> [!CAUTION]
> **Beta SDK deprecation notice:**
>
> The Beta version of the SDK is deprecated and scheduled for decommissioning, and it's no longer
> available for new usage. The features described in this topic are currently accessed via the Beta
> SDK. A future version of the SDK will provide similar support for these features.
>
> For more information, see the [release notes](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android-sdk/release-notes-archive.md.txt#2021-08-18).
> Use the [Maps V3 BETA
> Migration Tool](https://github.com/googlemaps/android-v3-migration) to help with migrating from the deprecated Beta version to a supported version.

<br />

Version 3.1.0 beta of the Maps SDK for Android is a new implementation with the
same API surface as the previous version (all classes and methods remain the
same), and some new features for you to try:

- Maps customization
- Marker collision handling
- Polyline customization

This guide shows you how to use the new features.

## Maps customization (beta)

cloud-based maps styling provides a variety of tools and features
that let you customize and manage how your maps are styled. Rather
than styling your map in code using the Maps APIs and SDKs, you can manage and
style your maps in the Google Cloud console. For more information, see
[Android Map Customization Overview](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android-sdk/maps-customization-overview).

## Marker collision handling (beta)

You can specify whether custom markers should override default basemap labels
when there is a collision, and to indicate relative priority between custom
markers. For more information, see [Marker Collision Handling (Android)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android-sdk/manage-marker-label-collisions.md.txt).

## Polyline Customization (beta)

There are now several new ways to customize the appearance of polylines:

- **Multicolored polylines** set polyline segments to different colors.
- **Gradient polylines** color a polyline using a gradient of two colors.
- **Stamped polylines** style a polyline using repeating bitmaps.

### Create a multicolored polyline

You can use spans to individually color segments of a polyline, by creating
`StyleSpan` objects, and adding them to `PolylineOptions` using the `addSpan()`
or `addSpans()` methods. By default, each item in the array will set the color
of the corresponding line segment.

### Create a gradient polyline

You can define a gradient by specifying two 32-bit alpha-red-green-blue (ARGB)
integers, to specify the beginning and ending colors of the stroke. Set this
property on the shape's options object by calling `PolylineOptions.addSpan()`.

### Create a stamped polyline

You can set the appearance of a polyline to a repeating bitmap texture. To do
this, create a `StampStyle` of `TextureStyle`, then set this property on the
shape's options object by calling `PolylineOptions.addSpan()`.

## Import the beta-compatible utility library

If you are using the
[Google Maps Android API utility library](https://github.com/googlemaps/android-maps-utils),
you must also update your project dependencies to replace the existing version
with the beta-compatible version using the following steps:

1. Import the beta-compatible util library in your `build.gradle` file:

   ```
   implementation 'com.google.maps.android:android-maps-utils-v3:1.3.1'
   ```
2. Remove the following from your `build.gradle` to remove non-beta-compatible utility library:

   ```
   implementation 'com.google.maps.android:android-maps-utils:1.3.1'
   ```