app or rebuild an existing app becomes the upgraded map renderer.
For more information, see New Map Renderer.
Support for advanced markers has been added to this release. With advanced markers you can create and customize highly performant markers. Customize the default marker's background, border, and glyph color, and replace the default marker icon with a custom graphic image.
For more information, see the advanced markers overview.
August 29, 2022
We have updated the default image used for markers in the Maps SDK for Android. This change applies to all versions of the Maps SDK for Android.
July 18, 2022
Release 18.1.0
The Maps SDK for Android version 18.1.0 is now available. See the Release Notes for information about this release and for all previous releases.
If you are a new user, see Set Up in the Google Cloud Console to start the installation process.
If you are an existing customer, see the upgrade instructions at Versions.
With this release of Maps SDK for Android, we have moved the XML feed to a new location. Subscribe to the new location of the XML feed at:
https://developers.google.com/feeds/maps-sdk-android-release-notes.xml
Advanced polyline customizations have been released for general availability. For usage details, see Polyline customization.
Google has released a new client library for Maps SDK for Android,
version 18.1.0. To use this new version in your apps, be sure to
update your dependencies to
com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:18.1.0.
For release notes from 2024 and earlier, see the Maps SDK for Android release notes archive.