Tmobile used to let me do that but it was pricey.
Like the idea, commodore never had me in its nostalgia, too young, idea is cute, t9 keyboard is workable but I disagree that it’s viable. I want to be wrong of course but
Samsung and apple using their fold flip and discipline fixes the other side. People do not want to detox. Going back to a flip won’t fix it.
Same as the glp1 drugs, people knew food was bad, didn’t stop eating. Started body shame movement. Now that movement seems to have gone silent, glp1s fixed obesity seemingly overnight.
So the question is, what is the future glp1 equilivant for digital detox, a simpler phone or a phone that makes it more complicated to get digital services isn’t it.
Then there’s the argument for price, photo quality and all. No one is going to take photos and edit on a desktop in photoshop or Lightroom. Same as for using two phones and transferring esims, their WhatsApp number, etc
The only ones that I've seen beat this dynamic to an extent are the unihertz phones.
I'll buy this if there is a way to remove the app restrictions they have. Ideally, I should be able to flash the default SailfishOS
The C64U is an amazing achievement but it seems too early to go for the smart phone.
Hopefully there is a niche and their business plan is viable for a small number of sales.
I hate my phone, and my relationship with it, but sometimes you just need to use one.
My preferred strategy is having a normal phone, minimal apps, and just keeping it switched off most of the time, particularly round the house.
Thing is, I've got a worse problem with my laptop and desk. Between HN, lichess, and a handful of favoured blogs, I can easily blow a day doing nothing, without the help of a phone.
Honestly, I think something deeper than a different form factor is required. If anyone has found it, let me know.
The reality though is, most folks don’t even think how much time they spend on phones, so I hope they can become profitable with devices sold in the thousands.
I’m saying that as a very happy C64U owner.
Most tech products are sold at somewhere around 3-4x what it costs the company to make them.
Despite Christian’s YouTube channel being all about retro and nostalgia, that not what Commodore is about.
It's actually surprisingly easy. Flash LineageOS and don't install any nonessential apps which includes no play services. At that point all you have is SMS and the browser. (If you find even just the browser too difficult to resist then configure parental controls I guess.)
Alternatively a less drastic action is to permanently set it to silent. You (and your contacts) get used to it after a few weeks.
If they collab'ed with some AOSP-based alternatives and/or Jolla, they could build up a really nice alternative market. Especially because these niche phones generally have worse quality than what HMD can offer and being a Finish company, they could play well into the European tech sovereignty story.
You want a Linux box in your pocket? Why does a flip phone factor excite you?
No one designs a product to get manufacturers, all they need is to make a profit.
Why? It's going to be my kids first computer.
Computers today are so absolutely hostile as they are simply attention-sucking sale-terminals. They spend all their time popping up unwanted notifications which are just advertising.
And the interface of modern devices is actually horrible for learning. Some stuff may be intuitive, but the biggest issue is that every slight movement, accidental tap or gesture is linked to something so for kids it's too easy to do something that exits the current program or bring up some sidebar. It's impossible even for me to connect "what did I just do?" with the sudden change in context. It makes it really hard to connect cause and effect. And don't even get me started on how dangerous apps like YouTube are for kids. The recommendation algo seems to surface click-farm scam content in no time. Or weird dopamine traps.
So my kids will start with a device that isn't constantly trying to sell things, they will learn to understand simple systems which has deterministic behavior.
I did this with GrapheneOS and a simple launcher. That said, it's not something the average person will ever want to, or maybe even be capable to, do. They want to just pay someone money and get a product that respects them.
If this does that, then it will be well received by the people who care enough to spend money on it. I'll actually be buying one when it launches. My custom solution is "fine"... It's also a pain in my behind.
The entire point of a "dumb" phone like this is to reduce the amount of attention it requires from me. Managing some custom ROM and keeping it up to date actually requires MORE attention in some ways. I kind of hate it even after a year or two of constant tinkering to make it fit me "just right". I'd rather have something that respects me out of the box and spend a little time adapting to it.
I think the kind of user who gets a detox phone will also get an Instax or a second hand old Ixus.
I would absolutely have another if there was an updated one.
I hear that in China they have a lot of franken-PCs reusing recycled chips because they have all the PCB-level design and manufacturing expertise but they can't make chips. They'll take a GPU off its graphics card and solder it onto a laptop, or the reverse, stuff like that. And each design in low quantities based on what models of e-waste they can get. Pine is one of that kind of company although not nearly as extreme. A lot of their plastic cases are repurposed from other devices. The A64 chip is designed to go in set-top boxes. They don't do low-hundred quantities based on e-waste, obviously, they are set up for mass production but they're still using whatever parts they can get their hands on that are surplus to other companies' requirements. That's half the reason they discontinued so many products.
Cheaper with a more powerful SOC and better feature set?
Disable your own features, don’t let Perifractic own you.
Commodore, the iconic computer brand of the 1980s, is once again back for your attention – slapping its name on the hottest trend: digital detox.
After a brand reboot (again) and the faithful recreation of the original Commodore 64 personal computer (again), the company’s next product is a smartphone with the everyday essentials, but without the apps most adept at hogging your attention.
The Commodore Callback 8020 is not the first Commodore-branded phone (that would be the Pet from 2015), but it’s the first to feel unique and interesting. It might look like a dumb Nokia phone from yesteryear, but this flippy gadget has access to modern-day Android apps because it runs the Linux-based Sailfish OS from the Finnish company Jolla. The Callback’s front screen shows the date, time and battery status, but no notifications. Flip it open, and you’re greeted with a custom interface that can run apps like Uber, WhatsApp and Spotify.
What it can’t run are distracting apps that pull you away from life, so no social media, no browsers, no email and definitely no Slack.
Commodore CEO Christian “Peri Fractic” Simpson says Commodore may have gone quiet in the ’90s, but it’s ready to enter its Y2K era by going hard into early-2000s technology, which just so happens to be en vogue right now.

