Every generation rebels against the predominant trends of the one that preceded them. In Gen Z's case, that rebellion seems to be taking the form of abandoning the long foretold digital future, where physical media would dissolve away into seas of ephemeral, intangible data. Instead, Gen Z is cancelling Netflix and going to movie theaters, they're ditching music streamers in favor of old-school iPods, and they're buying cassette tapes, wired headphones...and flip phones.
Enter the Commodore Callback, a flip phone from a company best known for making gaming consoles back in the early '80s. Commodore has recently experienced a revival, with YouTuber Christian Simpson acquiring the remaining Commodore trademarks and assets through a newly formed company called Commodore International Corporation. The Callback is emblematic of Simpson's vision, welding modern innovation with the best parts of the Commodore legacy, and celebrates everything Gen Z seems to embrace: retro physical devices, disconnecting from social media, and colorful, transparent tech.
A flip phone for a media saturated age
Commodore's blog post announcing the Commodore Callback is dripping with '80s nostalgia. It evokes everything from the Commodore 64 (which the company is now making a modern version of, called the Commodore 64 Ultimate) to Star Trek communicators to Atari. It may not seem at first glance like Gen Z is the target audience, but maybe that's the point. All of the trends mentioned above aren't nostalgia for Gen Z, they're indicative of a generation yearning for an era they never witnessed.
Commodore is surely hoping to capture old heads actually nostalgic for the beige electronics of the '80s, as well as a younger generation longing for a simpler time. The Callback delivers an essential suite of apps, like Telegram, WhatsApp, a music player, maps, and a camera, but blocks social media and browsers. It's a device meant to serve a function but not to encourage "phubbing," the phone snubbing behavior so commonplace in the smartphone era.
Making the Callback a flip phone was also a very intentional choice. Flip it open, do a thing, then snap it shut and get back to reality. It's a tool, a discrete experience rather than a portal to ignoring the physical world. Of course, it does also come with a Commodore 64 emulator if you need a distraction on the subway. If it sounds like the kind of enforced disconnect you need, you can sign up now to be alerted when the Callback goes up for preorder.