Technologies

Citizen’s Newest Wearable Uses AI to Gauge Your Alertness and Fatigue

Citizen’s new CZ Smart watch lineup is another sign that wearables are trying to get better at linking mental and physical wellness.

As smartwatches have gotten better at measuring vitals and exercise statistics, there’s been more emphasis on how they can be used to improve our sleep and mental wellbeing. Watchmaker Citizen is the latest company attempting to do just that with its new CZ Smart watch lineup, which debuted at CES and will arrive in the US this March.

The company says its new smartwatches use tools built based on research from the NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory to assess fatigue and alertness levels. The «casual» finish of the CZ watch starts at $350 (roughly 290, AU$520), while the «sport» model starts at $375.

The Citizen CZ Smart watch is just the latest example of how smartwatch makers are attempting to explore the way factors like sleep and stress impact our physical health. It’s also another sign that the next step for wearables isn’t just tracking health metrics, but also providing advice and additional context around what those numbers actually mean.

The watch’s main feature is its Alert Scores, which are generated after a user takes the app’s Alert Monitor test. Citizen says the test is based on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test that NASA has used to assess astronauts’ alertness. The Alert Monitor tests are brief and can be taken daily, according to Citizen. It’s also worth noting that NASA previously built its own app for measuring alertness based on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test.

Sleep tracking is another major focus for the CZ Smart watch lineup. Citizen claims that its software can understand a wearer’s chronotype — i.e. whether you’re a morning or evening person. The watchmaker uses IBM’s Watson Studio to crunch the wearer’s sleep data and previously mentioned Alert Scores over the course of seven to 10 days to determine the user’s chronotype.

The watch then combines chronotype information and Alert Scores with other more familiar data points like heart rate, sleep patterns and activity to learn about the wearer’s habits and make suggestions about how to mitigate fatigue and boost alertness. These recommendations, which Citizen calls Power Fixes, were also designed using NASA research, according to the company.

Otherwise, Citizen’s new watches have the standard array of smartwatch features, such as a microphone and speaker and the ability to run apps like Spotify, Amazon Alexa, Strava and YouTube Music. Sensors that have become common on most smartwatches, like a gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer, altimeter and blood oxygen monitor, are also present. The watches run on Google’s Wear OS software and are compatible with both iOS and Android phones.

It’s impossible to say whether Citizen’s Alert Monitor and chronotype observations are useful or accurate without trying the watch. The launch also comes at a time when there has been increased scrutiny on the amount of data tech devices gather about their users and how that data is protected. But the overall goal behind Citizen’s new smartwatches falls in line with general trends we’ve seen in the wearable tech space over the past couple of years.

Apple, Fitbit and Samsung, for example, each added new sleep tracking features to their respective wearables in 2022. Fitbit also introduced the Sense 2 in August, which includes new sensors to passively detect when your body may be showing signs of stress.

Technologies

YouTubers Sue Amazon, Claim AI Tool Was Trained on Scraped Videos

The lawsuit alleges that Amazon bypassed YouTube protections to collect content for its generative AI video system.

A group of YouTube creators is suing Amazon, accusing the tech giant of secretly scraping their videos to train its AI video model without permission.

The proposed class action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Seattle, alleges Amazon used automated tools to download and extract data from millions of YouTube videos to build and improve its Nova Reel generative AI system — a model that can create short videos from text prompts and images.

At the center of the complaint is how that data was obtained. The plaintiffs claim that Amazon bypassed YouTube’s protections using virtual machines and rotating IP addresses to avoid detection, effectively sidestepping the platform’s safeguards against bulk downloading.

The lawsuit was brought by several creators, including Ted Entertainment (the company behind the H3 Podcast and h3h3 Productions), as well as individual YouTubers and channel operators. They argue that the alleged scraping violated copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and are seeking damages as well as an injunction to stop the practice.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

The case lands at a pivotal moment for generative AI, as courts weigh whether training on copyrighted material qualifies as fair use and how much control creators retain once their work is used to build these systems. The disputes have often centered on written material, which has been at the center of the AI revolution for several years, while AI video generators such as OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo have emerged more recently.

The lawsuit is one of dozens testing the boundaries of AI training practices, alongside high-profile cases from authors, artists and news organizations, including lawsuits against OpenAI and Meta, all circling the same unresolved question: Where does fair use end and infringement begin?

Technologies

The Galaxy Z TriFold Is Back. You Can Buy It From Samsung Soon

The $2,899 phone paused its sales in March after selling through its inventory, but Samsung is bringing it back to its online store.

Samsung’s $2,899 Galaxy Z TriFold is going back on sale on Friday, following a halt to its sales in March after the foldable phone sold through its inventory. Samsung has announced the TriFold’s return with a countdown clock on the phone’s online store page along with a Wednesday newsletter email sent to customers.

The initial pause, which Samsung said at the time was related to the TriFold being a «super-premium device in limited quantities,» happened after just three months of availability. The TriFold first went on sale in South Korea on Dec. 12 and then arrived in Samsung’s US store on Jan. 30. The TriFold sold out in the US within minutes of going on sale — which I know personally after joining my colleagues that morning in an attempt to buy it. Thankfully Senior Reporter Abrar Al-Heeti succeeded, and then reviewed the TriFold.

It’s unclear whether the Galaxy Z TriFold is now permanently returning to Samsung’s online store or if it is again on sale until its stock sells through. Given that the phone is very expensive, and unfolds to reveal a large, 10-inch display, it wouldn’t be surprising if its stock will be in limited quantities. We’ve asked a Samsung representative to clarify and will update if we hear more.

The Galaxy Z TriFold’s return also comes ahead of the summer season when we expect a slew of other foldable phones: Samsung typically refreshes its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip line in July or August, and Motorola has announced its first book-style Razr Fold phone will also debut during the season. And Apple’s rumored iPhone Fold (or perhaps iPhone Ultra based on latest rumors) could also be teased later this year.

Technologies

Help Us Crown the Most Loved Headphones and Earbuds of 2026

Got a pair you swear by? Take our People’s Picks survey to help us find a winner.

CNET just launched People’s Picks, a series of surveys where actual humans like you vote for the products and services you use. Starting in April, we want you to weigh in on your favorite headphones and earbuds. We’ll pick a winner based on which ones you love the most.

Why we want to hear from you

Our writers and editors test hundreds of products each year, but your real-world experience with these devices is something we can’t replicate in our labs. You’ve used these headphones at the gym, on your commute to work and on long flights, and that perspective is invaluable. Your voice helps others know about the headphones or earbuds you love, too.

«I review a lot of headphones and earbuds for CNET, and there are plenty of great models from the top brands in this survey that I rate highly. I’m always curious about what models people ultimately choose and why, so I’m excited to get your feedback and learn the results of this survey,» says David Carnoy, CNET’s executive editor and headphones expert.

With our survey, we’ll collect answers from real-world users like you. The headphones and earbuds chosen through our 3-minute survey will be featured in our People’s Picks roundup of the top picks based on your recommendation.

Make your voice heard

Whether you swear by a pair of $25 earbuds or love a pair of high-end headphones, your pick counts. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and after we gather enough information, we’ll tally the results and publish the winners.

Not sure what to pick? Check out our Best Headphones to revisit your favorites before voting.