The Apple Watch Could Revolutionize the Way We Travel
It’s not here yet but there’s that developing sneaky feeling that the Apple Watch, despite its price tag and low battery life, might yet change quite a lot about how we conduct our lives. While I don’t think it’s going to be an overnight transformation, I can see it being a slow but steady process. One such area where the Apple Watch could make all the difference is when it comes to convenience while traveling. Here are a few ways in which it could simplify our traveling life.
Flights
Quick to adopt anything that could save their customers time come the likes of American Airlines, British Airways, and budget airline, EasyJet, with some convenient apps.
American Airlines and British Airways are promising to offer you flight information, boarding passes, and even notifications for boarding calls, all through your Apple Watch. Once you’re on the flight it’ll let you know how much time is remaining, too. All of which should save you plenty of time in the long run. After all, boarding is a hassle [Editor's Note: Oh my goodness YES]. Anything that takes some of the effort out has to be worth it, right?
EasyJet are hoping to go one step further by providing currency exchange rates and weather details for your destination. You’ll be able to share your flight details with friends and family via Twitter or Facebook, too.
Hotels
The Marriott chain of hotels have decided to go all-in with their support for the Apple Watch. They’re the first hotel chain to offer Apple Pay support. It’s already there for your iPhone 6 and 6+ but it’ll work with the Apple Watch, too. As well as that, you’ll be able to check in with the app and see if your room is available yet.
The Starwood chain goes a little further by allowing you to use NFC to unlock your door, thereby offering keyless room entry. No more fumbling with the keycard and swiping it too fast in a hurry! Throw in a reminder of your room number and, even if you’re slightly intoxicated, you’re going to remember where to go and not have to worry about losing your key.
The Bits and Pieces
Elsewhere, Citymapper is aiming to offer you subway and bus routes via the Apple Watch, saving you from getting your iPhone out of your pocket or bag. Uber will give you a way to see what cars are available for hire, and TripAdvisor provides you with information on places to visit. Sure, this is stuff that the iPhone has offered for years, but who wants to dig out an expensive device in an unfamiliar place? The Watch will be right there for you to look at.
There’s even a nod to the dream of Universal Translators, courtesy of Babbel offering location-aware words in other languages. At an airport and need to say something about baggage claims? Or at a restaurant and want to ask about food? Babbel will adjust accordingly.
That’s all scratching the surface too, given these are only the first wave of travel apps. Once a few more places accept Apple Pay, in theory you might not ever need your wallet while traveling. With boarding passes and room entry all connected to your Apple Watch you won’t even need to carry much of anything else.
It’s an exciting new world out there, and Apple Watch might have just made things a little more convenient to deal with.