Citizen’s new Wear OS smartwatch uses AI to help you battle fatigue

Last year was a big year for Wear OS smartwatches, and it looks like Citizen is continuing that momentum at CES 2023. The company announced its second-gen CZ Smart smartwatch, which will not only run Wear OS 3 but also feature an AI-powered “self-care advisor” that leverages the tech of NASA and IBM Watson.

The self-care advisor comes in the form of the CZ Smart YouQ app. The app uses neural networks developed via IBM Watson to try to determine a user’s chronotype — basically, whether you’re a night owl, an early bird, or something in between — after collecting seven to 10 days’ worth of sleep data. Users can also take short daily gamified tests based on NASA’s Psychomotor Vigilance Test, which was originally developed to give astronauts feedback on their fatigue levels on the ISS. In this case, users will get an Alert Score.

The pitch is that, over time, users will get personalized tips based on their chronotype to boost alertness, build better habits, and help with daily fatigue. It’s a concept that’s become increasingly popular on wearables over the past few years. For example, both Fitbit and Samsung have launched similar features where users are assigned a cute cartoon animal based on their chronotype and sleep data. Other sleep tracking apps, like Rise, suggest actions based on a user’s circadian rhythms to combat sleepiness and maximize productivity.

Some bad news for first-gen CZ Smart owners: the CZ Smart YouQ app won’t be backward-compatible. You’ll need the second-gen CZ Smart if this is a feature that interests you.

Spec-wise, the CZ Smart seems similar to the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition and the Montblanc Summit 3. The watch has a 1.28-inch OLED display and about 24 hours of battery with a fast-charge time of about 40 minutes. The watch will be powered by a Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chip with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. For connectivity, the CZ Smart supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, built-in GPS, and contactless payments. As for sensors, it has all of the usual motion sensors, a heart rate sensor, and SpO2 sensors for blood oxygen monitoring.

It’ll also come preloaded with Google Fit, CZ Smart YouQ, Strava, Spotify, YouTube Music, and Amazon Alexa. It might seem odd for a Wear OS 3 watch to not have Google Assistant, but unfortunately, that’s been par for the course with non-Samsung or Google Wear OS 3 smartwatches. On the plus side, the CZ Smart is compatible with iOS.

As far as design goes, the CZ Smart will come in two models: a 44mm Sport model and a 41mm Casual model. The Sport model has a slightly chunkier case, while the Casual model looks pretty similar to Fossil’s Wear OS smartwatches. Both will come with a variety of silicone, leather, and metal straps.

Both models will be available in March, with the Casual model starting at $350 and Sport model starting at $375.