Adding a Map with a Marker

This tutorial shows you how to add a Google map to your iOS app. The map includes a marker, also called a pin, to indicate a specific location.

Getting the code

Clone or download the Google Maps iOS samples repository from GitHub.

< > Show/Hide the Swift code for the map view controller.

/*
 * Copyright 2020 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
 *
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this
 * file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under
 * the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
 * ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing
 * permissions and limitations under the License.
 */

import UIKit
import GoogleMaps

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
        // Create a GMSCameraPosition that tells the map to display the
        // coordinate -33.86,151.20 at zoom level 6.
        let camera = GMSCameraPosition.camera(withLatitude: -33.86, longitude: 151.20, zoom: 6.0)
        let mapView = GMSMapView.map(withFrame: self.view.frame, camera: camera)
        self.view.addSubview(mapView)

        // Creates a marker in the center of the map.
        let marker = GMSMarker()
        marker.position = CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -33.86, longitude: 151.20)
        marker.title = "Sydney"
        marker.snippet = "Australia"
        marker.map = mapView
  }
}

< > Show/Hide the Objective-C code for the map view controller.

/*
* Copyright 2020 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
*
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this
* file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
*     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under
* the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
* ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing
* permissions and limitations under the License.
*/

#import "ViewController.h"
#import <GoogleMaps/GoogleMaps.h>

@interface ViewController ()

@end

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
  // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
  // Create a GMSCameraPosition that tells the map to display the
  // coordinate -33.86,151.20 at zoom level 6.
  GMSCameraPosition *camera = [GMSCameraPosition cameraWithLatitude:-33.86
                                                          longitude:151.20
                                                               zoom:6];
  GMSMapView *mapView = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:self.view.frame camera:camera];
  mapView.myLocationEnabled = YES;
  [self.view addSubview:mapView];

  // Creates a marker in the center of the map.
  GMSMarker *marker = [[GMSMarker alloc] init];
  marker.position = CLLocationCoordinate2DMake(-33.86, 151.20);
  marker.title = @"Sydney";
  marker.snippet = @"Australia";
  marker.map = mapView;
}

@end

Setting up your development project

Follow these steps to install the Maps SDK for iOS:

1. Download and install Xcode version 14.0 or later.
2. If you don't already have CocoaPods, install it on macOS by running the following command from the terminal:

   sudo gem install cocoapods

3. Clone or download the Google Maps iOS samples repository.
4. Navigate to the tutorials/map-with-marker directory.
5. Run the pod install command. This will install the APIs specified in the Podfile, along with any dependencies they may have.
6. Run pod outdated to compare the installed pod version with any new updates. If a new version is detected, run pod update to update the Podfile and install the latest SDK. For more details, see the CocoaPods Guide.
7. Open (double-click) the project's map-with-marker.xcworkspace file to open it in Xcode. You must use the .xcworkspace file to open the project.

Getting an API key and enabling the necessary APIs

To complete this tutorial, you need a Google API key that's authorized to use the Maps SDK for iOS. Click the button below to get a key and activate the API.

Get Started

For more details, see Get an API key.

Add the API key to your application

Add your API key to your AppDelegate.swift as follows:

1. Note that following import statement has been added to the file:

   import GoogleMaps

2. Edit the following line in your application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:) method, replacing YOUR_API_KEY with your API key:

   GMSServices.provideAPIKey("YOUR_API_KEY")

Note: The sample code for the completed tutorial is configured to run as a Swift Xcode project but includes Swift and Objective-C examples.

Building and running your app

1. Connect an iOS device to your computer, or select a simulator from the Xcode scheme pop-up menu.
2. If you're using a device, make sure that location services are enabled. If you're using a simulator, select a location from the Features menu.
3. In Xcode, click the Product/Run menu option (or the play button icon).
• Xcode builds the app, and then runs the app on the device or on the simulator.
• You should see a map with a marker centered on Sydney on the east coast of Australia, similar to the image on this page.

Troubleshooting:

• If you don't see a map, check that you've obtained an API key and added it to the app, as described above. Check Xcode's debugging console for error messages about the API key.
• If you have restricted the API key by the iOS bundle identifier, edit the key to add the bundle identifier for the app: com.google.examples.map-with-marker.
• Ensure that you have a good WiFi or GPS connection.
• Use the Xcode debugging tools to view logs and debug the app.

Understanding the code

1. Create a map and set it as the view in loadView().

   Swift

   // Create a GMSCameraPosition that tells the map to display the
   // coordinate -33.86,151.20 at zoom level 6.
   let camera = GMSCameraPosition.camera(withLatitude: -33.86, longitude: 151.20, zoom: 6.0)
   let mapView = GMSMapView.map(withFrame: CGRect.zero, camera: camera)
   view = mapView
         

   Objective-C

   // Create a GMSCameraPosition that tells the map to display the
   // coordinate -33.86,151.20 at zoom level 6.
   GMSCameraPosition *camera = [GMSCameraPosition cameraWithLatitude:-33.86
                                                           longitude:151.20
                                                                zoom:6.0];
   GMSMapView *mapView = [[GMSMapView alloc] initWithFrame: CGRectZero camera:camera];
   self.view = mapView;
         

2. Add a marker to the map in loadView().

   Swift

   // Creates a marker in the center of the map.
   let marker = GMSMarker()
   marker.position = CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -33.86, longitude: 151.20)
   marker.title = "Sydney"
   marker.snippet = "Australia"
   marker.map = mapView
         

   Objective-C

   // Creates a marker in the center of the map.
   GMSMarker *marker = [[GMSMarker alloc] init];
   marker.position = CLLocationCoordinate2DMake(-33.86, 151.20);
   marker.title = @"Sydney";
   marker.snippet = @"Australia";
   marker.map = mapView;
         

By default, the Maps SDK for iOS displays the content of the info window when the user taps a marker. There's no need to add a click listener for the marker if you're happy to use the default behavior.

Congratulations! You've built an iOS app that displays a Google map with a marker to indicate a particular location. You've also learned how to use the Maps SDK for iOS.

Next steps

Learn more about the map object, and what you can do with markers.