Will the Apple Watch Change the Way You Travel?

Is this your next new travel gadget? (Photo: AP)

The upcoming Apple Watch wants to do more than put a smartphone on your wrist and make traditional watches like Rolexes, Omegas and Tag Heuer look positively quaint.

With the new Apple Watch, which the company showed off at a big press conference Monday, it’s clear Apple wants to make it an indispensable tool for travelers — that is, travelers willing to shell out $350 for the most basic version, or $10,000 for the 18k gold, top-of-the-line version.

“I think it has potential,” airline expert Brian Kelly, editor in chief of The Points Guy, tells Yahoo Travel. “I don’t think it’s completely there yet but no new technology is perfect when it first gets launched.”

That may be, but Apple is off to an impressive start and some third-party companies, have announced the travel-related bells and whistles that will be available for the watch once it goes on sale April 24.

Managing flights

The Apple Watch will do more than just flash info on its screen; it’ll give you a little tap to make sure you catch your flight (Photo: Apple)

The Apple Watch comes with a “taptic engine” that taps users on the wrist as an alert — something Kelly says could turn into invaluable flight alerts for travelers.

“As a business traveler or frequent flyer, the quicker you get alerted to a change, the better chance you have of getting re-accommodated,” he says, noting he often misses flight alert texts from airlines because he doesn’t feel the phone vibrating in his pocket or, worse, in his bag while going through security. “So I think having that ability to get tapped right away on your wrist could be a really, really good tool for travelers.”

American Airlines, for one, has already announced an Apple Watch app that helps passengers check-in to flights and collect bags.

Expedia on your wrist

Expedia also has its own Apple Watch app ready to go. (Photo: Expedia)

Expedia also has announced its own Apple Watch app. ”Expedia on Apple Watch will provide travelers with quick access to important travel information on the go,” the company tells Yahoo Travel. “You’ll be able to check itineraries for your upcoming trips as well as get detailed flight and hotel information. For flights, you can see departure and arrival times, gate numbers and terminals. For hotels, you can get check-in and check-out times, maps, directions and phone numbers.” The app will also provide notifications for flights, gate changes, hotel check-in and check-out.

Fitness Tracking (with limits)

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the Apple Watch can be a great fitness tool. But it has one big limitation. (Photo: AP)

Apple Watch will track how much you move during the day, and might give you a little nudge to let you know it’s time to get active. Kelly, who currently uses the rival Fitbit fitness tracking gadget, sees how such functions could be useful to travelers too. “I love, especially on planes, tracking how much sleep I get, your activity, your calories and things like that.”

Related: 10 Bizarre Travel Gadgets We’re Dying to Own

This is one spot that highlights Apple Watch’s biggest weakness, its 18-hour battery life.

“18 hours isn’t even a full day when I’m traveling, especially to Asia,” he says. “If you have to charge your watch while you’re sleeping on the plane, it defeats the purpose of having that sleep tracking technology."

Using your watch to check in to your hotel room

Meet your new hotel room key. (Photo: Starwood SPG)

Starwood’s new Apple Watch SPG app will allow Preferred Guests at over 150 W Hotels, Aloft, and Element to use their watches to unlock their rooms without a key. That’s something that has Kelly really excited. “As a traveler with my suitcase going up to my room, being able to unlock my door without fumbling with anything, I think, is something that may seem small right now for people but I think is the future for hotel technology,” he says. According to Skift, 30,000 Starwood hotel rooms will be usable with the Apple Watch by the end of April.

Related: Goodbye, Cardkeys: Apple Watch Will Open Your Hotel Room Doors

A car ride is just a wrist tap away…or is it?

Uber’s Apple Watch app may be limited by the fact the watch does not have a built-in GPS (Photo: Apple)

At Monday’s event, Apple demonstrated how you’ll be able to order an Uber ride using an Apple Watch. But Kelly sees this function as another possible miss for the Apple Watch, which doesn’t have a built-in GPS to guide your Uber driver to your location. “It uses your iPhone’s GPS,” says Kelly, who notes that could pose a problem for Verizon users like himself who can’t use data-driven apps like GPS while on a phone call.

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"If you’re on an important business call and you want to Uber, you will not be able to do that,” says Kelly, who wishes the Apple Watch’s Uber app could function 100% on its own without an assist from an iPhone. “If the phone’s in your briefcase or wallet, being able to hit two buttons on your wristwatch is easier than taking your phone out unlocking it, loading up the app, requesting an Uber. I still think [Apple Watch’s Uber app] could save time but it’s not quite as useful as it could be.”

Will travelers take a bite out of the Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch’s hefty price tag may put it out of reach for some travelers who don’t want to make such a big investment in a new piece of technology. “I don’t know if I’ll bite the first time around or wait for it to get a longer battery life,” says Kelly. But after Apple took over the music selling and, later, the cell phone industries despite the naysayers, Kelly knows it’s not smart for travelers to bet against the Apple Watch.

“I think it has the potential to be something,” he says. “I think everyone is going to have one of these smart watches in next five years just like we have smart phones.”

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