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The Google Maps Platform team regularly updates SDKs with new features, bug fixes, and
performance improvements. This page provides guidance on how to manage your dependencies
on mobile SDKs.
Which version to link to?
For mission-critical apps, link to the latest dot release of the major
version that you are using (X.*), and upgrade yearly to the new major version.
As you release new versions of your application
throughout the year, you may start using newer dot versions of the Driver SDK for iOS. This will
not require updates in your application as new dot versions are backward compatible.
Benefits:
If you discover issues in the Driver SDK for iOS, fixes will be provided in a
backward-compatible way for 12 months after the initial release of the major version, per
the Mobile support
policy. You will not need to urgently upgrade to an incompatible SDK version
to benefit from fixes.
The latest improvements and features are easy to adopt when your app is already built on
the latest version.
Annual incremental updates to the newest major version of the SDK may require less work
to adapt, rewrite, and test your application, than having to handle backwards-incompatible
changes introduced across multiple major version releases.
For non-critical apps, link to any fixed version. When you receive a deprecation
notice for that fixed version, you will have 12 months to make your updated app code available to
your users.
Benefits:
Less frequent maintenance work.
New versions of your app keep supporting users' devices running older mobile operating
systems for longer (until you need to upgrade to a new SDK version).
Project Owners with monitored email addresses receive proactive notifications about changes that
impact each of their projects. Stay
informed about major updates, deprecations, and other changes.
Installation
Always specify a version number in your dependencies instead of using an
optimistic operator (~>) since that can lead to unpredictable and
unrepeatable builds. The Driver SDK for iOS adheres to
semantic versioning, and new major version releases
include breaking changes.
CocoaPods
An example Podfile dependency using Podfile syntax:
source "https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git"
target 'YOUR_APPLICATION_TARGET_NAME_HERE' do
pod 'GoogleRidesharingDriver', '2.0.0'
end
Swift Package Manager
The Driver SDK can be installed via
Swift Package Manager. To add the SDK, ensure you have
removed any existing Driver SDK dependencies.
To add the SDK to a new or existing project, follow these steps:
Open your Xcode project or workspace, then go to File > Add Package Dependencies.
To install a specific version, set the Dependency Rule field to one of
the version-based options. For new projects, we recommend specifying the latest version and
using the "Exact Version" option. Once complete, click "Add Package".
To update the package for an existing project, follow these steps:
To verify your installation, go to the Package Dependencies section of Project Navigator
to verify the package and its version.
Maintenance and upgrade
To build with the latest improvements, regularly check for newer versions and
update your version specifications. If you are updating to a new major version,
check the
release notes
for backwards-incompatible changes and how to update your code.
Cocoapods
Open a terminal and go to the directory containing the Podfile:
cd <path-to-project>
Run pod outdated to see if a newer version of the
Driver SDK for iOS is available.
If a newer version of the SDK is found, update your Podfile with this new version.
See Specifying pod versions
to learn how to set a specific version in your Podfile.
Run pod update.
Make any necessary changes as a result of the upgrade. See the
Release Notes for a list of the changes in each release.
Clean and rebuild your project by selecting Product > Clean and then
Product > Build
In addition to polling for newer versions, Google Cloud
project
owners receive emails about backwards incompatible changes that may affect their projects. To
get proactive notification about backwards incompatible changes,
assign
the owner role with a monitored email address for each of your projects.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-18 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Maps Platform SDKs are regularly updated with new features, bug fixes, and performance enhancements.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor critical apps, link to the latest dot release within your major version and upgrade to the new major version annually to receive ongoing support and benefit from the latest improvements.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eNon-critical apps can link to any fixed version and will have 12 months to update after receiving a deprecation notice, allowing for less frequent maintenance.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAlways specify a version number when declaring SDK dependencies to ensure predictable and repeatable builds, avoiding the use of optimistic operators.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eStay informed about updates, deprecations, and other changes by monitoring the release notes and proactively checking for newer versions of the SDKs.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google Maps Platform SDKs receive updates for features, fixes, and performance. For critical apps, link to the latest dot release (X.\\*) of your major version and upgrade annually, ensuring backward compatibility for 12 months post-release. Non-critical apps can use any fixed version, with 12 months' notice for deprecation. Specify version numbers instead of optimistic operators. Update by checking for new versions, modifying version specifications, and rebuilding the project. Project owners are emailed about breaking changes. Installation is available through CocoaPods and Swift Package Manager.