The functionality. I can use it as a flashlight, call, dictate messages, listen to music without phone, control my phone camera, use it for 2FA, map navigation, notifications with images and control smart home stuff. And yes, much of this convenience is due to the walled garden. I never had issues reading the screen, which I did have with my color screen pebble.
I can do most of that on my Garmin. Really only stuff that requires mic is not doable because it doesn't have a mic. And I guess notifications "with images". Heck some of it like 2FA I did on my Pebble!
I can’t compare with the Garmin, but the Pebble experience was subpar. I stopped wearing mine after a few weeks and gifted them to my mother after a while (she loved the pebbles but had constant issues with connectivity on Android). On the other hand, I expected to return my Apple Watch (it was an impulse buy due to a discount). But it really grew on me. It’s actually a “it just works” product (which I can’t say of a lot of Apple products these days). A friend of mine has a Garmin, but afaik he can’t do much with notifications. On the other hand I have quick replies, voice to text or depending on the app quick actions. That’s just not in the same ballpark. Do I need it? No. But it’s really convenient once you got used to it. I don’t know how many times I set the timer with Siri because my hands were full or dirty. If a second SIM card wasn’t so pricey in Germany I would probably get one and leave my mobile at home most of the time.
> If a second SIM card wasn’t so pricey in Germany I would probably get one and leave my mobile at home most of the time.
This reminds me: it's silly that the Apple Watch eSIM has to be from the same provider as one's iPhone, and some providers which offer a phone eSIM don't support provisioning it for the Apple Watch, and vice versa.
