蘋果手錶真能改變旅行體驗嗎

Apple’s new smartwatch can track your heart rate, pay for your Chicken McNuggets and give you turn-by-turn directions by sending vibrations to your wrist. You can even buy one in 18-karat gold. The device, which will be available early next year, is the latest in slick, wearable technology, a growing category that includes Google Glass, Jawbone’s Up fitness tracker and Liquid Image’s goggle-cameras.

蘋果新推出的智能手錶能追蹤你的心率，在你買麥樂雞的時候付款，每拐一個彎就能通過手腕上的震動向你報告方位。你甚至還可以買個18K金版的。谷歌眼鏡、能追蹤體重的卓棒手環(Jawbone’s Up)和Liquid Image的護目鏡攝像機都屬於時尚光鮮的可穿戴技術，這個品種目前正在日益增加，蘋果手錶正是其中最新的一種，將於明年年初上市。

But are these innovations really game-changers for travelers?

但對於旅行者們來說，這些創新真是改變規則的大事嗎？

On one hand it’s amusing to contemplate the promise of wearable technology, or wearables, when the travel industry is still trying to solve basic problems like how to board 300 people onto an airplane without the process devolving into a stampede. I’m reminded of the psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” — the pyramid that illustrates how rudimentary physiological requirements like food and shelter must be met before we can concern ourselves with less crucial desires. If there were such a pyramid for travel, boarding a plane with Jetsons-style alacrity would come before watches and glasses that alert us to the nearest Margaritaville.

一方面，旅遊行業仍然在努力解決最基本的問題，諸如怎樣讓300人登上飛機而不至於引起混亂場面之類，在這樣的時候討論可穿戴技術未免可笑。我想起心理學家亞伯拉罕·馬斯洛(Abraham Maslow)的“需求層次” 理論——那是一張金字塔圖，指出人們必須首先滿足食物與住處等身體的基本需求，才能去考慮其他較次要的慾望。如果也給旅行畫一張需求層次圖，“能像‘傑森一家’(Jetsons)那樣麻利快活地登機”肯定要排在“能告訴我附近有沒有瑪格麗特維拉飯館的手錶和眼鏡”前面。

On the other hand, wearables, particularly the Apple Watch, could eventually transform the way we travel. Given that sensors on the back of the device can track your pulse rate, perhaps it might also detect if you’re becoming unruly during a flight and follow up with a zap to your wrist and a stress-reduction video?

但是另一方面，可穿戴設備可能最終會改變我們旅行的方式，特別是蘋果手錶。這件設備背後的傳感器可以追蹤你的脈搏，所以，或許它還能夠檢測出你在飛行中有點不舒服，然後就跟你玩一個在手心上寫字的遊戲，然後再給你放一段減壓的錄像？

Fantasies aside, some technology and travel experts see real-world potential in wearables, even though many are most likely years away from being what we want them to be.

先把這些胡思亂想放在一邊，有些技術專家和旅遊專家看好可穿戴設備在現實生活中的潛力，儘管其中很多功能很可能要過很多年才能滿足我們的期望。

Take smartwatches, which are already available from brands including LG, Motorola and Sony. They’re good at pushing information and alerts from your calendar to your wrist, where it’s easily glanced. The wrinkle, said James L. McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research, is that most smartwatches are clunky and impersonal. They cannot pinpoint where you are or what you want, so the information they provide is not game-changing. “A traveler needs that friend that’s sitting on their wrist that says, ‘I know you, I know what you like,’ ” he said. “That’s the kind of thing that Apple can do.”

就拿智能手錶來說吧，目前LG、摩托羅拉和索尼等品牌都推出了智能手錶，它們可以把信息和提示從你的日曆推送到你的手腕上，更方便你觀看。弗里斯特研究公司(Forrester Research)的分析師詹姆斯·L·麥克奎維(James L. McQuivey)說，問題是，大多數智能手錶都很笨重，一點也不人性化。它們不能定位你在什麼地點，你需要什麼，所以它們提供的都不是具有顛覆性意義的信息。“旅行者需要的是一個手腕上的朋友，能對你說：‘我認識你，我知道你喜歡什麼’，”他說。“蘋果就能做到這樣的事情。”

A wearable should be a coach, Mr. McQuivey said a day before the Apple news conference in Cupertino, Calif., “someone who knows more about what you need than you do.”

就在蘋果公司新聞發佈會於加州庫比蒂諾舉行的前一天，麥克奎維說，可穿戴設備應該成爲你的教練，“它可以比你自己更清楚你的需求。”

Indeed, during the conference, Apple said that over time the watch’s Workout app “gets to know you the way a personal trainer would” and suggests goals based on your workout history. This ability to use your personal data and history to suggest things you might want is what could put Apple ahead of its competitors, Mr. McQuivey said. Who knows what kinds of personalized real-time recommendations the Apple Watch might be capable of making in the future? Airport restaurants you’re likely to enjoy? Museum exhibitions?

