Google announced a new version of apps for iOS and Android (version 7.0) that cleans up some features, adds some features but drops some significant features as well.
What was added?
(1) Exploring local places to go to has be updated to be more "card" like.
(2) You can now see reports of problems on the road that you can tap to see incident details.
(3) While using driving directions, Google Maps will also alert you if a better route becomes available and reroute you to your destination faster.
(4) New tablet design is available.
(5) New 5.0 star rating system is available in the app for local reviews.
(6) Google Offers is integrated into Google Maps app now.
What is missing?
(1) Google drops latitude and is removing the feature completely by August 9th. Instead, Google wants you to use Google+ Checkin feature in the Google+ app.
(2) The offline maps feature for Android is also no longer available, now if you want to use offline maps, you need to type or say "OK Maps" to save what you are currently looking at.
(3) The My Maps functionality is not supported in this release but Google promises to bring it back in a future release.
Forum discussion at Google+ & Google Maps Help.
