Summary

  • Commodore is back with a retro flip phone called the Callback 8020.
  • The phone runs Sailfish OS with Android app compatibility at roughly "99%." It also blocks web browsers and social media through a whitelist system.
  • The Callback 8020 features an LED message dome, swappable covers, and built-in Commodore 64 games. Pre-orders start June 30th for $500.

The next device to be released as part of Commodore's ongoing comeback is... a flip phone called the Callback 8020? Wait, what?

The recognizable name behind the Commodore 64, one of the bestselling PCs ever, returned last year thanks to Christian Simpson, best known for running the YouTube channel Retro Recipes (now called Retro Recipes x Commodore). Simpson acquired the Commodore Corporation's official trademarks for a price in the "low seven figures."

Credit: Commodore

Commodore Ultimate

Since the acquisition, Commodore has released the Commodore Ultimate, an updated version of the classic PC, and the Commodore 64X PC, a mini PC in a housing that looks a lot like the OG Commodore 64. Now, the brand seems to be trying something a bit different with a new beige-colored flip phone that looks like a device from the 80s, mixed with a feature flip phone right out of the mid-2000s. Colors include ProtoPET White, SX Silver, Basic Beige, Founders Edition (gold), and a Y2K-inspired Starlight Edition that's a translucent blue (this is by far the coolest color).

"There is something very fitting about a company like Commodore – where the lights dimmed in the nineties – returning ready to enter its Y2K era just as consumers are beginning to move back to that simpler tech," said Peri Fractic, the CEO and President of Commodore, in a press release about the Callback 8020.

The flip phone aims to welcome you to the "internot"

The Callback 8020 is compatible with Android apps and powered by Sailfish OS

Credit: Commodore

While Commodore's phone features internet connectivity, it blocks web browsers and social media "at the system level" through a whitelist system, with the company saying its focus is on the "internot." The phone runs on the Linux-based Sailfish OS, developed by Jolla, a company founded by former Nokia employees.

According to Commodore, "over 99 percent of Android apps" will run on Sailfish OS' Android runtime app compatibility layer, including apps like Spotify, Signal, and WhatsApp. Of course, the flip phone also features several Commodore 64-era games, though it's unclear what titles will be available (I'm hoping for Space Taxi). That said, Commodore has confirmed that the phone features Snake because "it's the law."

Credit: Commodore

Other features include a dome-shaped LED light that illuminates when you receive a message, and swappable phone covers in red, pink, yellow, green, and blue. Pre-orders for the Callback 8020 go live on June 30th at 4am ET/1am PT for $500.