Some analysts are suggesting that we avoid underestimating smartwatches, which could eventually become indispensable as a wide array of useful apps come to market. Major players such as Samsung, Google and Apple will release wearables that can be used for health and fitness tracking, interacting with our phones and vehicles, and much more. The platform is expected to usher in a new frontier of accessories and apps, and the ability to develop them in a more sophisticated manner.

“Amid the hype about the Apple Watch being a fitness device, or a timepiece, or a status symbol, it is the applications that Apple and others aren’t even talking about, the ones that are thought up by countless developers jumping on board the platform, that will make us wonder how we ever got by without them,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

In Apple’s device, the built-in accelerometer and third-party apps will likely draw in the masses. This means that the watch will not attract just a specific niche, but also the general public.

The Apple Watch, along with other smartwatches, could also be a controller for other devices, including the iPhone, iPad, TVs, games and more.

“They will appeal to everyone, because they will be the primary, perhaps even the sole way we identify ourselves to a world full of smart objects,” explains WSJ.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about Apple’s new timepiece, which goes on sale next year,” reports Wired. “We do know that you’ll be able to use it as an Apple Pay device, a key in Starwood hotels, or a wrist-mounted dashboard for your BMW. But you can bet people will want to accessorize it, and developers will want to capitalize on it. A boom in those markets is a sure thing.”