Pretty unlikely, we probably would have seen some slip-ups in the iOS 5 beta if that was the case. As it stands they are still steadily improving the existing Maps with Google services, adding alternate routes and whatnot.

Sadly, Apple do not yet have their own orbital launch capability... though maybe it's not so far fetched looking at the characters that do!

That would indeed be huge, but I'd be a bit worried, as Google Maps has been the market leader for some time.

More likely, they've made improvements that distinguish the iPhone in an Apple-esque way, and probably increased the likelyhood that iOS maps could be switched to say, Bing in a more direct fashion.

I wonder how many iPhone users realize that the Maps app on their phone is powered by Google maps?

Considering the Maps app has a persistent google logo watermark on the bottom left (right above the arrow), I'd say close to 100% know, even if they can't say why.

Oops, I even checked before posting and didn't see it, though I was looking for it on the bottom right.

Probably just turn-by-turn spoken directions or voice command input, if anything.