The idea of the Callback is interesting and could work, just their advertising direction is all wrong in my opinion (outside the AI, that is a separate issue for me). They are advertising this as a dumb phone of sorts but offering "smart" phone features such as photo taking, video chat (I would hope this is possible through the various chat apps they claim are supported) and they apparently offer GPS, or support for GPS apps.

My concern with all this is, what makes it a "dumb" phone, or any different than buying a modern device and simply not installing apps you do not want installed?

For the price, I would expect something unique about the device. Sure, it is using a different OS that they claim is not spying on you but for most users, it is not the OS they are concerned about spying, it is the apps they must install to stay connected with friends and family (Meta apps like Facebook and Instagram, X, etc).

Commodore does nothing to quel privacy concerns with these apps because they can't. If they block those apps from "spying" then those apps will simply not work correctly, if at all.

As far as the tech/software, that is my concern with the Callback.

The A.I. use only bothers me because they are a company with funds and staff on board (just look at the number of suits "running" the company in the pic in the article) and their claims of basically "less tech" and the like. It just comes off as hypocritical in many ways since they are claiming to focus on individuals and their experience.

I have no problem with A.I. when used by people - the mom and pop store making a sale flyer is fine with me (not everyone has $500 to $5,000 to get one page created for one event that is likely not to earn $200). The way Commodore used it is disengenious to me considering their claims of "cleaner, less, tech focused on individual preference (the install only what you want mentions)". I worked for nearly a decade in making advertising materials for companies from the mom and pop up to defense contractors breaking into the civilian market.

I know A.I. is not going anywhere but being use more and more but I do feel people have a right to know when it is used so they can make an informed decision. Their decision either way is none of my concern though.