Display a basic map

  • This guide demonstrates how to create a basic map centered on Seattle using the Google Maps SDK for iOS.

  • It provides code samples in both Swift and Objective-C to display the map.

  • Before running the code, you need to configure your development environment and obtain a Google Maps API key.

  • The guide includes steps to download, install, and run the full sample app, enabling exploration of various Maps SDK features.

Image of Display a basic map.

This example creates a map that's centered on Seattle, Washington.

Get started

Before you can try the sample code, you must configure your development environment. For more information, see Maps SDK for iOS code samples.

View the code

Swift

import GoogleMaps
import UIKit

class BasicMapViewController: UIViewController {
  var statusLabel: UILabel!

  override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Seattle coordinates
    let camera = GMSCameraPosition(latitude: 47.6089945, longitude: -122.3410462, zoom: 14)
    let mapView = GMSMapView(frame: view.bounds, camera: camera)
    mapView.delegate = self
    view = mapView
    navigationController?.navigationBar.isTranslucent = false

    statusLabel = UILabel(frame: .zero)
    statusLabel.alpha = 0.0
    statusLabel.backgroundColor = .blue
    statusLabel.textColor = .white
    statusLabel.textAlignment = .center
    view.addSubview(statusLabel)
    statusLabel.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
      statusLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor),
      statusLabel.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 30),
      statusLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor),
      statusLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor),
    ])
  }
}

extension BasicMapViewController: GMSMapViewDelegate {
  func mapViewDidStartTileRendering(_ mapView: GMSMapView) {
    statusLabel.alpha = 0.8
    statusLabel.text = "Rendering"
  }

  func mapViewDidFinishTileRendering(_ mapView: GMSMapView) {
    statusLabel.alpha = 0.0
  }
}
BasicMapViewController.swift

Objective-C

#import "GoogleMapsDemos/Samples/BasicMapViewController.h"

#import <GoogleMaps/GoogleMaps.h>

@implementation BasicMapViewController {
  UILabel *_statusLabel;
}

- (void)viewDidLoad {
  [super viewDidLoad];
  // Seattle coordinates
  GMSCameraPosition *camera = [GMSCameraPosition cameraWithLatitude:47.6089945
                                                          longitude:-122.3410462
                                                               zoom:14];
  GMSMapView *view = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:CGRectZero camera:camera];
  view.delegate = self;
  self.view = view;

  // Add status label, initially hidden.
  _statusLabel = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 0, 30)];
  _statusLabel.alpha = 0.0f;
  _statusLabel.autoresizingMask = UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleWidth;
  _statusLabel.backgroundColor = [UIColor blueColor];
  _statusLabel.textColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
  _statusLabel.textAlignment = NSTextAlignmentCenter;

  [view addSubview:_statusLabel];
}

- (void)mapViewDidStartTileRendering:(GMSMapView *)mapView {
  _statusLabel.alpha = 0.8f;
  _statusLabel.text = @"Rendering";
}

- (void)mapViewDidFinishTileRendering:(GMSMapView *)mapView {
  _statusLabel.alpha = 0.0f;
}

@end
BasicMapViewController.m

Run the full sample app locally

The Maps SDK for iOS sample app is available as a download archive from GitHub. Follow these steps to install and try the Maps SDK for iOS sample app.

  1. Run git clone https://github.com/googlemaps-samples/maps-sdk-for-ios-samples.git to clone the samples repository into a local directory.

  2. Open a terminal window, navigate to the directory where you cloned the sample files, and drill down into the GoogleMaps directory:

    Swift

    cd maps-sdk-for-ios-samples/GoogleMaps-Swift
pod install
open GoogleMapsSwiftXCFrameworkDemos.xcworkspace

    Objective-C

    cd maps-sdk-for-ios-samples-main/GoogleMaps
pod install
open GoogleMapsDemos.xcworkspace
  3. In Xcode, press the compile button to build the app with the current scheme. The build produces an error, prompting you to enter your API key in the SDKConstants.swift file for Swift orSDKDemoAPIKey.h file for Objective-C.
  4. Get an API key from your project with the Maps SDK for iOS enabled.
  5. Edit the SDKConstants.swift file for Swift orSDKDemoAPIKey.h file for Objective-C and paste your API key into the definition of either the apiKey or kAPIKey constant. For example:

    Swift

    static let apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY"

    Objective-C

    static NSString *const kAPIKey = @"YOUR_API_KEY";
  6. In the SDKConstants.swift file (Swift) orSDKDemoAPIKey.h file (Objective-C), remove the following line, because it's used to register the user-defined issue:

    Swift

    #error (Register for API Key and insert here. Then delete this line.)

    Objective-C

    #error Register for API Key and insert here.
  7. Build and run the project. The iOS simulator window appears, showing a list of Maps SDK Demos.
  8. Choose one of the options displayed, to experiment with a feature of the Maps SDK for iOS.
  9. If prompted to allow GoogleMapsDemos to access your location, choose Allow.