Citizen, the Tokyo-based watchmaker, has launched a new smartwatch called Citizen Eco-Drive Riiiver. It is a hybrid watch, which gets physical hands along with some smart features, like step tracker. The watch also has some added powers, similar to IFTTT applets. Citizen is calling them “iiideas”. You can both create your own iiidea or download them from the Riiiver store. You can also share your iiidea with the Riiiver community. They’ll work with any Riiiver-compatible device.
Citizen and Fossil had formed a new partnership in October 2018. The Eco-Drive Riiiver is the first watch they’ve made together.
Citizen Eco-Drive Riiiver hybrid smartwatch
The Citizen Eco-Drive Riiiver comes with a companion app that can be used to link it with other smart devices or services, such as smart home gadgets. It features three physical buttons, which can be used for navigation and interaction. While details are scarce at the moment, some of the features include pressing a button and having the watch hands swivel to point you in the direction of a cafe. The watch can also be used to control your smart home gadgets, or keep track of your calorie intake.
Citizen is launching four color variants of the Eco-Drive Riiiver. There’s a black watch with black face and yellow accents, a silver watch with a blue dial and purple accents, another black watch with a green dial and yellow accents, and a gray watch with black dial and red accents. They all have 43mm faces with stainless steel cases, stainless steel mesh straps, sapphire crystal glass and three physical buttons on the right.
The Citizen Eco-Drive Riiiver is water resistant. So, you can wear the watch and go for swimming, snorkeling, or diving worry-free. The watches cost $420 each and will be available later this year. Citizen plans to put all its smartwatches under the Riiiver brand.
