Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Wearables
  3. Mobile
  4. News

The $395 CZ Smart is Citizen’s first touchscreen smartwatch

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

Citizen is the latest watch brand to explore the potential of smartwatches, with the announcement of the CZ Smart. It’s the company’s first full touchscreen smartwatch, and it has chosen to partner with Google and use the Wear OS software, along with choosing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear platform for power.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

There are three CZ Smart watches. All have a 46mm case made from stainless steel with an aluminum bezel, with the differences coming in bezel color, case color, and the strap. The first model has a blue silicone strap matched to a blue bezel and stainless steel case, and a second stainless steel model has a black strap and a red and black bezel design. Finally, there’s a stealthy ion-plated gunmetal stainless steel model with a matching bracelet.

Recommended Videos

Two buttons flank the crown, which is protected by two guard pieces on either side, but it’s not clear whether it’s an interactive crown to speedily move through the Wear OS menus. The bezel’s edge has a neat design, and you can buy different straps for the CZ Smart directly through Citizen’s online store.

On the front is a 1.28-inch AMOLED screen with a 416 x 416-pixel resolution, meaning it should look very sharp, and the watch itself shouldn’t overpower regular-sized wrists. It’s all good news up to this point, and the Citizen design does look really great, but sadly the technical side disappoints. Citizen has put the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip inside the CZ Smart, which has been superseded by the Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip, and doesn’t always provide the level of performance needed to drive Wear OS in a satisfactory manner.

Continuing on the tech side, the CZ Smart has a heart rate sensor, GPS, NFC for Google Pay, a speaker and a microphone to deal with calls, 8GB of internal storage space, and a water resistance rating of 30 meters.

Outside of the Citizen name and design, there’s little to separate the CZ Smart from many other smartwatches, particularly those made by Fossil. Although it has not been stated in the press details, Citizen and Fossil entered a partnership to produce hybrid watches in 2018, and the CZ Smart may be a continuation of this agreement. Citizen charges more for the CZ Smart than Fossil does for many of its watches, and it’ll cost you $395 to put one on your wrist.

The CZ Smart is available to buy through Citizen’s online store now.

Andy Boxall
Andy Boxall
Former Senior Mobile Writer
Andy has written about mobile technology for almost a decade. From 2G to 5G and smartphone to smartwatch, Andy knows tech.
Topics
Apple’s smartwatches will look the same for at least another year, or two
Apple's Series 12 and Ultra 4 are reportedly skipping a redesign this year, leaving chip upgrades and health tracking to carry the entire generation.
Apple Watch Series 11 on home screen.

For the last few years, every single Apple Watch has looked identical to the last. The Apple Watch Series 11 shared its dimensions and looks with the Watch 10, and the Watch 10 with the Watch 9. Turns out that streak might not break in 2026 either.

So what's actually changing this year?

Read more
Apple’s smart glasses are running late because they don’t want to stir a privacy storm
Apple is taking extra time to make sure its smart glasses do not inherit Meta’s creepy reputation
Meta Glasses

Apple could unveil its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027, followed by a consumer release toward the end of the year, according to Bloomberg. The device, internally codenamed N50, had reportedly been scheduled for an introduction in late 2026 and a launch in early 2027.

Part of the delay reportedly stems from Apple’s engineering and marketing teams spending more time refining the product and deciding how to address the privacy concerns that come with putting cameras on someone’s face. Privacy is said to be the top priority for the teams working on the glasses.

Read more
Shopping for back-to-school? These are the smartwatches I’d actually wear to class
From a $69 wrist companion to the newest Apple Watch, these are the smartwatches worth strapping on this semester.
Different smartwatch models with displays illuminated.

Between early classes, evening workouts, late study sessions, and everything in between, a smartwatch can do a lot of the mental math a student doesn't have time for. Whether it's tracking sleep, reminding you to move, or keeping notifications off your phone during lectures, a good smartwatch can be both a silent organizer and a health tracker for students. 

If you’re in the market for a new smartwatch this back-to-school season, I’ve got seven recommendations for you, each with a few unique aspects. From a $69 budget pick to the newest Apple Watch, every one of them earns its keep, so the only real decision left is which features matter most to you.

Read more