Download Google Map App For Android Phone

This guide is a quick start to adding a map to an Android app. AndroidStudio is the recommended development environment for buildingan app with the Maps SDK for Android.

Step 1. Download Android Studio

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Maps app. Make sure you're connected to the internet and signed in to Google Maps. Search for a place, like San Francisco. At the bottom, tap the. Don't get me wrong: Google Maps is the king of the online mapping industry, but that doesn't mean that the Google Maps app is the best navigation app for your Android phone. There are plenty of. Download the Google Search app and get the best answers and assistance using Voice Search. Available on Android and iPhone. Get the mobile app today.

Follow the guides to download and installAndroid Studio.

Step 2. Install the Google Play services SDK

Add Google Play services to Android Studio.

Step 3. Create a Google Maps project

Follow these steps to create a new app project including a map activity:

Start Android Studio.
Create a new project as follows:
- If you see the Welcome to Android Studio dialog, choose Start a newAndroid Studio project, available under 'Quick Start' on the right ofthe dialog.
- Otherwise, click File in the Android Studio menu bar, then New,New Project.
In the Choose your project dialog, select the tab that corresponds to the platform you intended to develop for. Most users will want to keep the default Phone and Tablet.
Select Google Maps Activity, then click Next.
Enter your app name, package name, and project location, programming language (Java or Kotlin), and the minimum Android API level supported by your app, then click Finish.

Android Studio starts Gradle and builds your project. This may take a fewseconds. For more information about creating a project in Android Studio,see the Android Studio documentation.

When the build is finished, Android Studio opens the google_maps_api.xml andthe MapsActivity.java files in the editor. (Note that your activity may havea different name, but it will be the one you configured during setup.) Noticethat the google_maps_api.xml file contains instructions on getting aGoogle Maps API key before you try to run the application. The next sectiondescribes getting the API key in more detail.

Step 4. Get a Google Maps API key

Your application needs an API key to access the Google Maps servers. The type ofkey you need is an API key with restriction for Android apps. The key isfree. You can use it with any of your applications that call theMaps SDK for Android, and it supports an unlimited number of users.

Choose one of the following ways to get your API key from Android Studio:

The fast, easy way: Use the link provided in the google_maps_api.xml file that Android Studio created for you:
1. Copy the link provided in the google_maps_api.xml file and paste it into your browser. The link takes you to the Google Cloud Platform Console and supplies the required information to the Google Cloud Platform Console via URL parameters, thus reducing the manual input required from you.
2. Follow the instructions to create a new project on the Google Cloud Platform Console or select an existing project.
3. Create an Android-restricted API key for your project.
4. Copy the resulting API key, go back to Android Studio, and paste the API key into the <string> element in the google_maps_api.xml file.
A slightly less fast way: Use the credentials provided in the google_maps_api.xml file that Android Studio created for you:
1. Copy the credentials provided in the google_maps_api.xml file.
2. Go to the Google Cloud Platform Console in your browser.
3. Use the copied credentials to add your app to an existing API key or to create a new API key.

The full process for getting an API key: If neither of the above optionsworks for your situation, see Get an API Key.

Step 5. Hello Map! Take a look at the code

Examine the code supplied by the template. In particular, look at the followingfiles in your Android Studio project.

The XML layout file

By default, the XML file that defines the app's layout is atres/layout/activity_maps.xml. It contains the following code:

The maps activity Java file

By default, the Java file that defines the maps activity is namedMapsActivity.java. It should contain the following code after yourpackage name:

If your maps activity file doesn't contain the above code, replace the contentsof the file with the above code, after your package name.

Step 6. Connect an Android device

The simplest way to see your app in action is to connect an Android device toyour computer. Follow the instructions to enable developeroptions on your Android device and configure your application and systemto detect the device.

Alternatively, you can use the Android Emulator to run your app. Use theAndroid Virtual Device (AVD) Manager to configure one or morevirtual devices which you'll be able to use with the Android Emulator whenyou build and run your app. When choosing your emulator, ensure that you useAndroid 4.2.2 or higher, and be careful to pick an image that includes theGoogle APIs, or the application will not have the requisite runtime APIs inorder to execute. Also, take note of the instructions forconfiguring virtual machine acceleration, which youshould use with an x86 target AVD as described in the instructions. Thiswill improve your experience with the emulator.

