Commodore’s callback 8020 flip phone blocks social media and web browsers at the system level. It still keeps internet connectivity, so the device is aimed at people who want fewer distractions without losing tools like maps and QR codes.
Christian “Peri Fractic” Simpson said the company’s app store uses whitelisting, and that social media and browsers will never get that whitelisting. He also said the acquisition price for Commodore was in the low seven figures, which explains why this new device now carries the name.
Commostore and DNS blocks
Fractic said users can sideload nearly anything else they want if it is not available on the Commostore. That leaves the phone open to most other apps, while the blocked category stays closed by design.
He also said Commodore has blocked access at the DNS level. If TikTok were installed, he said, users still would not be able to reach its servers, so the restriction is not just a store rule.
Sailfish OS on Callback 8020
The Callback 8020 runs Sailfish OS, the Linux-based OS from Jolla. Commodore says the phone will support over 99 percent of Android apps through Sailfish OS’s Android runtime app compatibility layer, and it will support Spotify, Signal, and WhatsApp.
That is the odd split in this product. The phone is sold as distraction-limiting, but Commodore also says it keeps internet-based features and most Android app access, while old school bulletin board systems are permitted and Reddit is not.
Callback community next
Fractic said, “We’re determined to approach this in a way that’s fair and safe for everyone, and we’ll be consulting with the Callback community over the next few months to make this determination,” which puts the remaining app policy question in the company’s hands rather than the market’s. The open question is which specific social media and browser apps, if any, could still slip through the blocking system.
