this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/hardware/p/2144337/commodore-announces-linux-based-flip-phone-with-no-social-media-no-browser-the-callback

Linux-based phone still ‘runs 99% of Android apps’ so you can do more with it, if you wish.

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[–] LightDelaBlue@jlai.lu 2 points 33 minutes ago

there is android flip phones actualy?

[–] diaphragmwp@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 hour ago

no social media, no browser
marketing material: social media in a glorified browser

[–] GMac@feddit.org 7 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Whatsapp preinstalled... hard pass from me. All the other considerations like price, browser block, app emulation implementation; those are all things I could probably get past but preinstalled spyware is unacceptable from the get go.

Edit to add. The app blocking is interesting to me. Instead of thinking about the user being blocked from unstalling and using the app, I'm curious about the technology they will use to block the app (and app maker) from running activity on the device.

Hopefully the solution includes something like DNS blocking rather than a blacklist on the play integrity api and a reliance on Google killing the unstall of apk from other sources.

Not sure if DNS blocking explains the browser exclusion which is otherwise a bit odd.

[–] plutopos@lemmy.zip 4 points 55 minutes ago* (last edited 54 minutes ago)

This phone is probably aimed at countries where Whatsapp is legit mandatory if you want a social life and a job (e.g. much of Europe and South America)

[–] jackintosh@feddit.nl 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

The first flip phone with WhatsApp since the unfortunate demise of KaiOS devices. Sailfish probably has much higher system requirements, hence the price. Great to have an alternative though!

[–] plutopos@lemmy.zip 1 points 56 minutes ago

Android flip phones have existed for years. E.g. Saiet Link 4, as well as Cat phones (yes, it's the same company that makes Caterpillars)

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Who is going to pay $500 for a retro flip phone, when you can get a second-hand iPhone for half that? Or you know, an actual flip phone for $25.

[–] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 minutes ago

Maybe the same guys who believed in the Purism scam.

[–] plutopos@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 hours ago

The price is unfeasible lmao. You could get an old phone for like 50$ used, put lineage on it, don't install any app or store and be done with it

[–] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 hours ago

Ah yes, another company trying to squeeze ridiculous amounts of money out of people just because "it has linux".

[–] foremanguy92_@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

How could this idea come to mind.. Surely that's great, but who in the team said "Give me a price! 500!! Approved!"

[–] rizzothesmall@sh.itjust.works 8 points 5 hours ago

Sounds great for kids. The price point can suck a dick tho

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 11 points 5 hours ago

At $200... Maybe.

AI slop video, no faith in what will (or likely won't) be delivered.

[–] Moonrise2473@lemmy.ml 16 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Browser and email is the bare minimum, though.

Even the cheapest clamshells in the 2000s had those two.

Don't preinstall it by default if you want to look minimal but being forced to sideload (their app store blocks this essential category?????) an Android APK in the emulator instead of using native Linux apps for that, is ridiculous

I understand that for a small company like them (it's being owned by a YouTuber now) creating hardware is extremely expensive and 499 can even considered cheap with all the custom stuff in this device, plastic molds, dedicated assembly lines and so on, but my mind can't accept paying more than 149 for something like this

[–] trilobite@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I didn't even know that the brand Commodore still existed.

[–] fhein@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Every few years the brand name appears to be sold to some new company

[–] manuremy@sopuli.xyz 2 points 4 hours ago

My mainphone is currently Nokia C2-01 which I got for free. It's perfectly enough for me. But damn that thing looks good..

[–] marcie@lemmy.ml 14 points 8 hours ago

499? hahahhaa

[–] cenariodantesco@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

how affordable of them [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°̲̅)̲̅$̲̅]

[–] SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Commodore? C64 and Amiga Commodore? Well, it seems to be a new startup that simply bought and revived the trademark. Instead of a $500 paperweight, they should instead focus on affordable, Linux-based PCs and laptop. Perhaps they could build their own distro using an Amiga-esque filesystem. I would definitely daily-drive a Commodore-branded laptop.

[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 5 points 9 hours ago

Commodore as a brand has ruined every company that's ever bought it. Cursed brand some say.

[–] willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com 51 points 12 hours ago (4 children)

Look, I love the idea of a Linux phone.

But $500 and it manages my temptations for me? Fuck no.

The whole point of Linux is freedom.

Enough behavior shaping.

