Citizen, the renowned watchmaker, has temporarily halted sales of its second-generation CZ Smart watch due to a technical issue. The smartwatch, which was launched in May, boasted a unique feature that utilized IBM’s Watson and NASA’s technology to track a person’s alertness. However, negative experiences reported by reviewers prompted Citizen to suspend sales of the device.
One notable reviewer, Michael Fisher, known as MrMobile on YouTube, contacted Citizen to express his concerns about the watch’s numerous issues. In response, Citizen confirmed the suspension of sales. This was further corroborated by a Wired article written by Julian Chokkattu, who also outlined various bugs including laggy screens, poor battery life, inaccurate tracking, and malfunctioning watchfaces that failed to display the correct time.
Citizen addressed the situation in an email sent to reviewers, stating, “We are investigating the issue, recalling review models, and will be temporarily suspending sales on touchscreen models while we pinpoint the source of the issue and the best path to a solution for our customers and partners.” The affected models include MX1003-71X, MX1000-28X, MX1000-01X, MX1000-52X, MX1005-83X, MX1002-57X, MX1018-06X, MX1017-50X, MX1010-59X, MX1011-05X, and MX1016-28X. However, the CZ Smart Hybrid model is not impacted by this suspension.
Having recently tested the second-generation Citizen CZ Smart watch, I can personally attest to the issues highlighted by Fisher, Chokkattu, and 9to5Google. My own experience mirrored theirs, as the watch failed to establish a GPS signal during outdoor runs, froze during workouts, and did not record exercises accurately. For instance, a two-mile run I completed was logged as 0.1 mile, with a pace of approximately 93 minutes per mile — a grossly inaccurate measurement. Furthermore, the screens frequently froze, crashed, or did not respond to touch gestures. The watch’s battery also drained rapidly, with a full charge lasting only a few hours. Additionally, I encountered great difficulty syncing data between the watch and my phone, even when they were in close proximity.
In the past two to three days, the problems with the watch escalated. The watch’s screens became even laggier, and basic functions like accessing menus and receiving notifications became unreliable. It felt like a step back in time to the early days of Wear OS in terms of performance.
The numerous issues experienced by users of the second-gen CZ Smart watch are reminiscent of the problems encountered with the preproduction model of the OnePlus Watch, which was widely criticized for its unreliability. In the case of the CZ Smart watch, the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip, which is also featured in other successful Wear OS 3 smartwatches like the Fossil Gen 6, adds to the surprise surrounding these performance issues. Despite these setbacks, it is commendable that Citizen has paused sales to address the situation.
What is concerning, however, is that several dissatisfied Citizen customers had reported similar issues as far back as three months ago. It is essential for companies to address such concerns promptly and ensure the quality and functionality of their products.
To gain more clarity on the matter, I reached out to Citizen for information about the resolution for existing customers, the duration of the sales suspension, and further details regarding the technical issues. At the time of writing, I have not received a response from the company.
In conclusion, Citizen’s decision to temporarily suspend sales of the second-gen CZ Smart watch is a necessary step to address the technical issues that have plagued the device. The company, along with its customers and partners, must work diligently to identify the source of these problems and find an effective solution. Transparency and timely communication with customers are vital to regain trust and ensure a high-quality product.