In 2020, the Japanese watch company Citizen officially entered the smartwatch race by releasing the Citizen CZ Smart collection based on the Google Wear OS operating system. Citizen was actually one of the first to start playing with smartwatches, and back in 2012, they introduced the Citizen Proximity watch, which attempted to merge the world of Eco-Drive watches with Citizen.
In its role as a smartwatch manufacturer, Citizen steps back in some areas where it has traditional expertise and offers what it knows best (case and design). Competitor Casio has taken a similar role, offering its own Google Wear OS-based watches, which have no choice but to leave much of the watch's work to the main operating system and try to create suitable watches based on it. Casio and Citizen approached this differently. Casio mainly focuses on durability and reliability in a sporty style, while the Citizen CZ Smart is more intended for everyday wear.
Citizen CZ Smart excels in combining the comfort of traditional watches with the high functionality of modern smartwatches. In this respect, the system works, and in the smartwatch market, Citizen offers a very competent package at a reasonable price. Its only real drawback is the rapidly changing nature of the smartwatch market and the software that drives them.
As someone who has now reviewed many smartwatches, I want to first explain where the Citizen CZ Smart excels. Each version is designed to resemble classic Citizen sports watches more than anything truly modern. A slightly retro-style case and bezel work in its favor, and the ultra-modern touchscreen elegantly contrasts with the overall case design, which can be called a "timeless diver."
The case water resistance is only 30 meters, which is suitable for everyday use, but it means you can't rely on it for swimming (somewhat ironic, as they are modeled after diver's watches). Why such low water resistance? Simply, Citizen decided to opt for a decent speaker in the case, evidenced by a small horizontal cutout on the left side of the case. Citizen markets the CZ Smart as a watch you can talk on the phone with. I assume this system - in watches at such an affordable price - forced Citizen engineers to choose what the CZ Smart would be best at. I think they were right in saying that the intended audience for these watches would probably prefer the case to have a higher quality speakerphone for extended calls than watches for swimming or diving.
The CZ Smart case is 46 mm wide and made of steel, with one version in black with an IP coating, and each version having a distinctive color palette for the aluminum bezel insert. The case finish is very high quality for smartwatches. More importantly, the case is very thin. Although a case thickness of about 14 mm is not thin compared to other smartwatches with Google Wear OS, they are very thin. Additionally, the watch is a few millimeters thinner due to the visual separation between the middle of the steel case and the tapering black back cover. If you need a full-featured smartwatch that won't be as thick as competitors, the CZ Smart is an excellent choice.
Above the screen is a Gorilla Glass crystal. Sapphire would be better, but we usually find synthetic sapphire crystals in more expensive products. The 1.28-inch AMOLED screen is bright and clear. The screen is also responsive, but you don't need to touch the screen too often if you don't want to lose the functionality of the two buttons and the push crown. Citizen smartly uses the crown as a scrolling input device. However, the crown is too small and stiff to be as conveniently controlled with the opposite hand as you'd like. Given Citizen's iterative approach to product design, we know for sure that every time the brand releases a new product for smartwatches, more and more improvements are manifested.
Citizen packs most sensors that ordinary consumers expect from smartwatches into the CZ Smart. This includes GPS and a heart rate sensor. The latter is very important for those who rely on their smartwatches for fitness tracking, making Wear OS with a wide selection of software from both first and third parties. The CZ Smartwatch charges wirelessly via a magnetic charging dock, and battery life is on par with other Wear OS watches I've worn (meaning you need to charge them daily). But the CZ Smart has several extended battery modes that can extend usage by a few days.
Citizen includes a small number of watch faces with proprietary software, but they can certainly be replaced with any number of watch faces available for Wear OS devices. The watch faces designed by Citizen are attractive but not revolutionary. As someone craving innovations in wristwatches, I would like watch brands to put much more effort into creating truly beautiful smartwatch faces. I think it's necessary to constantly release new products that will be useful not only to people who are owners of Citizen products but also to everyone who has a Google Wear OS product and might enjoy a professionally designed Citizen smartwatch face.
Like other modern Wear OS watches, the CZ Smart has an always-on screen state, which is a low-resolution, low-power state for the watch face. Depending on the chosen watch face, this always-on state will differ. The quality and execution are high, but I really want to see more features and customization options when it comes to both the always-on watch face and the fully animated watch faces you can choose. Given the theoretical ability for users to truly personalize their experience, Google Wear OS offers relatively little out of the box. I'm confident this will change in the future.
Those with Google-based smartphones are likely to have the most success with Google Wear OS-based wearables. Today, there is no shortage in this category, but most of them are unremarkable. Citizen CZ Smart itself does not attempt to push boundaries in any particularly innovative direction, but it does try to offer a fashionable look in a well-made and affordable package. As a core product, I think Citizen did a good job with the CZ Smart. On the wrist and on paper, it looks and feels like a solid product in the context of a rapidly evolving field. This means that even after being asked to spend a few hundred dollars on a smartwatch, the smartwatch market will ask you to do the same thing again in 12-18 months (much like your smartphone).
For the CZ Smartwatch, you can purchase matching steel bracelets (with natural or black finishes) or a set of sporty silicone straps with quick-release bands, which Citizen also sells individually. This model Citizen CZ Smart reference MX0000-07X features a black and red aluminum insert and comes on a black silicone strap. The price for the Citizen CZ Smartwatch is 395 USD.