When one hears a mention of North Korea, nuclear missiles, and Kim Jong-un must be the first things that pop up in the head. Now, the totalitarian country is trying to make its mark in the smartphone industry with the Jindallae 3.
The Jindallae 3 is a product of Mangyongdae Information Technology Corporation as reported by "DPRK Today." The moniker for the new smartphone was derived from a flower with the same name. The name of this particular kind of Korean rhododendron translates to "azalea."
The state-run North Korean news site mentioned that the makers of the Jindallae 3 resolved "all the issues regarding the development of the smartphone without any difficulties and in the Korean way." However, North Korea's efforts to distance itself from the rest of the world seem evident with the Jindallae 3. The homegrown smartphone is a direct replica of one of Apple's smartphones, the iPhone 6S.
The design of the "versatile and multifunctional" smartphone was all locally manufactured, claimed the news site. This includes the appearance and structure of the phone as well as the motherboard's circuit design and the program design of the OS.
Even the software of the North Korean smartphone bears a resemblance to the iOS though Gizmodo describes it as a "bastardized version" of the Apple operating system. Gizmodo pointed out that the app icons on the Jindallae 3 looked a lot like those on an iPhone. In fact, it's hard to tell the icons for the Phone, Photos, and Music apps on the North Korea handset from those on the iPhone.
It is also noticeable that the smartphone manufacturer from North Korea copied from another major tech player - Samsung. The home button of the Jindallae 3 looks a lot like the fingerprint reader of a Samsung Galaxy phone while the curved edges and top and bottom bezels look similar to the Galaxy S7 Edge. Additionally, the upper half portion of the Jindallae 3's home screen mimics that of an Android phone.
The Jindallae 3 was launched in March, according to Digital Trends. It is available in either black or white.
