I can see it shouted from Reddit already.
“That’s not a Commodore!”
If I weren’t the CEO, I’d be very into the Callback (I do love a dumb phone). And if I weren’t already down the digital minimalism path, I’d probably be a little sceptical too. So let me earn it.
“I love my smartphone.”
When’s the last time you said that, and meant it? Be honest.
There was a time you could say that about your phone. Remember the wild west of it? So many machines, each with its own personality, each with its own die-hard fans. Sinclair, Atari, Commodore, Apple, Amiga. Then phones with real character. The StarTAC, the RAZR, the 3310, and the 8110 banana phone. You could find one that was truly yours.
We’re all looking for a way back. Greyscale is great, but your thumb still takes the same path. Minimalist launchers just abstract the problem away a step. You make an intentional decision to uninstall an app, then reinstall it again later. The smartphone is still too smart. And dumb phones are, well, too dumb. So we built a bridge between.
That’s the Callback.
A flip phone with the apps you need: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram. Music, podcasts, maps, rideshare, a great camera for the moments worth keeping. Oh, and of course it can emulate a Commodore 64, with a few carefully chosen Commodore games and SID chip ringtones, because how could we not?
A modern phone with none of the apps that make you anxious: ads, algorithms, feeds, a browser, a bottomless inbox, or the office chat that follows you home. Was any of that truly for you anyway?
Social media and browsers are blocked at the system level – designed to be not just school friendly, but human friendly. Sorry, social notworking.
And why a flip? Think of it like a multi-tool. You flip out the tool you need, do the thing you intended, snap it shut, and back in your pocket it goes. The flip is the point. An intentional moment of disconnection. A small, satisfying snap that says I’m done here. Like a Star Trek communicator.
So why is Commodore the one to make it?
Because Commodore was built on friendly technology. It’s the first thing you see when you open a Commodore 64 Ultimate box today: “Welcome back to the world of friendly computing.” And where do you need that more than your pocket?
The Callback is us living up to that quote.
Now, the part I know some of you are turning over. The blocking of social media and browsers. “This can’t be a Commodore. Commodore is always open.”
To quote my mate Obi-Wan:
“Only a Sith deals in absolutes.” 👀
Paradoxes from a galaxy far, far away aside, I’ll offer a reframe.
In the 1980s, computers were just entering the home. The 64 needed to be open so you could get to know it. That was the friendly thing.
Now computing is just about ubiquitous, on our person almost 24/7. Its goal isn’t to be known anymore. Its goal is to know you, and know you absolutely, and its reasons are not so friendly. We didn’t take your openness away. We kept the open that was always for you, and lost the open that was only ever for them.
So yes, the Callback is less open than some of you might like. I’ll own that gladly, because it’s more on your side than the phone already in your pocket. Under the hood, it runs Sailfish OS, which is designed not to monetize or share your data. Evolved from Nokia, our custom version was built by Jolla’s ex-Nokia engineers, and runs the best Android apps (without running Android).
It all makes Callback the phone that minds its own business. You don’t even need to sign in.
“I love the digital minimalism angle. There are lots of people that need a complete, no-option break. Simplicity can be good.”
–Leonard Tramiel, son of Commodore’s founder
We believe Commodore should still be about friendly tech, so we asked ourselves a few questions about friendship. Maybe you’ll want to ask them too.
If you could help a friend reduce their anxiety, their FOMO, and their job’s hold over them, would you?
If you could encourage a friend to connect more with the world, the people around them, and themselves to boot, would you?
If you could prevent companies from tracking a friend, mining their data, and pushing addictive behaviours, would you?
If you could help a kid who knows their phone is ruining their grades and being used to bully them, would you?
We have aligned on yes. We hope you will too. And I’m proud of the team and our advisors for leading us down this path.
To quote Jack again:
“Once you’re done changing, you’re done.”
I want our tech to be friendly again. Joyful, even. Something that stokes the imagination, and a place you’re glad to come home to.
Maybe the Callback isn’t for you. But maybe, just maybe, it is.
And if so, welcome back to the world of friendly phones.
Peri Fractic
CEO & Chief Joystick Waggler at Commodore