Citizen’s new Wear OS 3 smartwatch has been delayed to May 1, pre-orders open now

Ben Schoon | Apr 17 2023 - 8:33 am PT

Following its unveiling earlier this year, the second-gen Citizen CZ Smart smartwatch is now available for pre-order, starting at $350.

The latest version of the Citizen CZ Smart embraces Google’s Wear OS 3 reboot with a customized smartwatch experience that focuses on self-care. The “YouQ” app uses data collected from the watch’s various sensors to help wearers “understand and anticipate patterns of fatigue and alertness and offers customized insights and personalized strategies.”

Under the hood, the CZ Smart is based on Fossil’s current Gen 6 platform, including the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chipset, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and 24-hour battery life with fast charging. The watch is available in both 41mm and 44mm sizes.

Our Abner Li went hands-on with the second-gen Citizen CZ Smart back at CES 2023, noting Citizen’s customized take on Wear OS 3:

Wear OS being used to power the basic watch experience on Citizen’s CZ Smart is equal parts obvious and still notable. It’s expected in that there’s no other open operating system like it, but the notability comes from a recognition that Google’s offering is well suited for this plug-and-play customization. The streaming services and third-party apps are already on the platform via the Play Store, while it’s the best way to access first-party Google services, especially when Gmail and Calendar arrive. Meanwhile, the fundamental UX/navigation is good, and does not need reinvention.

How Citizen is building on top of Wear OS could be a sign to other major wearable players to do the same, and that underlying uniformity is good for consumers.

As of today, April 17, Citizen is officially opening pre-orders for its second-gen CZ Smart smartwatch lineup, including both the Casual and Sport options. Notably, pre-orders were briefly available on Amazon back in January citing a March launch, but the watch apparently was hit with a further delay that Citizen kept relatively quiet. The watch is still listed as “unavailable” on Amazon.

The most affordable option is the $350 CZ Smart PQ2 Casual, which includes a 41mm watch with a silicone band. Meanwhile, the most expensive is the CZ Smart PQ2 Sport in its 44mm size with a gray stainless steel band, which costs $435. The full list of options is below. Each watch sold with a metal band also has an accompanying watch body to match that band.