New Map Renderer

An upgraded map renderer is available as of version 18.0.0 of the Maps SDK for Android. This renderer brings many improvements, including support for Cloud-based maps styling. You can opt-in to try the new renderer before it becomes the default renderer for Android devices, through a progressive rollout starting in June 2022 at the earliest.

The new renderer provides the following benefits:

• Cloud-based maps styling features are available with the new renderer.
• Advanced Polyline Customizations are available with the new renderer.
• Reduced network load, processing demand, and memory consumption.
• Improved gesture handling for better animations, plus smoother panning and zooming.
• More fluid transitions and clearly positioned map labels.
• A more stable and improved user experience.

Supported devices

To use the new renderer, devices must meet these criteria:

• Android 5.0 (API level 21) or later
• 2 GB or more of data storage
• using Google Play services version 21.39.14 or later

Devices using Android 4.4W (API level 20) and earlier, or with less than 2 GB of data storage, or using Google Play services versions 21.39.13 or older, will continue to use the legacy renderer.

How to try the new renderer

To opt in to the new renderer, take the following steps:

• Update your app dependencies to use com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:18.0.0 or higher.
• Update your code to explicitly import MapsInitializer, and MapsInitializer.Renderer.
• Update your code to call MapsInitializer.initialize(), to request Renderer.LATEST.
• Use OnMapsSdkInitializedCallback to determine which version of the renderer was returned.

Caution: Renderer requests are not guaranteed, and the latest renderer may not always be returned. This can occur for many reasons, most commonly because the target device is using an unsupported version of Android, or does not have enough storage space. The latest renderer may be unavailable for all devices at certain times during the opt-in phase for issues related to maintenance, bug fixes, and so on.

Your code must call MapsInitializer.initialize() before any MapView, MapFragment, or SupportMapFragment has been created. We recommend calling this in onCreate for your app's Application, or Activity, before its content view is set.

The following example shows how to call MapsInitializer.initialize() to request a renderer version.

Java

import com.google.android.gms.maps.MapsInitializer;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.MapsInitializer.Renderer;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.OnMapsSdkInitializedCallback;

class MapRendererOptInApplication extends Application implements OnMapsSdkInitializedCallback {

  @Override
  public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();
    MapsInitializer.initialize(getApplicationContext(), Renderer.LATEST, this);
  }

  @Override
  public void onMapsSdkInitialized(MapsInitializer.Renderer renderer) {
    switch (renderer) {
      case LATEST:
        Log.d("MapsDemo", "The latest version of the renderer is used.");
        break;
      case LEGACY:
        Log.d("MapsDemo", "The legacy version of the renderer is used.");
        break;
    }
  }
}

      

Kotlin

import com.google.android.gms.maps.MapsInitializer
import com.google.android.gms.maps.MapsInitializer.Renderer
import com.google.android.gms.maps.OnMapsSdkInitializedCallback

internal class MapRendererOptInApplication : Application(), OnMapsSdkInitializedCallback {
  override fun onCreate() {
    super.onCreate()
    MapsInitializer.initialize(applicationContext, Renderer.LATEST, this)
  }

  override fun onMapsSdkInitialized(renderer: MapsInitializer.Renderer) {
    when (renderer) {
      Renderer.LATEST -> Log.d("MapsDemo", "The latest version of the renderer is used.")
      Renderer.LEGACY -> Log.d("MapsDemo", "The legacy version of the renderer is used.")
    }
  }
}