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.