\n"],null,["The Google Maps Platform team regularly updates SDKs with new features, bug fixes, and\nperformance improvements. This page provides guidance on how to manage your dependencies\non mobile SDKs.\n\nWhich version to link to?\n\n- **For mission-critical apps**, link to the latest dot release of the major\n version that you are using (X.\\*), and upgrade yearly to the new major version.\n\n As you release new versions of your application\n throughout the year, you may start using newer dot versions of the Driver SDK for iOS. This will\n not require updates in your application as new dot versions are backward compatible.\n\n **Benefits:**\n - If you discover issues in the Driver SDK for iOS, fixes will be provided in a backward-compatible way for 12 months after the initial release of the major version, per the [Mobile support\n policy](https://developers.google.com/maps/software-support#sdk-support). You will not need to urgently upgrade to an *incompatible* SDK version to benefit from fixes.\n - The latest improvements and features are easy to adopt when your app is already built on the latest version.\n - Annual incremental updates to the newest major version of the SDK may require less work to adapt, rewrite, and test your application, than having to handle backwards-incompatible changes introduced across multiple major version releases.\n\n \u003cbr /\u003e\n\n- **For non-critical apps**, link to any fixed version. When you receive a deprecation\n notice for that fixed version, you will have 12 months to make your updated app code available to\n your users.\n\n **Benefits:**\n - Less frequent maintenance work.\n - New versions of your app keep supporting users' devices running older mobile operating systems for longer (until you need to upgrade to a new SDK version).\n\n \u003cbr /\u003e\n\nProject Owners with monitored email addresses receive proactive notifications about changes that\nimpact each of their projects. [Stay\ninformed](https://developers.google.com/maps/support#staying_informed) about major updates, deprecations, and other changes.\n\nInstallation\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nAlways specify a version number in your dependencies instead of using an\noptimistic operator (`~\u003e`) since that can lead to unpredictable and\nunrepeatable builds. The Driver SDK for iOS adheres to\n[semantic versioning](https://semver.org), and new major version releases\ninclude breaking changes.\n**Note:** Driver SDK for iOS does not support installation using Carthage. \n\nCocoaPods\n\nAn example Podfile dependency using [Podfile](https://guides.cocoapods.org/using/the-podfile.html#specifying-pod-versions) syntax: \n\n```scdoc\n source \"https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git\"\n\n target 'YOUR_APPLICATION_TARGET_NAME_HERE' do\n pod 'GoogleRidesharingDriver', '2.0.0'\n end\n \n```\n\nSwift Package Manager\n\n\nThe Driver SDK can be installed via [Swift Package Manager](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/swift-packages). To add the SDK, ensure you have\nremoved any existing Driver SDK dependencies.\n\n| Important: These instructions assume the use of Xcode 15 or later, but should be similar for previous versions of Xcode.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n\nTo add the SDK to a new or existing project, follow these steps:\n\n1. Open your Xcode `project` or `workspace`, then go to **File \\\u003e Add Package Dependencies**.\n2. Enter \u003chttps://github.com/googlemaps/ios-driver-sdk\u003e as the URL, press **Enter** to pull in the package, and click \"Add Package\".\n3. To install a specific `version`, set the **Dependency Rule** field to one of the version-based options. For new projects, we recommend specifying the latest version and using the \"Exact Version\" option. Once complete, click \"Add Package\".\n\nTo update the `package` for an existing project, follow these steps:\n\n1. To verify your installation, go to the **Package Dependencies** section of **Project Navigator** to verify the package and its version.\n\n| **Important:** Sometimes, artifacts cannot be resolved or errors can occur, in this case select \"File \\\u003e Packages \\\u003e Reset Package Cache\".\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nMaintenance and upgrade\n\nTo build with the latest improvements, regularly check for newer versions and\nupdate your version specifications. If you are updating to a new major version,\ncheck the\n[release notes](/maps/documentation/mobility/services/resources/relnotes_driver_sdk_ios)\nfor backwards-incompatible changes and how to update your code. \n\nCocoapods\n\n1. Open a terminal and go to the directory containing the `Podfile`:\n\n ```text\n cd \u003cpath-to-project\u003e\n ```\n2. Run `pod outdated` to see if a newer version of the Driver SDK for iOS is available.\n3. If a newer version of the SDK is found, update your `Podfile` with this new version. See [Specifying pod versions](https://guides.cocoapods.org/using/the-podfile.html#specifying-pod-versions) to learn how to set a specific version in your `Podfile`.\n4. Run `pod update`.\n5. Make any necessary changes as a result of the upgrade. See the [Release Notes](/maps/documentation/mobility/driver-sdk/on-demand/ios/releases) for a list of the changes in each release.\n6. Clean and rebuild your project by selecting **Product \\\u003e Clean** and then **Product \\\u003e Build**\n\nManual installation\n\n\n[Get the link to the latest source files](/maps/documentation/mobility/driver-sdk/on-demand/ios/minimum-requirements#manual-installation)\nat Installing the SDK.\n\nIn addition to polling for newer versions, Google Cloud\n[project\nowners](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/understanding-roles#basic-definitions) receive emails about backwards incompatible changes that may affect their projects. To\nget proactive notification about backwards incompatible changes,\n[assign\nthe owner role](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/granting-changing-revoking-access) with a monitored email address for each of your projects."]]