在第二天的發佈會上，蘋果公司的確聲稱，隨着時間過去，蘋果手錶的健身應用“可以像你的私人教練一樣瞭解你”，並基於你的健身歷史向你提出建議。麥克奎維說，這種基於你的個人數據和歷史來向你推薦東西的能力可能會讓蘋果領先於競爭對手。在未來，蘋果手錶有能力做出什麼樣的個人定製實時推薦呢，你可能會喜歡的機場餐廳？你可能會喜歡的博物館展覽？誰知道呢。

But let’s get to what will actually be available early next year when the Apple Watch comes to market. One of the biggest boons for travelers involves maps and GPS: Walk through a city and the watch can deliver different vibrations to your wrist to indicate whether you should turn left or right, so you don’t have to wander the streets peering at a tiny device (or be a good map-reader) to know which way to go. “It’s like having this invisible guide with you,” Kevin Lynch, vice president of technology for Apple, said during the news conference.

但是我們先來看看明年初上市的蘋果手錶能幹什麼。對於旅行者來說，最大的好處之一就是它的地圖和GPS導航：在城市漫步的時候，這塊表可以在你的手腕上製造不同的震動，提示你應當左轉或右轉，這樣你想去什麼地方，就不用盯着一個小小的設備使勁看，或者成爲一個擅長看地圖的人。“就像隨身帶了一個看不見的導遊，”蘋果公司的技術副總裁凱文·林奇(Kevin Lynch)在發佈會上說。

Another helpful travel component is the watch’s health and fitness features, particularly its ability to show how often you’ve taken a break from sitting. The watch senses when you stand up and logs that information. Sitting too long? The Apple Watch reminds you to get up — welcome prodding for those who spend hours in cars or planes.

蘋果手錶在健康和體重方面的特色也對旅行很有幫助，特別是它能夠向你顯示，隔多長時間就應該站起來走走。坐得太久了？蘋果手錶提示你該站起來了——這對於那些要長時間在汽車或飛機裏度過的人來說是個很好的提醒。

As you might expect, the watch will also have apps from leading travel brands such as American Airlines and Starwood, although it’s hard to get excited because versions of such apps are available on smartphones and tablets. There are a few twists: An app from Starwood, for instance, will allow you to unlock your room at any W Hotel in the world by waving your watch in front of the door. But frankly, opening my hotel room door with my watch was never on my wish list.

正如你所期待的，這款手錶還提供大旅遊品牌的應用，比如美國航空公司和喜達屋集團，儘管這不算太讓人興奮，因爲智能手機和平板電腦上也有類似應用。確實有一些變化：比如說，喜達屋的應用讓你只要在門前揮舞手錶，就能在全球各處的W酒店打開自己的房間。不過用手錶開酒店房間從來不曾出現在我的願望清單上。

And of course some travelers will like that the Apple Watch has Apple Pay, a new mobile system that allows you to pay at the registers of places as varied as McDonald’s and Walt Disney World. Until the system is ubiquitous, I’ll be carrying my wallet. I’ll also be carrying my iPhone because, well, you must in order to use all the features of the Apple Watch — and that’s a real drawback for travelers who aim to carry fewer, not more, devices.

當然，有些旅行者希望看到蘋果手錶裝備Apple Pay，這是一種新的移動支付系統，允許你在它登記的地方消費，從麥當勞到迪斯尼樂園都可以。不過在這個系統廣泛普及之前，我還是得帶着錢包。我也會帶上iPhone手機，因爲想要使用蘋果手錶的全部特色功能，就必須帶上它——對於希望身邊帶的東西越少越好的旅行者來說，這是一種倒退。

So far wearables haven’t exactly taken off. And, for what they cost, they’re not always practical for the average traveler. Google Glass is $1,500, while the Apple Watch starts at $349 and you have to have an iPhone 5 or higher for it to work. Ditto for the Samsung Gear smartwatch, which is about $300 and requires that you own a Samsung phone or tablet.

迄今爲止，可穿戴設備還未真正高速發展。從成本角度考慮，它們對於普通旅行者來說並不一定實用。谷歌眼鏡售價1500美元，蘋果手錶起價349美元，但是要和iPhone 5及以上版本配合使用。三星Gear智能手錶也是這樣，它售價大約在300美元，但要求和三星手機或平板電腦配合使用。

Still, some analysts, including Mr. McQuivey, think Apple has the best shot at delivering on the promise of such technology in part because the company is well positioned to go beyond the smartwatch. It could eventually roll out a full-body network of devices; a system that allows travelers to access the same information in a variety of ways — for example, in an ear, not unlike the way the artificially intelligent Samantha talks to Theodore through his ear bud in the movie “Her.” Indeed, Mr. McQuivey thinks Motorola’s new Hint earpiece, which has the same abilities as its Moto 360 smartwatch but relies on the user’s voice, is a “defensive move” against the sort of system Apple might offer one day.

