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Commodore, iconic Computer brand of the 1980sis back to grab your attention, putting its name on the latest trends: Digital detox.
after Reboot the brand (Again) A faithful recreation of the original Commodore 64 personal computer (once again), the company’s next product is a smartphone with the everyday essentials, but without the apps that are more adept at grabbing your attention.
The Commodore Callback 8020 isn’t the first Commodore-branded phone (that would be). Pets of 2015), but it’s the first one that feels unique and interesting. It may look like a dumb Nokia phone from last year, but this gadget has access to modern Android apps because it runs Linux-based Sailfish OS. From the Finnish company Jola. The Callback’s front screen shows the date, time, and battery status, but no notifications. Open it, and you’ll be greeted with a customized interface that can run apps like Uber, WhatsApp, and Spotify.
What it can’t run are distracting apps that take you away from life, so no social media, no browsers, no email, and certainly no Slack.
Commodore may have gone out of business in the ’90s, but it’s ready to enter the Y2K era by delving into early 2000s technology, which it did, says Commodore CEO Christian “Perry Fraktic” Simpson. In vogue now.
“A lot of people are trying to go back to a little simpler technology and they might try that Get rid of their smartphones on the weekend“We found that for people who were buying the C64, this resonated a lot with them,” Simpson tells WIRED. So we positioned ourselves as a fairly simple digital brand. Simpson points out that the new Commodore 64 Ultimate, the company’s old desktop computer released in 2025, has a word processor so people can type Distraction-freemuch like a typewriter.
Commodore has a manufacturing partner in Shenzhen to build the phone. (Commodore won’t share the name of this partner.) The Callback has a MediaTek Helio G81 processor, includes a 32GB microSD card, and custom-designed in-ear displays from FiiO. Yes, there is Headphone jack and an “audiophile-grade” digital-to-analog converter in the callback. The battery is removable and replaceable, and the LED light on the front can alert you when notifications arrive. The phone also has an FM radio tuner.
The camera has a 48-megapixel Sony camera sensor that, on paper, seems capable of taking decent photos. Commodore has also built in a retro camcorder mode with procedurally generated filters, making it look as if your video footage came Straight from the 90s. The screen supports touch capabilities, although the company says this is disabled by default.
