Got to spend some time with one of the new Commodore 64 machines at last night's PDX retro meet-up.

While I prefer the OG C64 color scheme, the clear keyboard substrate/PCB is nifty. The UI feels exactly like the older Ultimate 64: a little confusing and daunting to someone not used to it. 1/2

February 03, 2026 - 21:51 UTC

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I bought the Beige one and glad I did. Looks amazing and no dodgy flexible keyboard.
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I figured since my original is beige already beige (well brown really) I'd treat myself to the starlight. I don't notice the flex whilst typing thankfully and it does look really nice all lit up. But, it does make it very hard to see what's written on the keys, bad for late night coding sessions!
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Where can I find more info on this meet-up? Is it open to all? Thanks!
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The power switch/toggle thing is unintuitive and hard to use on this, something that was changed from the Ultimate 64 single button.

Verdict: I like it, although it's not for me. (I prefer using original hardware.) If you already have an Ultimate 64, I don't see any reason to upgrade. 2/2
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I only use the rocker switch to turn the computer on, for everything else I use the keyboard and menu
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You can use a keyboard shortcut for the menu instead of pushing the rocker switch up: C= and Restore.

This now also works on the Ultimate 64 if you updated it to the 3.14a firmware.
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I didn't upgrade my two Ultimate 64 Elite IIs, I added two Commodore 64 Ultimates, one Starlight Edition and one Founders Edition. 😁

The former did indeed arrive two days before Christmas, the latter has just today been sent off by the Commodore NL hub.
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