儘管如此，包括麥克奎維在內的若干分析師們認爲，蘋果公司在呈現這種技術方面做得最好，部分是由於蘋果公司處在有利的位置，可以超越智能手錶的範疇。它可以最終建立起全套的智能系統裝備網絡；讓旅行者以各種方式獲取同樣的信息——比如說用耳朵聽，有點像電影《她》裏面的人工智能“薩曼莎”(Samantha)通過耳塞對西奧多(Theodore)說話那樣。事實上，麥克奎維覺得摩托羅拉新推出的Hint聽筒（它和該公司的Moto 360智能手錶有同樣的功能，但要依賴使用者的聲音）正是摩托羅拉的“防禦策略”，以備蘋果未來有可能推出類似的系統。

“Nearly four in 10 travelers can see a benefit of using wearables when they are traveling,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group. To attract more of them, the devices should be easy to use: The typical American traveler is about 41 years old, not 21, according to Mr. Harteveldt. And if the wearable is a smartwatch, he said, it should look inconspicuous, if not beautiful. “It would have to be something that doesn’t make me look like an extra on the set of an alien movie,” he said.

“10個遊客中有將近四個可以在旅行中發現使用可穿戴設備的好處，”大氣研究集團(Atmosphere Research Group)的分析師亨利·H·哈特韋爾茲(Henry H. Harteveldt)說。爲了吸引更多旅行者，這種設備應當簡單易用，據哈特韋爾茲說，典型的美國旅行者大約是41歲左右，而不是21歲。如果可穿戴設備是一塊智能手錶，他說，它的外觀如果不漂亮，那就應該是毫不起眼的。“它不能讓我看上去像是外星人電影裏的龍套，”他說。

Apple, unlike many competitors, tackled that concern, offering an array of watch faces and bands, including leather and stainless steel mesh. “It’s as much about personal technology as it is about style and taste,” Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, told the crowd at the news conference. Though for those of us with fashionable watches that merely tell time, the Apple Watch presents a problem. There’s only so much wrist real estate.

蘋果公司和其他競爭對手一樣要解決這種顧慮，爲此它設計了一系列錶盤和錶帶，包括皮革和網狀不鏽鋼錶帶。“它應當是個性科技，也應當和時尚與品位有關，”蘋果公司首席執行官蒂莫西·D·庫克(Timothy D. Cook)在新聞發佈會上對觀衆們說。儘管對於我們來說，時尚腕錶只是用來看時間的，但蘋果手錶還是指出了一個問題。手腕上只有這麼大的地方。

No matter what they look like, analysts think it will be years before wearables replace smartphones and tablets, if ever. “These will be supplemental devices for the consumer,” Mr. Harteveldt said.

不管它們看上去什麼樣，分析師們都認爲可穿戴設備取代智能手機和平板電腦還需要好多年，如果這種取代真能實現的話。“還會爲消費者提供其他追加設備，” 哈特韋爾茲說。

In the race to the bionic future, it’s easy to forget that some of the best innovations transforming the way we travel today are not wearables.

一些最佳創新曾經改變我們如今的旅行方式，而它們並不是可穿戴設備，但在未來的仿生學競賽裏，這一點很容易被忘記。

For instance Global Entry, the program that expedites the United States customs process for citizens, is a game-changer, as is T.S.A. Precheck, which speeds its members through airport security. Add to the list the car services Uber and Lyft, and touchless toilets, sinks and waste bins on the 787 Dreamliner planes.

比如說Global Entry，這個程序加速了美國人通過海關的速度，是顛覆性的大事，還有運輸安全管理局提前檢查系統(T.S.A. Precheck)，它加快了其成員通過機場安檢的速度。此外還有Uber和Lyft提供的叫車服務，787夢幻客機上的感應式馬桶、水槽和垃圾桶。

And let’s not forget the obvious wearable: clothing. Ralph Lauren’s new Polo Tech smart shirts gathered information about the heart rate and stress levels of United States Open ball boys. It’s often the less flashy improvements, though, that make travel a little easier. Patagonia makes quick-dry clothes with built-in sunscreen. And Scottevest designs travel clothes with pockets that let you wear everything you would typically stuff into a carry-on bag, from your glasses to your iPad.

別忘了那些更明顯的可穿戴物品：衣服。比如拉夫·勞倫的新款Polo Tech智能上衣在美國網球公開賽上收集球童的心率與壓力水平信息。不過，通常是那些不怎麼花哨的改良讓旅遊變得更輕鬆。巴塔哥尼亞(Patagonia)品牌設計出內置防曬功能的快乾衣物，Scottevest品牌設計的旅行服裝有各種口袋，從眼鏡到iPad，平時放在手提包裏的東西都可以塞進這些口袋裏。

Only time will tell if wearables become our second skins. “This is not going to be an overnight story,” Mr. Harteveldt said.

可穿戴設備是否會變成我們的第二層皮膚？只有時間能夠檢驗。“這不會在一夜之間發生，” 哈特韋爾茲說。

That’s what makes it exciting. And maybe a little scary. As Jonathan Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of design, put it in a video during the news conference: “We’re now at a compelling beginning.”

這一點令人感到興奮，但或許也有點嚇人。正如蘋果公司主管設計的高級副總裁喬納森·伊夫(Jonathan Ive)在新聞發佈會播放的一段錄像中所說：“我們正站在激動人心的起點上。”