Citizen watches have a specific and, in my personal opinion, fantastic aesthetic. It’s not shocking that with the advent of smartwatches, Citizen would want to be part of that market; to that end, they’re combining Citizen style with the brains of a smartwatch with their new CZ Smart Hybrid Smartwatch, which they call “Genius incognito.”
What makes the CZ Smart Hybrid Smartwatch different from every other luxury watch’s attempt at a Wear OS smartwatch is that Citizen’s Smart Hybrid also has physical hands, which slide out of the way to show notifications.
The idea here is that you’ll get the looks of a Citizen watch, especially to the casual observer. But you’ll also get a stealthy smartwatch since unless someone is staring right at the watch face as a notification arrives, they won’t necessarily notice it’s anything besides an attractive watch.
In addition to telling the time, the CZ Smart Hybrid Smartwatch tracks heart rate, steps, and other health activities and handles weather, calendar, and other notifications. It also offers a golf app, so if you want to impress your colleagues with your watch’s ability to show the weather and hole yardage for courses in the USA and Canada, you definitely want this watch.
The idea here is pretty fantastic. There are a lot of times where it looks odd to wear a full smartwatch; no matter how much you try to dress it up with a nicer band or opt for the fancier casing, it’s still a screen strapped to your wrist and not necessarily a stylish piece of jewelry.
Combining both with an eye towards specifically being a truly hybrid watch experience fills an under-served niche. Plus, the hybrid nature means you really stretch the battery life out; Citizen says to expect about 15 days of battery life from the CZ Smart Hybrid Smartwatch with a 40-minute fast charge to 80%.
