Commodore has unveiled a retro-style flip phone called the Callback that deliberately blocks all social media apps and web browsers at the system level, with no option for users to disable the restriction. The handset is positioned as a hybrid between a modern smartphone and a traditional 'dumbphone,' offering essential apps like WhatsApp and Google Maps while cutting out distracting features.
Key Features and Pricing
The Callback supports 99% of Android apps, but its headline feature is the permanent, system-wide ban on social media platforms and web browsers. 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.' In keeping with Commodore's gaming heritage, the phone includes an emulator for classic Commodore titles and the game Snake.
No release date has been confirmed, but pre-orders opened on June 30, with shipping expected during winter. The phone is available in white, silver, and beige for £409.74, or £372.42 with a wishlist discount. A Starlight edition costs £447.79 (£410.47 wishlist), and a gold Founder's edition is £522.42 (£477.65 wishlist).
Company Background
This venture is separate from Retro Games, the company behind TheC64 Mini. Commodore president and CEO 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 HMD unveiled a 'brick' phone designed for children that allows social media access only with parental approval, including extra safety layers.