The Commodore Callback 8020 in the transparent Starlight Edition.
Courtesy of Commodore
“A lot of people are trying to go back to slightly simpler tech and maybe trying to ditch their smartphone on the weekend,” Simpson tells WIRED. “We found that for the people buying the C64, that very much resonated with them. So we positioned ourselves as a bit of a digital minimalist brand.” Simpson points out that the new Commodore 64 Ultimate, the company’s throwback desktop PC released in 2025, has a word processor so people can write distraction-free, much like on a typewriter.
Commodore has a manufacturing partner in Shenzhen to build the phone. (Commodore wouldn’t share the name of this partner.) The Callback has a MediaTek Helio G81 processor, includes a 32-GB microSD card and custom-designed in-ear monitors from FiiO. Yes, there’s a headphone jack and an “audiophile-grade” digital-to-analogue converter in the Callback. The battery is removable and replaceable, and an LED light on the front can alert you when notifications come in. The phone also has an FM radio tuner.
The camera has a 48-megapixel Sony camera sensor that, on paper, seems to be able to snap decent pics. Commodore has also built a retro camcorder mode with procedurally generated filters, making it look like your video footage came straight from the ’90s. The screen supports touch capabilities, though the company says this is disabled by default.
Ringtones on the device use chiptunes from the original Commodore 64, and there’s a selection of C64 games on the phone. Simpson says these don’t have the “addictive” nature of modern mobile games. It also comes with the mobile classic Snake. To send messages with the Callback, you’ll have to brush up on your T9 typing skills (there is a predictive text helper), or you can use Commodore’s voice transcription service for speech-to-text messaging.
The 8020 name is a reference to Commodore’s “highest-numbered communications device”, the 8010 modem from 1980. The handset comes in five colours: SX Silver, ProtoPET White, Basic Beige, the translucent Starlight Edition and a PVD gold Founder’s Edition with a 24-karat gold-plated Commodore button. The standard colours start at $500, but the clear Starlight Edition is $550, and the Founder’s Edition is $640. Preorders start 30 June, and devices are expected to ship towards the end of the year.
“The idea is, we want it to be very intentional that people are not drawn back to screens,” Simpson says. “Just the fact that you have to physically close this – say you go out for a meal with friends, you’re not just putting an iPhone face down, you’re physically making a statement to yourself and an intentional decision.”

The Commodore Callback 8020 Founder’s Edition.
Courtesy of Commodore
Simpson decided to build the Callback 8020 after becoming a dad and hunting for other distraction-free phones on the market. He found phones like the Light Phone III too limiting, tried a dumb flip phone but realised he still needed access to some apps – a common problem that stifles many of these digital detox devices. That’s why he decided the Callback should be a phone that sits in the middle; a smartphone with dumb-phone looks that costs half as much as a flagship iPhone.
You don’t need a Google account to operate the device. The “Commodore Store” app store is based on Sailfish’s Aurora Store, letting you download some of the same Android apps available on Android. Aurora doesn’t have the same massive selection of apps as the Google Play Store – in fact, it lacks official Google apps, though Google Maps is available – but it has other common essentials.
At the OS level, Simpson says Commodore has “patent-pending” technology that blocks the ability for users to install or sideload internet browsers and social media apps. This is designed to be a distraction-free phone through and through. The company is even pitching it to schools that ban smartphones, so having a way to block the installation of these services is crucial. Commodore has permission from Meta to pre-install WhatsApp, though.
If the Commodore Store is missing an app a user wants, like a home security app or an authenticator, there’s a white-list process to get it. Simpson says people can submit requests to sideload an app, and these are vetted and approved through an AI system. If the AI has trouble deciding whether to allow it, a human steps in. Not every app will be granted access, as the company wants to maintain the Callback’s raison d’être.
Good news for iPhone users, though: you can use the OpenBubbles app to gain access to Apple Messages on the Callback. (It just requires a one-time set-up with a Mac.) The company will provide instructions on how people can set up text or call forwarding, so users don’t have to worry about giving a second phone number to all of their contacts.
“We’re not saying it has to replace the smartphone – I still use an iPhone when I have to,” Simpson says. “It can be the weekend phone, it can be the evening phone, the going-out-with-family phone. You make an intentional decision about that.”
Simpson says the phone should work worldwide and on all the major networks in the US, and while there are no initial plans to sell through a carrier store yet, it’s on the road map.

These are the FiiO in-ear monitors that come with the Callback 8020.
Courtesy of Commodore
The Commodore brand has changed hands multiple times over the last few decades, and there have been several attempts to revive it. Simpson says his main job is to prevent the company from going bankrupt again. To that end, the company sold 30,000 units of the new Commodore 64 Ultimate in its first year, three times what it expected, which has allowed the company to scale up.
Simpson doesn’t feel that branching out to a digital detox phone is abnormal for Commodore. “We made calculators, typewriters, adding machines, wristwatches – not just the computers,” he says. “You could argue it’s the most suited brand to bring out a phone, because it just was always quite diverse.”
This story originally appeared on WIRED US.