Tom's Guide looks at if the Apple Watch the ultimate travel companion? From navigating on Apple Map directions and Siri translations to currency conversions, Apple Pay, and more. Even the benefit of the Apple Watch Low Power Mode for the 14-hour flight from New York City halfway across the world. In this week-in-the-life video, Kate covers all the best Apple Watch features and tips for travel, and even makes a few adorable friends along the way.
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TechTranscript
00:00 I'm here in Tokyo, a city that's basically synonymous with tech.
00:03 But I want to see how my favorite piece of tech, the Apple Watch Series 9,
00:07 can help me while I'm traveling abroad.
00:09 I know that I can use Apple Maps to get around and Siri to help me translate certain phrases,
00:14 but I really want to see what the Apple Watch can do while I'm traveling.
00:18 This is also my very first time in Japan, so I'm excited to see what's in store.
00:23 It's my first day in Japan, and my first order of business? Shopping.
00:30 I got separated from my friends, but I just got a text that they're at a store called Don Quixote.
00:36 So I'm going to search on my maps, on my wrist, without having to take out my phone.
00:42 It comes right up. Discount store, open 24 hours. Directions.
00:48 And it's just a five-minute walk away. How perfect is that? Let's go.
00:55 Turns out it wasn't very far at all, but me not being able to read Japanese,
01:00 it's really helpful to make sure that I'm going to the right location.
01:02 I just got to the store. It's huge!
01:09 We are in a huge electronics store in Tokyo, and obviously my first stop had to be the Apple Watch display.
01:19 They have the Apple Watch Series 9, like I have on my wrist right here.
01:23 They're locked away. You've got lots of band options.
01:26 So if I was interested in buying one, I would want to ask the people who work at the store.
01:30 So I'm going to use my translator on my Apple Watch Series 9 through Siri.
01:35 How do I say I want that watch in Japanese?
01:38 And if I don't want an Apple Watch, there are actually tons of smartwatches and fitness trackers on display here.
01:48 Some of these I've seen that I've reviewed before, but there are also some brands here that we don't get in the U.S.
01:53 So as someone who loves smartwatches, it's cool to just check them out.
01:56 But do I think they would be as helpful as my Apple Watch? Not so sure.
02:00 This store is like Target on steroids.
02:05 They have every single type of appliance that you could possibly think of.
02:09 We've got washers and dryers. We were just looking at rice cookers and air purifiers.
02:15 Over here we have more laundry care.
02:18 Oh my God, there's just so many options just for steamers.
02:21 Like, I didn't even know they made this many steamers. This Panasonic one's nice.
02:26 That's crazy.
02:28 Oh, there's a Switch. I can buy Switch games here.
02:36 Should I buy some games while we're here?
02:39 I was honestly blown away by Don Quixote, Big Camera, and all the other shops in this district.
02:45 I could have spent all day there exploring and spending quite a bit of money.
02:49 I'm totally buying this.
02:55 Babe Lego.
02:57 A big challenge with traveling overseas is converting the currency that you know to the local currency.
03:08 Luckily I can just ask Siri if I'm not sure the conversion rate to figure out how much something costs.
03:14 How much does 300 Japanese yen convert to in American dollars?
03:19 That was an instant response and now I know that I'm going to spend about $2 for this box of chocolates.
03:28 I totally lost track of time in that huge store.
03:31 So by the time I was done browsing, my friends had left.
03:34 But luckily my Apple Watch was once again there to help me find them.
03:38 I just got a text with them that they grabbed a table for lunch.
03:42 I'm going to use Apple Maps to search the restaurant and get some directions there.
03:46 I've made it to the building where the restaurant is and it's even telling me to prepare to take an escalator to go up.
04:01 After lunch, which was the best tempura I've had in my life, it was time to go check out more of what Tokyo has to offer.
04:07 So I headed to the Asakusa Temple.
04:09 Unfortunately, there was one thing my Apple Watch couldn't help me with and that was the weather.
04:15 0% chance.
04:17 Precipitation.
04:18 0% chance.
04:19 But we all know that Apple Weather isn't a perfect weather prediction app.
04:23 Outside this temple there was a stall giving out fortunes and would you believe I got an awful one.
04:30 Oh that's a bad one!
04:32 Luckily they had a way I could reverse it. TBD on whether it actually worked.
04:38 I should mention that I also took along my Ray-Ban MetaSmart glasses,
04:43 which once again proved hugely useful for taking photos while I was out seeing the sights.
04:48 Next it was time to move on to some of the quirkier things Tokyo is famed for,
04:54 like this Hedgehog Cafe, which once again my Apple Watch helped me find.
04:59 You see his little head popping out?
05:01 Hello!
05:06 So I've been using Apple Maps for walking directions getting around Tokyo,
05:22 but there's also transit directions so I can look up my hotel.
05:25 I'm here at the train station, it's going to help me get to where I need to go.
05:29 And I've always wanted to take the bullet train so I'm very excited.
05:32 I should probably mention that the main reason I was in Japan was to get some exclusive insights into the new tech from Sony.
05:39 So it was time for me to go check that out.
05:41 Stay tuned for all of those details coming up in a future video.
05:45 Without this I wouldn't know just how much faster it is to be taking the train to get to my destination.
05:50 Who doesn't love going to convenience stores in other countries?
05:54 You can see some of the local snacks, some goodies.
05:58 Tomato pretzel Pocky, I haven't seen that before.
06:01 I think I found enough sugar to last me a lifetime.
06:08 Let's...
06:10 Coca-Cola Plus.
06:15 Okay, let's grab this little one.
06:16 Obviously I got my hands full now with all of my treats.
06:21 It's going to be a lot more convenient to leave my phone away and just use my watch to pay for all of these goodies.
06:27 There you go, easy as that.
06:38 Using Apple Pay on your Apple Watch when you're not traveling is simple enough,
06:42 but now using it when you're traveling, it's just an added convenience.
06:45 Another major Apple Watch convenience is one I actually took advantage of before I left for the trip.
06:50 Keeping the Apple Watch alive for hours of travel is made easier by a neat battery management feature.
06:55 It's 9am, I am at Newark Airport in line about to board my flight to Tokyo.
07:04 It's a long flight, it's something between 14 and 15 hours.
07:08 The Apple Watch battery life is only rated for 18 hours, but in order to conserve battery, I can enable low power mode.
07:15 That's such a great feature to use while you're flying because you're not going to be up and moving,
07:20 you don't need to be tracking your heart rate, things like that.
07:23 I don't need my display on, I plan to sleep.
07:25 Sure enough, when I arrived in Tokyo, I had enough battery on my watch to spare.
07:32 While we're talking about battery life, it can be a pain to charge your Apple Watch every day.
07:39 That's why I wouldn't go out without a charger that has a dedicated spot for your Apple Watch.
07:44 It's much more convenient than having an Apple Watch cord around,
07:47 and that way you can just top off your watch when you need some more juice.
07:50 I relied on my Apple Watch to get me through this trip in more ways than I expected.
07:55 While it's maybe not a necessity for every traveler, it makes things like directions,
07:59 translations, currency conversions, and more features accessible from just your wrist.
08:04 So there you have it, that's how my Apple Watch helped me while traveling.
08:10 It has become such an invaluable tool that I plan to use on all my journeys to come.
08:15 Thanks for watching, I'll catch you next time.
08:17 [MUSIC]