So I was given a Samsung Gear and as a Pebble wearer, I was pretty excited.
1. The pairing process with my Note 3 was pretty swanky - you tap the charger to the back of your phone and it automatically downloads the Gear app and pairs it. Very easy (though normal BT pairing is easy enough as well).
2. Initially it was underwhelming mostly because of the limited notifications - but then I remembered there was a recent app update and it was easy enough to do through the Gear app. Being able to have any notification go to the Gear (like you could do with the Pebble using Pebble Notifier) has made it at minimum as good as the Pebble.
3. The screen obviously blows away the Pebble in quality. Fit and finish is great and IMO looks much better than the Pebble. It's also more comfortable, even with the aftermarket band I had on my Pebble. Both watches handled the basics at a glance - time, date, and weather - but the Gear does it more attractively.
4. The charging system is kind of stupid with a clamshell contraption that connects to a micro-USB cable. It works but I dislike any bespoke charging system (like the Pebble). Hopefully the next gen has wireless charging.
5. Battery life is better than I expected. I was able to charge the Pebble once a week and so far the Gear with the update looks like it may last half a week. I'm tracking this over the next several cycles. I'd prefer a week but I can live with 1/2 a week. The initial reports of 1 day life would have been unacceptable.
6. The gestures took a few minutes to learn but it's quite intuitive and far better than the physical buttons on the Pebble. I also found no issue with responsiveness - which contradicts some of the reviews I had read.
7. Stuff like the pedomoter is gimmicky but it's free. The only thing I miss from the Pebble is being able to advance a track in Pandora (as it doesn't respond to the double click on my headphones like Poweramp). The media player on the Gear right now only seems to control the stock music app. Hopefully the dev community starts coming up with Gear tweaks like the Pebble community.
8. Being able to answer calls in a pinch is also a pain point in the Pebble that I'm glad the Gear handles better. 80% of the time it's no problem to pull out my phone, but there are times with regularity that I wish I could quickly answer on my watch (e.g. my phone is on my desk and I'm watching TV or I'm really busy and don't want to pull out my phone). Being able to either answer via a voice command or a swipe on the watch and then bark into it (e.g. "I'm 5 min away" or tell my doorman "let the delivery person up") is convenient. I'd never want to carry on a moderate conversation obviously, but the voice quality on the other end is surprisingly good.
So to sum it up - I'm surprisingly happy with the Gear and it's much superior to the Pebble (though it obviously should be). There are a few minor things I hope grow in the ecosystem and I'm keeping an eye on battery life. If you are a smartwatch convert already like I was - then it's an easy transition. If you're not but your smartphone is your primary digital device, then I think it's worth a try.
For me, I was never interested in a regular watch as it was just jewelry IMO. I always rolled my eyes at my peers who'd show off their Daytona or some other similar hunk of metal. Smartwatches appealed to me since they could actually be useful for more than time and could complement larger phones like the Note which can sometimes be cumbersome to pull out of your pocket for just a quick glance. Glancing at my watch when I'm texted or called in a meeting is not a game changer, but it's useful on a daily basis. Smartwatches still have a way to go, especially with battery life, but even in their current form, have definite benefits.