If you want to allow your users to search for places in your app, you can use one of two frameworks: MapKit or Google Places SDK.

MapKit is the integrated Apple solution.

Google Places SDK is an external framework created by Google.

For this comparison, we will focus on the search functionality, not on the map displays or interactions.

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Summary

Summary table.

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Installation

MapKit: The iOS framework integrates with MapKit. There is nothing you are required to do before you start using it.

Google Places: Google Places SDK is distributed by Google via Pod. There are two steps for the framework to work.

First, you need to go to The Google Cloud Platform Console and register for the API.

Then, you need to use the Pod system to add the framework to your project. Even if you are not familiar with the Pod system, the process is simple.

Open a terminal and navigate to your project folder:

pod init #Will create the pod file

Open the Pod file and add the line:

pod ‘GooglePlaces’

Finish the installation with:

pod install #to install the library

Winner: MapKit.

Why: MapKit has no registration and no installation.

#mapkit #google-place-autocomplete #swift #google #ios