Daily NK, a Seoul newsroom that reports on the North, handed Wall Street Journal reporter Dasl Yoon a mid-tier smartphone carried out of the country in 2023. The device is a Hyang 701, built that same year, and it looks like any other Android phone until you start tapping. It handles voice calls, texts, and a full set of apps. It will not reach the open internet. Wi-Fi stays locked. The only network available is the state-run intranet.
Wild Dog just announced Japanese Ramen Simulator, a Steam management sim scheduled for September 2026 that puts as many as six people behind one counter. Players run the entire shop. Prep work, broth, noodles, toppings, service, conversation with guests, and cleanup all happen on the same shift. Orders arrive in a steady stream. Noodle texture, broth temperature, aroma, umami, and how long the bowl waits on the pass all affect the result.
People keep saying the same thing about the Skyrover X1, priced at $699 (was $819), is that it’s a DJI Mini 4 Pro with a different badge. That rumor isn’t just forum gossip because fans have discovered code that still points to DJI cloud services, encryption keys that match DJI software, and FlySafe references that have been awkwardly renamed. The arms fold in the same way. Sensor windows are in the same locations. If you’re looking for a compact travel drone that you can still order in the United States, this might be it.
Galbot spent three years putting wheeled machines to work in Chinese pharmacies and convenience stores, picking products and handing them to riders on real shifts. In August the Beijing company, founded in 2023 by Peking University professor He Wang, rolled out its first machine that stands on two legs. ET1 debuted at the World Robot Conference and then walked onto a court at the World Humanoid Robot Games, where Galbot machines held live rallies against people.
Bandai Spirits spent decades teaching die-cast robots how to fold, lock, and present themselves. That same workshop just pointed those skills at a conference-table object almost nobody talks about. Mobile Stationery Automatic Transformation Card Case is the first product in a new adult line called Mobile Stationery, priced at 3,300 yen including tax, roughly twenty dollars. Japanese shop reservations opened August 27, 2026, while October is the planned arrival.