[–] manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml 7 points 11 hours ago

Yeh right, i already don't use social media on my phone, skill issue

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[–] BartyDeCanter@piefed.social 13 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

While it seems like everyone here hates it, I’ve been looking for a minimal phone for when my current one dies. This seems to hit the exact sweet spot of functionality I want vs what I don’t want. As for the price, well, I’m spending at least that much on my next phone anyway so it seems fine by me.

And I have a huge nostalgia for flip phones and transparent electronics. So yeah, signed up to preorder.

[–] uuj8za@piefed.social 3 points 6 hours ago

Nice! I'm very tempted... I really like that it's SailfishOS. I bought an Xperia 10 III with SailfishOS and it works pretty decently. I've used the Android compatibility layer, it's pretty good.

I know it's not 100% FOSS, but maybe it's seeming like we could rally around SailfishOS for an alternative to Android and iOS.

[–] BottleBoardBakon@lemmy.ml 9 points 11 hours ago

That's easy too expensive for a phone with bad specs that just has blocked access to certain apps

[–] Stupendous@lemmy.world 37 points 14 hours ago

It's like that era of putting pink ribbons on everything for breast cancer that also signaled you were a supporter of women. Commercialized activism. Be real. This will sell very little. We'll get some news articles about how it's trending with Gen z that are rejecting technology and always online culture. It'll actually only be a small amount of Gen z but you know blogspam going to blogspam.

It's a crappy product. We need a Linux phone that would actually be a halo product for people to not feel like they're ripping themselves off to get away from Google and Apple

[–] AnAmericanPotato@programming.dev 64 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

MediaTek Helio G81 SoC, with 4GB/64GB

Uhhh. For $500? Sorry, no.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 58 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (6 children)

I mean its a small company. We have become too used to subsidized costs at the sake of our privacy. Know why TVs are now $200? They are literal spyware in the home. Try buying one without spyware, $999 real fast for the same TV.

Know why phone companies give you a "free" $1000 phone? Youre the product. Constantly tracked and sold. A digital slave.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 1 points 1 hour ago

People don't know this it seems. You actually have to give up something to gain some privacy. Can be money, can be features.

Most people still use Google while there is Kagi for like 10 dollars... Because they want privacy, but they need it to be free. :)

[–] mecen@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 hours ago

Not free, and on pixels you can install de googled androids like grapheneos and LineageOS

[–] macaw_dean_settle@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Opposed to fake fast?

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 21 points 15 hours ago (7 children)

Pinephone was a fraction of that price. Can't you run PostmarketOS on a Fair phone too? But that has much better specs.

[–] OccasionallyFeralya@lemmy.ml 14 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The pinephone was atrocious (As a daily) though. From what I’ve heard from owners it still struggles to this day to run basic mobile Linux OSes.

[–] Anti_Iridium@lemmy.world 11 points 13 hours ago

Fact. It's amazing that it exists, but it is definitely not a daily driver device. At least for me.

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[–] Wrongdoer2@sh.itjust.works 111 points 18 hours ago (3 children)

Great initiative but at this price it's just a scam srlsy..

[–] ultimate_worrier@lemmy.dbzer0.com 60 points 18 hours ago (3 children)

My sentiments exactly. They’re charging $499 for $5-100 worth of hardware.

This is the “snakes on a plane” of phones.

[–] mecen@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 hours ago

Jolla phone and that is with much better specs

[–] Moonrise2473@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 hours ago

That is the price if you ship million of units. Realistically, how many units can ship this? 10k? 20k?

Once you consider the price of the plastic shell molds (custom), the custom keypad, the custom motherboard, the custom assembly line, this price is almost cheap.

I wouldn't even consider a purchase even at a third of the price, but it was a scam if they simply put a sticker on some Alibaba clamshell with stock android, instead here they even partnered with Jolla to have sailfish is as base with the android emulator. That's much more expensive than just slapping android aosp with a minimal launcher and calling it a day

[–] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 0 points 5 hours ago

I would expect to pay $50 for a modern flip phone with hardware comparable to one from 20y ago. But this is running Sailfish OS, has a decent SoC, camera, DAC, and up to 64GB of RAM. This ain't your grandma's flip phone.

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[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 18 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

So happy with my 2nd hand Pixel 8. No BS, ecologically acceptable IMHO and yes runs most Android apps thanks to GrapheneOS.

[–] hopesdead@startrek.website 42 points 17 hours ago (12 children)

How does it not have social media or browser if so many apps are compatible? Doesn’t that amount of compatibility mean we can still have social media and browsers?

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