Commodore is making a phone that’s neither a full-on smartphone nor a dumbphone. It clearly straddles the line in nostalgic fashion. Before we talk about the new Commodore Callback 8020, let’s know something else first.
Commodore International Corporation (CIC), which now owns the brand, was founded last year by Christian Simpson, a tech YouTuber, who is the CEO. He has brought in some former employees of the parent company, but this is not the old Commodore rising from the ashes like a phoenix. This is a completely separate company that has purchased the rights to the brand and the iconic logo.
Now that that’s clear, let’s meet the callback (funny pun) 8020. It’s a flip phone and it runs on Jolla’s Sailfish OS, which is Android without Google. Thanks to its Android Runtime App Compatibility layer, it can run “99% of Android apps”, excluding all Google apps except Maps.
Commodore Callback 8020 Official Images
The Callback 8020 has no social media, no browser, no task or email apps (these are all blocked at the system level), no data sales, a disabled touchscreen by default, unique dome LED notifications, worldwide network compatibility, and “audiophile grade HD audio, FM radio, SID” with support for IEM earphones via a 3.5mm jack. There is a 48MP rear camera using a Sony sensor, with flash and autofocus.
The device comes with a 3.25″ 480×640 internal screen, 1.77″ external screen, MediaTek Helio G81 SoC, 4GB RAM, 64GB expandable storage (with 32GB microSD card), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and LTE support, and a 1,550 mAh removable battery that charges via USB-C.
If you’re wondering how you message someone, it’s definitely “T9-style texting,” which, according to the company, “adds fun to use.” After decades of technology aiming to make everything more and more convenient, this is where we are – now we’re going in the opposite direction. Or at least it’s Commodore.
You can change batteries, change covers, and play a curated collection of Commodore 64 games, “carefully selected to avoid the addictive nature of modern mobile games”. The red glow of the phone’s external display is “inspired by the classic Commodore calculators of the ’70s”, displaying the date, time, battery and signal level without any information.
The phone will be offered in five colors: Prototype White, SX Silver, Basic Beige, Starlight Edition, and Founders Edition. It will be available for pre-order on June 30 at 10am CEST for $499.99 for all colors except the Starlight Edition, which will cost $549.99, and the Founders Edition, which will cost $640 because it has a 24k gold plated “C=” button. Shipping is “targeting” the fourth quarter of this year, which means October to December. If you join the waiting list you will receive a $50 discount.
Commodore Callback 8020 in all colors
You’re definitely not paying for specifications here. You’re paying for nostalgia and the inability to stop using or overuse specific apps on your smartphone – Commodore makes it either impossible or so painful that you can’t engage too much in ‘doomscrolling’ and other such buzzwords on the Callback 8020. Does any of this justify the price, and the fact that you will pay in the summer for a product you will then expect to receive in the winter in functional condition from a company that has not been in existence for two years. First, naturally it’s your call.
In case you were wondering, the 8020 name “serves as the successor to Commodore’s highest-numbered communications device – the 8010 modem – and also serves as a reference to Commodore’s ’80s heritage and 2000s technological aesthetic”. That “80s legacy” is present in the design and name, let’s not forget – it’s not the same company.