Commodore has unveiled a new retro-style flip phone called the Callback that blocks all social media apps and web browsers at the system level, with no option for users to disable the restriction. The device aims to offer a middle ground between modern smartphones and traditional 'dumbphones' by providing essential apps while eliminating distracting features.
Core Features and Functionality
The Callback is a flip phone that supports 99% of Android apps, including WhatsApp and Google Maps, allowing users to stay connected without access to social media platforms. Its headline feature is a system-level ban on social media apps and web browsers, which cannot be turned off by the user. The company's website states: 'Smartphones are designed to be mindlessly seamless. Callback is built around a simple research-backed finding: remove features designed to pull you back in and reintroduce physical friction. It’s a speed bump for the mind.'
Gaming Heritage and Emulator
In keeping with Commodore's gaming legacy, the phone includes an emulator capable of running a small selection of classic Commodore titles, alongside the evergreen mobile favourite Snake. This venture is separate from Retro Games, the company behind TheC64 Mini, following Commodore's revival of the famous home computer with the Commodore 64 Ultimate last year.
Pricing and Availability
No release date has been confirmed, but customers can wishlist the handset ahead of pre-orders opening on June 30. The company expects to begin shipping devices during the winter. The Callback will be available in white, silver and beige for £409.74, with wishlisting reducing the price to £372.42. A Starlight edition will cost £447.79, dropping to £410.47 with the wishlist discount, while the gold-coloured Founder’s edition is priced at £522.42, or £477.65 for those who register interest in advance.
Industry Context
Commodore president and chief executive Peri Fractic said: 'How fitting, that a company whose lights dimmed in the ’90s, returns for its Y2K era, just as so many of us are reaching back for that exact same simpler tech. I hope you’ll join us as we dial down the digital, and dial up the life.' Last year, Finnish phone company Human Mobile Devices (HMD) unveiled a 'brick' type phone designed especially for children, which allows social media and messaging only with parental approval and includes extra safety layers.
