Citizen watchmakers' latest attempt to create a traditional-looking but technically solid smartwatch didn't go as planned. The company launched its CZ SmartWatch at CES this year , announcing that the device's health feature will track all sleep and physical activity to provide users with "alert evidence." However, the company stopped selling the second-generation smartwatch after critics complained of app bugs and poor battery life.
Wired reported for the first time on Thursday that the former watchmaker has decided to suspend the sale of a smart watch worth 350 crores. In an email to Gizmodo, a company spokesperson said: "We have discovered a software bug affecting Gen-2 CZ Smart touchscreen models... and are working with our QA team to resolve it." The issue only affects CZ Smart Touchscreen watches, not others like the Smart Hybrid.
Currently discontinued products include:
- MX1003-71
- MX1000-28X
- MX1000-01X
- MX1000-52X
- MX1005-83X
- MX1002-57X
- MX1018-06X
- MX1017-50X
- MX1010-59X
- MX1011-05X
- MX1016-28X
The watch has been on the market since May, although there aren't many professional reviews on it. However, many Amazon reviews cite poor battery life compared to similarly priced devices, as well as a buggy interface that resulted in screen freezes.
When the watch was unveiled, Citizen promised users that the battery would last more than 24 hours. Reviews on the company's product page claim that the device can even go half a day without needing a battery charge. In response to customers, the company said reviewers may need to change device settings to extend usage time.
Some users have also complained that the CZ SmartWatch doesn't have as much water resistance as many of its competitors. The watch has an IPX6 rating, which means it's only resistant to "minor" interactions with water, such as sweat or rain. A similar issue is the Citizen Gen 1 smartwatch , which pales in comparison to the latest offerings from Samsung and Apple. The latest iterations of Samsung's Galaxy Watch have IPX8 water resistance, which is ideal for swimming in shallow pools and up to 30 minutes in about one meter of water. The $799 Apple Watch Ultra is water-resistant to a depth of more than 40 meters, but even the standard Series 8 is designed for swimming.
The Citizen Watch's main problem is that its YouQ health monitoring feature, which Citizen touted as a NASA-commissioned assessment of psychomotor alertness, is imprecise and prone to freezing. The feature was developed with IBM and NASA and was supposed to offer users tips at different times of the day to recharge or relax when they're feeling too stressed. Basically, it's more of a health tracker than a Fitbit level tracker.
YouQ was the watch's main selling point, so its failure was a major disappointment in the eyes of critics. In addition to YouQ, the watch uses Google's Wear OS 3 . Other Wear OS 3 devices also had battery life issues, which may work with the upcoming Watch OS 4 .
