You might just be seeing a new version of Google Maps in your Play Store downloads today - Google has updated the app from version 7.3 to 7.4. There's not a whole lot of new stuff going on inside, certainly not compared to the cavalcade of UI changes that happened earlier this year. A few tuned gestures, a few refreshed UI elements, and that's about it. APK downloads below.
If you're a regular Maps user, you'll notice that the one-finger zoom gestures have been reversed. In the newly-updated app you double-tap, hold, then drag down to zoom in (the reverse was true before now). It makes a little more sense than previously. The same is true for the double-tap and drag gesture which adjusts the vertical view: now dragging down with two fingers will give you a bird's eye view, while dragging up will adjust the view to about 45 virtual degrees.
Old on the left, new on the right.
The Explore menu has had a few very slight visual changes, capitalizing the categories and adding a few icons, with a new "More button" below. There's also a background image for Explore, which puts the focus on the icons rather than the view.
Under the hood a few of the icons for Offers have been updated with a slightly more modern look. That's about it - there's nothing in here that warrants rushing to download the new APK.
Old Offers icons
Updated Offers icons
Of course if you want to, we're not going to stop you. The API 18+ download below is for Android device running 4.3 or higher, while API 15 is for devices running Android 4.0.3 or higher.
Google Maps for API 18+
Google Maps for API 15+