Citizen, the renowned watchmaker, has announced the temporary suspension of sales for its second-generation CZ Smart watch due to technical problems. Launched in May, the Wear OS-powered watch incorporated innovative features utilizing technology from IBM’s Watson and NASA to track a person’s alertness. However, negative reviews and user experiences have prompted the company to take this step.
Sources of Technical Issues
The decision to suspend sales seems to have been driven by unfavorable feedback from reviewers. Michael Fisher, also known as MrMobile on YouTube, disclosed that Citizen confirmed the suspension of sales after he had communicated numerous issues with the watch to the company. This information was substantiated by a Wired article, where reviewer Julian Chokkattu described various bugs plaguing the device. These issues included laggy screens, poor battery life, inaccurate tracking, and watchfaces incapable of displaying the correct time.
Citizen’s Response and Impact on Customers
Citizen addressed the concerns 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 specific models affected by this suspension include the MX1003-71X, MX1000-28X, MX1000-01X, MX1000-52X, MX1005-83X, MX1002-57X, MX1018-06X, MX1017-50X, MX1010-59X, MX1011-05X, and the MX1016-28X. However, the CZ Smart Hybrid remains unaffected by this issue.
User Experiences and Technical Glitches
Early users of the second-generation Citizen CZ Smart watch have reported encountering similar technical difficulties. Instances of screens freezing, crashing, or failing to respond to swipes have been noted. Battery life problems, challenges in syncing data, and connectivity issues between the watch and smartphones have also been widespread. Some users have even experienced a drastic decline in performance over a short period.
Citizen’s Response and Way Forward
This isn’t the first time a smartwatch has faced such challenges. The OnePlus Watch had similar issues during its preproduction phase. Despite boasting the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip, which powers other Wear OS 3 smartwatches like the Fossil Gen 6, the CZ Smart watch appears to have encountered unexpected problems.
Citizen’s decision to temporarily suspend sales demonstrates their commitment to addressing these technical issues. However, it’s important to note that some customers had raised concerns about these issues as far back as three months ago. It remains to be seen how Citizen will address these concerns and what solutions will be offered to existing customers. As of now, the duration of the sales suspension and further details about the underlying technical problems are yet to be clarified.
For consumers who have purchased the second-gen CZ Smart watch, the temporary suspension reflects the company’s dedication to providing a high-quality product and resolving these issues to deliver a satisfactory user experience.
Please note that this information is subject to updates and clarifications from Citizen as they respond to inquiries from customers and the media.
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