Step 7. Build and run your app

In Android Studio, click the Run menu option (or the play button icon) torun your app.

When prompted to choose a device, choose one of the following options:

Select the Android device that's connected to your computer.
Alternatively, select the Launch emulator radio button and choose thevirtual device that you've previously configured.

Click OK. Android Studio will invoke Gradle to build your app, and thendisplay the results on the device or on the emulator. It could take a couple ofminutes before the app opens.

You should see a map with a marker positioned over Sydney, Australia. If youdon't see a map, confirm that you've completed all the steps described on thispage. In particular, check that you've added an API key as describedabove.

Next steps

You may wish to look at some sample code.

You can read more about map objects in the developer's guide.

Thanks to Google Maps and countless other apps, we take maps and location services for granted. While these apps are extremely powerful and helpful when you’re navigating around your homeland, things can get complicated when you’re away form your home turf. Roaming charge in foreign countries are astonishingly high and your bill can run into hundreds of dollars even for some light surfing.

In times like these it is better to have offline maps to guide you through. Download the map for the country you’re heading to, and when you have stable Wi-Fi you can forget about the expensive data plans.

Most of the apps listed here have offline search function so you can use them just like normal maps app and by turning on GPS (and not data) you can identify your current location and navigate easily. It won’t be as good as turn by turn navigation but it’s a lot better than being utterly lost.

Download Google Map App For Android Phone

1. Google Maps

The updated Google Maps app for Android and iOS has an offline feature but it’s really limited. You can only make the current area map offline. To do that just tap the search bar, scroll to the bottom and select Make this map area available offline. On iOS 7 it says Save map to use offline. To get the most out of the features of the updated maps app check out our detailed guide.

What is it good for? Convenience. You already have Google Maps on your phone and all if you need is an offline map of the area you’re already in, there’s no need to go looking for a whole new app.

2. Maps With Me Lite For Lots Of Platforms

Maps With Me Lite is a free no nonsense offline app for a lot of platforms (including BlackBerry). You can download offline maps for any country you like, but make sure you do so on Wi-Fi before heading out into the wild because they are pretty big downloads.

India’s map was about 100 MB (and the entire USA, which you can cherry pick by states, will cost you around 1 GB). Once downloaded though, you can pinch to zoom and pan around any area you like and relevant information will keep popping up as you get deeper into a region.

When it comes to details, Maps With Me has the basics covered. You’ll find the names for major streets easily but anything deeper than that is just physical map with no contextual data. The pro app lets you search and bookmark locations within the app.

What is it good for? Maps With Me is one of those just so you have it kind of apps. Better to download it, you never know when you might need it.

3. Here Maps For Windows Phone

If you own a Nokia Lumia phone, Here Maps come preinstalled. You can also install the app on a variety of Windows Phone devices. Here Maps is to Windows Phone what Google Maps is to the rest of the world. That doesn’t mean they’re bad. Quite the contrary. If you live in Europe or India where Windows Phone market is quite good, Here Maps offer you localized features like traffic reports and free turn by turn navigation that’s sometimes better than Google’s offering. But this depends solely on your location.

You can use Google Maps on your Windows Phone if you like but for most people Here Maps is a better alternative. When you first start app, it will ask you to download maps for offline use. If you missed it, don’t worry. From the three dotted menu, select Download Maps and select Download New Maps and download the localized map for offline use.

What is it good for? If you’re on Windows Phone, this is your best (and the only good) bet.

4. Galileo Offline Maps For iOS

Galileo is like Maps With Me but better. The offline maps download sizes in Galileo are about 60% of Maps With Me. Saving almost half of download costs and storage space is no small feat. Galileo also allows you to search through the offline maps for free, a feature that’s locked behind the pay wall for Maps With Me.

Galileo is also a well rounded maps app. The paid upgrade gets you features like driving mode, GPS tracks recording, bookmarks and a lot more. But it’s only available on iOS so Android users should still stick with Maps With Me.

What is it good for? If you’re using an iPhone, Galileo is what you should go for. It’s free and has offline search support.