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Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test. You control the software using the buttons on the side of the case. The menus take a little while to learn and you do have to compensate for the slowness of the E Ink screen by not rushing, but once you’re used to it it’s all quite simple. The buttons can be customized to perform different actions, and this makes life easier when starting a workout for example. Notifications have appeared with decent reliability since I’ve been using the watch, but the screen is too small to read long messages on. I just use it as a convenient way to establish if a message needs my attention or not. The Citizen app you need to pair and set up the watch is attractive and straightforward. CZ Smart YouQ uses your Alert Scores and sleep data (after seven to ten days of aggregation) to identify your unique Chronotype — a heritable trait that determines your body’s unique preferred timing of sleep and wake.
Over time, aggregating data will enable CZ Smart YouQ to cater to you more personally; not just in understanding you and your relationship to your distinct chronotype, but also in understanding the effectiveness of certain Power Fixes. I wanted the CZ Smart to have the same draw as buying a Skyhawk A-T, but instead, it’s like buying any other Wear OS smartwatch from the last few years, and for that reason, it’s a missed opportunity. Citizen could have really taken control of the watchmaker/smartwatch space here. Is there a better alternative? Once your Chronotype is determined, you’ll receive a Power Gauge graph showing personalised anticipated peaks and drops in alertness for the next 24-hours, an Hourly Power Score, and Power Fixes.
For doing what I want each day, the Citizen CZ Smart is a very good smartwatch. It’s fast and the battery lasts for longer than I’d expected, plus it’s very well made and comfortable to wear. However, it’s coming into a crowded market, with dozens of similar smartwatches available about which you can say the same thing, so it’s unfortunate Citizen hasn’t really capitalized on its brand name and watchmaking expertise to make it stand out. Sadly, no. There are better, more up-to-date smartwatches available for lower prices. The unfortunate thing here is, if the CZ Smart really looked and felt like a Citizen watch, the verdict may have been different. If that sounds like an appealing piece of wristwear, continue reading this Citizen CZ Smart Hybrid Watch review. We just spent some quality time with the secretly smart timepiece—and it is indeed a two-worlds-in-one sweet spot. Citizen CZ Smart Hybrid Watch review Hybrid smartwatches suit people who don’t want a device that looks obviously smart, like the best Apple Watches, but instead want a subtle or traditional look. Because the best hybrid smartwatches don’t need to power big, bright screens they also boast long battery life compared to other smartwatches. This is great if you don't want the hassle of charging up your smartwatch every evening. Accordingly, I was equally drawn to the rich capabilities of the device and its broad area of software compatibility, beyond the “whiz-bang” cool factor of a watch with both a traditional dial and a software screen. I want to pause for a minute to talk about my surprise that this “hybrid” smartwatch dial look has turned out to be so successful. When smartwatches were slowly becoming a thing over the last decade, I saw a lot of companies try to come out with products or concepts that married traditional hands and a screen in a single watch. For whatever reason, a lot of designers felt that there was something missing if you had just a screen-based smartwatch. Conversely, those designers also felt that there was something very special about the idea of enhancing a traditional-looking watch with the added benefit of more data and capabilities through a discreet screen. Many companies have tried to accomplish this in various ways, including strange solutions such as putting a traditional mechanical movement underneath a smartwatch hardware system, with the watch hands being affixed to the mechanical movement below.
It’s great to see the CZ Smart has the latest Google Wear OS H-MR2 software update already installed, which no doubt adds to the slightly better battery life and zippy performance, plus it introduces new features like an adjustable screen timeout, and a new weather tile. Andy Boxall/Digital Trends The two-week-long battery life alleviates any charging anxiety. While the 3 ATM (30 meters) water resistance means that it can accompany you when you dip in the pool, soak in the tub, or even go for your next scuba session. Case size: 44 mmFrustratingly, the Citizen CZ Smart Hybrid is still the one I’d buy if the price wasn’t important to me, and the fact it has been pleasurable to live with on the tech side gives me hope for the future of hybrids from watchmakers. There’s still absolutely a place for hybrid smartwatches, and Citizen’s watch very nearly gets the formula right, but the price tag threatens to put the people most interested off right from the start. Through personal data points captured with the CZ Smart watch, including Alert Scores, chronotype, sleep patterns, activity, and heart rate monitoring, CZ Smart YouQ quantitatively analyses and learns about the your unique characterisation, rhythms, and habits to enhance personalisation. CZ Smart YouQ offers a custom-built, gamified Alert Monitor, which is a version of NASA’s (PVT+) Psychomotor Vigilance Task Test, originally designed to understand astronauts’ cognitive acuity. Inside the watch is Citizen’s YF30 quartz Bluetooth smartwatch movement, which was developed by the company. Citizen claims about 18 days of battery life for the CZ Smart Hybrid, but I actually think some people might get more than that. Without a lot of connectivity, I can see this watch lasting for over a month between charges. Still, even 18 days between charges is a much more palatable concept to people with device charging fatigue. What I found interesting is that, to protect battery life apparently, the CZ Smart Hybrid will not start to charge unless the battery is under 80% full. The Citizen CZ Smart looks good and it’s very comfortable, but it doesn’t quite say “I’m wearing a Citizen smartwatch,” like it should, and it feels like a missed opportunity. Screen and performance
I’ve enjoyed wearing the Citizen smartwatch. It looks cool, it doesn’t get annoying on my wrist, and the tech side is competent enough to be worthwhile. However, the CZ Smart falls down when you consider buying one. The trouble is the software is the same as the system used on the Skagen Jorn Hybrid HR, so it’s safe to assume Fossil also produced the CZ Smart Hybrid for Citizen. Not a bad thing at all because Fossil knows what it’s doing, but unfortunately Citizen has made an error when it comes to the price. Too much money Designed to keep up with your busy lifestyle and make the most of your time, the Citizen CZ Smart Hybrid Watch lets you manage your notifications and see your fitness stats from the Citizen Connected app. Want a deeper explanation of hybrid smartwatches? We've put together a full beginner's guide to watches with hidden tech under traditional faces so you know what to look out for. Like all good smartwatches, the Citizen CZ Smart will last at least two years before you’d consider replacing it. However, the Snapdragon 3100 chip is already old, and when more models with the Snapdragon 4100 eventually start arriving, smartwatches using the old platform will really feel their age. That said, smartwatches don’t have the same power demands as a smartphone, so provided you continue doing the same things with the watch as you always have, it’ll be a fine companion.and more. The handsome new Hybrid styles offer silicone and stainless-steel bracelet strap options. Additional functionality from the Citizen Connected App delivers the latest Golf Report and Live Sports. It’s exactly what I wanted because wearing the CZ Smart Hybrid is more special than wearing the touchscreen CZ Smart. If I specifically avoid a touchscreen model it’s because, for a start, I don’t think I need all the technology, but also because I value a more watch-like design. Choosing one from a specific brand means I also want its heritage or design language to shine through, and the CZ Smart Hybrid does a far better job at this than the CZ Smart did. The CZ Smart has a 1.28-inch AMOLED screen has a 416 x 416-pixel resolution so it’s very sharp, which makes me even sadder there aren’t many great standard Citizen watch faces that take advantage of it. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor, not the newer Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip, which makes it technically out-of-date. Sadly, Citizen isn’t the only one to settle for the aging Snapdragon 3100 chip, as almost all other smartwatch manufacturers still do too. Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
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