Citizen has launched its first proper smartwatch – and the new CZ Smart embraces Google's Wear OS to run the show.
The CZ Smart has popped up on the Citizen US website, which reveals it will come in three different looks, case designs and band combinations.
As you'd expect, the Citizen tech-timepieces do a great job of mimicking the style of their dumb counterparts; there are big elements of the Promaster range, especially with that two-tone bezel and the, widget-powered, subdials.
The Wear OS smartwatch features a 46mm stainless steel case matched up with 22mm bands. Front and centre is a 1.28-inch 416 x 416 resolution AMOLED touchscreen display, and it's been slapped with a 3ATM water resistant rating, making it safe up to 30 metres depth.
There's additional bands up for grabs to with leather and stainless steel bracelet option. However, there's no details on pricing on how much those accessories will set you back.
On the sensor front, you're getting a heart rate monitor, a barometer, accelerometer and gyroscope. There's also built-in GPS to track outdoor activities, NFC to enable Google Pay and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity support.
With Wear OS on board, you're getting all the usual features including notifications, the ability to deal with incoming calls thanks to the built-in speaker and microphone. There's also music controls, Google Assistant access and Google Fit support.
You can of course download third party Wear OS apps, such as Strava, Spotify and more.
Powering performance is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 3100 Wear processor, so not the latest 4100 processor that's started to crop up in some newer Wear watches. That's backed up with 8GB of storage, and what we assume is 1GB RAM, though that's not clear from the listing.
In terms of battery life, don't expect anything out the Wear norm here. It's stated as 24 hours with a 40-minute charge getting you up to 80% of battery.
The CZ Smart is priced at $395, putting it in and around the Apple Watch Series 6 but cheaper than something like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3.
Looking past the very typically Citizen watch exterior, the CZ Smart has a very Fossil Wear OS watch feel to it.
That's possibly not a massive surprise after the two companies announced a partnership back in 2018 to work on connected watches.
That multi-year partnership was largely driven by Citizen's appetite to make hybrid smartwatches, though it definitely feels like the Fossil Group might have had an influence on its Wear OS smartwatch debut as well.
The CZ Smart is available to pre-order from Citizen's website now with shipping slated for 14 December. It looks like it's one just for the US right now, but we'll let you know if it launches further afield.
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.