What should happen next is, Samsung should make their watch fully compatible with the iPhone and software-upgradeable at 2/3 the price, not counting precious metal content.
It may not be so crazy an idea--Samsung is studying the possibility of a upgrade to the Tizen operating system used on the latest Galaxy Gear models so it does work with the iPhone 5 and newer models that use Bluetooth 4.0 (LE) connections.
Samsung has recently gone several different directions with their smart watches. They now have the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo, they started out with an Android based OS but were upgraded to their own “Tizen” OS mostly for better battery life. Then they there is the Gear S which also has the “Tizen” OS along with a fully functional cell phone radio built in. They also make the Gear Fit which also uses “Tizen” but is smaller and aimed more for fitness uses. It has the same HR monitor and pedometer as the Gear 2. Finally, there is the Gear Live which has the latest version of Google’s Wear OS.
For us the Gear 2 was the best fit, but unless you root it; it is only compatible with Samsung phones which are what we use anyway. The Gear Live is compatible with non-Samasung Android phones but has less functions than the Gear 2. The Gear S is a stand-alone device. My understanding is that any rooted Galaxy Gear watch can already be used with an iPhone; I doubt whether the functionality is as good using an iPhone with an Apple watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqCjVBqpTiI