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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00:00I'm here in Tokyo, a city that's basically synonymous with tech,
00:03but I want to see how my favorite piece of tech, the Apple Watch Series 9,
00:07can help me while I'm traveling abroad.
00:09I know that I can use Apple Maps to get around,
00:12and Siri to help me translate certain phrases,
00:14but I really want to see what the Apple Watch can do while I'm traveling.
00:18This is also my very first time in Japan, so I'm excited to see what's in store.
00:25It's my first day in Japan, and my first order of business? Shopping.
00:30I got separated from my friends,
00:32but I just got a text that they're at a store called Don Quixote.
00:36So I'm going to search on my maps, on my wrist,
00:40without having to take out my phone.
00:42It comes right up.
00:44Discount store, open 24 hours.
00:47Directions.
00:48And it's just a five-minute walk away. How perfect is that?
00:51Let's go.
00:53Turns out it wasn't very far at all, but me not being able to read Japanese,
00:57it's really helpful to make sure that I'm going to the right location.
01:01I just got to the store.
01:04It's huge! Exclamation point.
01:08We are in a huge electronics store in Tokyo,
01:12and obviously my first stop had to be the Apple Watch display.
01:16They have the Apple Watch Series 9, like I have on my wrist.
01:20They're locked away. You've got lots of band options.
01:23So if I was interested in buying one, I would want to ask the people who work at the store.
01:27So I'm going to use my translator on my Apple Watch Series 9 through Siri.
01:31How do I say I want that watch in Japanese?
01:38And if I don't want an Apple Watch,
01:40there are actually tons of smartwatches and fitness trackers on display here.
01:44Some of these I've seen that I've reviewed before,
01:46but there are also some brands here that we don't get in the U.S.
01:49So as someone who loves smartwatches, it's cool to just check them out.
01:52But do I think they would be as helpful as my Apple Watch? Not so sure.
01:58This store is like Target on steroids.
02:01They have every single type of appliance that you could possibly think of.
02:05We've got washers and dryers.
02:07We were just looking at rice cookers and air purifiers.
02:10Over here we have more liquids.
02:12We were just looking at rice cookers and air purifiers.
02:15Over here we have more laundry care.
02:17Oh my God, there's just so many options just for steamers.
02:20Like, I didn't even know they made this many steamers.
02:23This Panasonic one's nice.
02:27That's crazy.
02:32Oh, there's a Switch. I could buy Switch games here.
02:36Should I buy some games while we're here?
02:39I was honestly blown away by Don Quixote, Big Camera, and all the other shops in this district.
02:44I could have spent all day there exploring and spending quite a bit of money.
02:52I'm totally buying this.
02:54Babe Lego.
02:55Lego.
03:02A big challenge with traveling overseas is converting the currency that you know to the local currency.
03:08Luckily, I can just ask Siri if I'm not sure the conversion rate to figure out how much something costs.
03:13How much does 300 Japanese yen convert to in American dollars?
03:19That was an instant response.
03:21And now I know that I'm going to spend about $2 for this box of chocolates.
03:27I totally lost track of time in that huge store.
03:29So by the time I was done browsing, my friends had left.
03:32But luckily, my Apple Watch was once again there to help me find them.
03:38I just got a text with them that they grabbed a table for lunch.
03:41I'm going to use Apple Maps to search the restaurant and get some directions there.
03:48I'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.
04:00After 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.
04:07So I headed to the Asakusa Temple.
04:09Unfortunately, there was one thing my Apple Watch couldn't help me with, and that was the weather.
04:15Zero percent chance.
04:16Precipitation.
04:17Zero percent chance.
04:18But we all know that Apple Weather isn't a perfect weather prediction app.
04:23Outside this temple, there was a stall giving out fortunes.
04:26And would you believe, I got an awful one.
04:29Oh, that's a bad one!
04:33Luckily, they had a way I could reverse it.
04:35TBD on whether it actually worked.
04:38I should mention that I also took along my Ray-Ban MetaSmart glasses,
04:42which once again proved hugely useful for taking photos while I was out seeing the sights.
04:49Next, it was time to move on to some of the quirkier things Tokyo is famed for,
04:53like this hedgehog cafe, which once again, my Apple Watch helped me find.
04:59You see his little head popping out?
05:04Hello!
05:07Hello!
05:18So I've been using Apple Maps for walking directions getting around Tokyo,
05:22but there's also transit directions, so I can look up my hotel.
05:25I'm here at the train station, it's going to help me get to where I need to go.
05:29And I've always wanted to take the bullet train, so I'm very excited.
05:32I should probably mention that the main reason I was in Japan
05:35was to get some exclusive insights into the new tech from Sony,
05:38so it was time for me to go check that out.
05:40Stay tuned for all of those details coming up in a future video.
05:45Without this, I wouldn't know just how much faster it is to be taking the train to get to my destination.
05:51Who doesn't love going to convenience stores in other countries?
05:54You can see some of the local snacks and goodies.
05:58Tomato pretzel pocky, I haven't seen that before.
06:03I think I found enough sugar to last me a lifetime.
06:08Let's...
06:12Coca-Cola Plus.
06:14Okay, let's grab this little one.
06:17Obviously I got my hands full now with all of my treats.
06:20It's going to be a lot more convenient to leave my phone away
06:23and just use my watch to pay for all of these goodies.
06:33There you go. Easy as that.
06:37Using Apple Pay on your Apple Watch when you're not traveling is simple enough,
06:41but now using it when you're traveling, it's just an added convenience.
06:45Another major Apple Watch convenience is one I actually took advantage of before I left for the trip.
06:50Keeping the Apple Watch alive for hours of travel is made easier by a neat battery management feature.
06:55It's 9 a.m. I am at Newark Airport in line about to board my flight to Tokyo.
07:03It's a long flight. It's something between 14 and 15 hours.
07:07The Apple Watch battery life is only rated for 18 hours,
07:11but in order to conserve battery, I can enable low power mode.
07:15That's such a great feature to use while you're flying because you're not going to be up and moving.
07:19You don't need to be tracking your heart rate, things like that.
07:22I don't need my display on. I plan to sleep.
07:25Sure enough, when I arrived in Tokyo, I had enough battery on my watch to spare.
07:33While we're talking about battery life, it can be a pain to charge your Apple Watch every day.
07:37That's why I wouldn't go out without a charger that has a dedicated spot for your Apple Watch.
07:42It's much more convenient than having an Apple Watch cord around,
07:45and that way you can just top off your watch when you need some more juice.
07:49I relied on my Apple Watch to get me through this trip in more ways than one.
07:53While it's maybe not a necessity for every traveler, it makes things like directions,
07:57translations, currency conversions, and more features accessible from just your wrist.
08:04So there you have it. That's how my Apple Watch helped me while traveling.
08:07It has become such an invaluable tool that I plan to use on all my journeys to come.
08:12Thanks for watching. I'll catch you next time.
08:23you