Apple announced last week that its new innovation, the Apple Watch, will be
released on April 24. Following this announcement, hotel groups such as Accor, IHG or Starwood, and the airlines Vueling and EasyJet, communicated last week: Apps for
the Apple Watch will also be released in April. The major hospitality industry
players seem to be willing to follow the trend and adapt their technologies.
Does this trend announced a major shift in the way we travel? Will the Apple
Watch break new grounds where other new tech wearable have failed to do so?
Why it could work:
Apps have the main advantage to keep travelers connected and informed
24/24.
Airlines travel Apps will give to passengers personalized flight information
and real-time views of travel information. EasyJet revealed that the EasyJet
App will include “pre-departure
information, check-in detail, up-to-date local currency exchange rates, weather
in destination and real time flight status”. Additionally, the app will be
connected to Facebook and Twitter enabling travelers to tweet and post at the
different stages of their trip. Vueling also
announced that the company will “partnering with Sony to create the concept of
smart-watched based boarding pass”.
For hotel group such as Accor, the app will allow users to manage current
bookings on Accorhotels since the watch will be connected to the smartphone app
and will additionally promote destinations and top Accor Hotels through
notifications. Users will also have an easy access to their loyalty account. Starwood Preferred Guess App (see below) will enable its users to explore, book or redeem on the Apps, but will also connect the user to social medias and like Accor, will give the option to check the loyalty program Status.
Also, these different smart watch Apps will be available in
many languages
Why it could fail:
Apple has created a set of expectations when
it announced the watch. Now it has to meet those expectations.
First , we can ask ourselves: where is the
real novelty compared to Mobile Apps?
smart watch are not are new: indeed, several
companies have tried them before. And most of them failed. Below, some striking
failure examples:
- Sony still sells its Android smart watch, but
the watch does not respond to touch controls
- Microsofts has launched its SPOT (Smart
Personal Objects Technology) platform in 2004 and has killed it in 2008
- LG has tried to make the smartphone watch GD910 happen but the problem was that “it was a bit strange to talk to your wrist", so it worked best if used with a dorky Bluetooth headset. A large panel of other brands have failed like Samsung or Motorola.
Furthermore, the smart watch of Apple will be
pricey. Travelers who already have an efficient smartphone, could decline this
new innovation for a lack of real novelty.Moreover, it will still be an
expensive technology for companies to adapt.
Finally, the question of real utility is
asked.Apple has crafted a fine product that nobody needs:
- It lacks a defining must-have feature: we can
use it as the same way of the iPhone, iPod or iPad: it does not propose a
novelty service/use
- It needs an iPhone: indeed, anyone who does
not own an iPhone cannot use the watch and this is a significant
limitation
- People wear less and less watches
- Travelers can already do most of the describe Apple watch’ featuring on their smartphone. It is yet another gadget to carry.
The Apple watch is announced to be one of the
major innovation of this year, but will it really meet all the expectations? Or
would it turn like an expensive technology without any added-value for the
traveler? Most of the Apple Watch apps from hotel groups have featuring that
can already be done on smartphones. However, with a good marketing strategy
from Apple, and gradual apps innovation, the Apple watch could impose itself as
a new must.
Clothilde and Louise
Sources:
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/easyjet-app-set-for-apple-watch-launch/
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