diff --git a/platform/ios/DEVELOPING.md b/platform/ios/DEVELOPING.md
index 4efc6af48..a31eac284 100644
--- a/platform/ios/DEVELOPING.md
+++ b/platform/ios/DEVELOPING.md
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ You can customize the build output by passing the following arguments into the `
 * `BUILDTYPE=Release` will optimize for distribution. Defaults to `Debug`.
 * `BUILD_DEVICE=false` builds only for the iOS Simulator.
 * `FORMAT=dynamic` builds only a dynamic framework. `FORMAT=static` builds only a static framework, for compatibility with iOS 7.x.
-* `SYMBOLS=NO` strips the build output of any debug symbols, yielding much smaller binaries.
+* `SYMBOLS=NO` strips the build output of any debug symbols, yielding much smaller binaries. Defaults to `YES`.
 
 An example command that creates a dynamic framework suitable for eventual App Store distribution:
 
diff --git a/platform/ios/scripts/package.sh b/platform/ios/scripts/package.sh
index c753c63df..8ad779d6b 100755
--- a/platform/ios/scripts/package.sh
+++ b/platform/ios/scripts/package.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ PRODUCTS=${DERIVED_DATA}/Build/Products
 
 BUILDTYPE=${BUILDTYPE:-Debug}
 BUILD_FOR_DEVICE=${BUILD_DEVICE:-true}
-GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS=${SYMBOLS:-YES}
+SYMBOLS=${SYMBOLS:-YES}
 
 BUILD_DYNAMIC=true
 BUILD_STATIC=true
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ if [[ ${BUILD_FOR_DEVICE} == true ]]; then
 fi
 IOS_SDK_VERSION=`xcrun --sdk ${SDK} --show-sdk-version`
 
-echo "Configuring ${FORMAT:-dynamic and static} ${BUILDTYPE} framework for ${SDK}; symbols: ${GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS}; self-contained static framework: ${SELF_CONTAINED:-NO}"
+echo "Configuring ${FORMAT:-dynamic and static} ${BUILDTYPE} framework for ${SDK}; symbols: ${SYMBOLS}; self-contained static framework: ${SELF_CONTAINED:-NO}"
 
 function step { >&2 echo -e "\033[1m\033[36m* $@\033[0m"; }
 function finish { >&2 echo -en "\033[0m"; }
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ elif [[ ${BUILD_STATIC} == true ]]; then
 fi
 
 xcodebuild \
-    GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS=${GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS} \
     CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION=${PROJ_VERSION} \
     CURRENT_SHORT_VERSION=${SHORT_VERSION} \
     CURRENT_SEMANTIC_VERSION=${SEM_VERSION} \
@@ -94,7 +93,6 @@ xcodebuild \
 
 if [[ ${BUILD_FOR_DEVICE} == true ]]; then
     xcodebuild \
-        GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS=${GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS} \
         CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION=${PROJ_VERSION} \
         CURRENT_SHORT_VERSION=${SHORT_VERSION} \
         CURRENT_SEMANTIC_VERSION=${SEM_VERSION} \
@@ -111,7 +109,7 @@ fi
 LIBS=(Mapbox.a mbgl-core.a mbgl-platform-ios.a)
 
 # https://medium.com/@syshen/create-an-ios-universal-framework-148eb130a46c
-if [[ "${BUILD_FOR_DEVICE}" == true ]]; then
+if [[ ${BUILD_FOR_DEVICE} == true ]]; then
     if [[ ${BUILD_STATIC} == true ]]; then
         step "Assembling static framework for iOS Simulator and devices…"
         mkdir -p ${OUTPUT}/static/${NAME}.framework
@@ -168,8 +166,8 @@ else
     cp -rv ${PRODUCTS}/${BUILDTYPE}-iphonesimulator/Settings.bundle ${STATIC_SETTINGS_DIR}
 fi
 
-if [[ "${GCC_GENERATE_DEBUGGING_SYMBOLS}" == false ]]; then
-    step "Stripping binaries…"
+if [[ ${SYMBOLS} = NO ]]; then
+    step "Stripping symbols from binaries…"
     if [[ ${BUILD_STATIC} == true ]]; then
         strip -Sx "${OUTPUT}/static/${NAME}.framework/${NAME}"
     fi