How will the Apple Watch change the way you travel?

Although Singapore wasn’t among the markets where the Apple Watch was first released a fortnight ago, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if hardcore Apple fans popped over to other Asian territiories such as Japan or Hong Kong to get their hands on one. Problem is, you’d have to buy it second-hand as the watch was already sold out before its launch. It’s this sort of frenzy that is causing many travel companies to sit up and take notice of the potential the Apple Watch may unleash.

“Two-and-a-half million Apple Watches were estimated to be pre-sold (worldwide) before they were even launched. To put it in context, it took Apple 10 quarters before it hit this sort of numbers with the iPod,” said Expedia’s chief product officer John Kim. “It tells you a little about why I’m excited. And if you look at the penetration of every Apple device, the success of it from the iPod and the iPhone to the tablet and now the watch — it’s a promise there would be massive adoption. It’s not hype anymore.”

Kim has hit the nail on the head. Major travel brands from online travel agents, including Expedia and Booking.com, to airlines and hotel groups such as Starwood, Marriott, Emirates and British Airways have already unveiled their apps for the Apple Watch. As Irene Lin, vice-president of distribution, loyalty and partnerships, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific, explained, wearables such as the Apple Watch tie in seamlessly with the inherently mobile nature of travel. “We expect wearables to be increasingly popular with consumers. We want to be where our guests are,” she said.

Save for teleporting you to the airport, it looks like the Apple Watch apps are doing everything they can to make travel a whole lot smoother. Expedia’s app promises to keep you updated on everything to do with your booking from flight changes to your luggage-claim belt and directions to your hotel; Intercontinental Hotel Group Translator App allows you to speak into your watch to get translations in 13 languages; while British Airways’ app will show the weather conditions of the city you’re landing in.

THE BIG DEAL

Then again, aren’t most of these functions already available on mobile apps? Why do travellers need an additional Apple Watch? And seriously, do you really need a watch to remind you that you have 10 minutes to get to your boarding gate? For the world’s biggest travel website, TripAdvisor, the Apple Watch’s appeal lies in its Glances feature.

“The Apple Watch offers a much more personal experience,” said TripAdvisor’s senior vice-president of global product, Adam Medros. “The Glances feature is very interesting because it surfaces a user’s go-to apps and showcases the most relevant information for a user’s location and time of day. Instead of holding your mobile phone in front of your face as you walk, you can now quickly glance at your wrist and get timely recommendations for nearby places to eat and things to do.”

Kim feels the Apple Watch offers intimacy and immediacy — citing how travellers will no longer miss key information (once sent to the phone) — as well as an ability to anticipate needs. “With the phone, you have to get into it to ask for the information you want,” he said. “That might be awkward in social situations. But the watch and other wearables represent a way of putting something on your body to predict what you want at that moment, what sort of problems you might face and the kind of alternative ride you can get from the airport if the taxi queue is super long, for example. There are all kinds of cases where a watch can meet your needs better than a phone can. And we’re also talking about a device that can measure your heart rate; it knows how many steps you’ve taken today. It’s that intimate.”

DESIGN IS EVERYTHING

This may mean the Apple Watch is shaping up to be the new travel battleground, levelling the playing field for the industry such that only the best and most trustworthy apps have an advantage. Travel companies are vying to outdo one another with Apple Watch-specific elements, with even airports joining the wrist action (Helsinki airport has developed an Apple Watch app). Hotel booking site Booking.com introduced “the first and only booking travel app” for the watch, whereby users get to see the nearest relevant properties. These can then be booked using the Apple Watch’s pressure-sensitive “force touch” technology. It has also developed watch-exclusive features such as countdown to check-in and check-out, and turn-by-turn navigation to the hotel. Earlier this week, Japan Airlines announced a Countdown app for passengers to note how much time they have left to their flight to ensure a “worry-free time when they can shop, eat or relax”, said its website.

But don’t chuck your mobile phone just yet. Industry experts agree the watch works best as a complement to your smartphone. “The Apple Watch is not a replacement for all of the complex, rich interactions you have with your smartphone,” said Stuart Frisby, principal designer at Booking.com, adding that it’s unnecessary and undesirable to get users to fill in forms or look at image-heavy interfaces there. Instead, the Apple Watch really works best in “micro interactions that are as easy as telling the time”.

For Frisby and team, the trick is in presenting information on the watch not just in the right way but also at the right time by understanding the context of users, where they are on their trip and how to best provide maximum value with the least cognitive load.

That sounds like the perfect travel companion, doesn’t it? But perhaps it’s best to remember that before we embrace that future, we should improve what’s currently available. After all, it was just a week ago that Qantas passengers at Australia’s airports complained that the airline’s app for the watch couldn’t be used as their wrists were unable to fit existing scanners at the gate.

Better to stick to your smartphone for now, eh?