Techcrunch blog!: Daily Crunch - Samsung unveils 'Lite' versions of its priciest phones

Friday, January 03, 2020 • By Anthony Ha

Happy Friday

Samsung announces more affordable versions of its flagship phones, TikTok is working on face-swapping technology and a16z doubles down on a Latin American real estate startup. Here’s your Daily Crunch for January 3, 2020.

Samsung announces 'Lite' versions of the Galaxy S10 and Note 10

Seems Samsung couldn't wait a few more days for its CES keynote. The hardware giant just announced "Lite" versions of its popular handsets, designed to deliver key features from the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 without breaking the bank.

While Samsung has long offered mid-range devices, the additions of the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 to the line-up are an appeal to users looking for something closer to its flagship products. Samsung has yet to offer specifics on pricing, but they'll presumably fall somewhere between its mid-range A series and the $1,000+ cost of the high-end products.

Samsung announces 'Lite' versions of the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 image

ByteDance & TikTok have secretly built a deepfakes maker

TechCrunch has learned that ByteDance has developed an unreleased feature using life-like deepfakes technology that the app's code refers to as Face Swap. Code in both TikTok and its Chinese sister app Douyin asks users to take a multi-angle biometric scan of their face, then choose from a selection of videos they want to add their face to and share.

How two-year-old Loft nabbed $175M led by Andreessen Horowitz

In Latin America, a lack of data transparency around property listings results in low-quality listings, disproportionately high asking prices and prolonged selling times. The team behind Loft thinks it can create transparency and liquidity with open data sets for property value.

This new wireless charger from Zens nearly fulfills the promise of Apple's AirPower

Apple's cancellation of its AirPower wireless charging mat was one of the company's few big public flubs, but the concept remains attractive: A wireless charging pad that supports multiple devices, and that isn't picky about how you set down your device in order to make a connection. The Liberty Wireless Charger from Zens gets the industry closer to that goal.

Reading Isaac Asimov at 100

Isaac Asimov has probably done more than any other writer to shape my worldview. But in the #MeToo era, reading and admiring him is no longer quite so simple.

Image Credits: Getty Images

After 2019's reality check, what's ahead for driverless cars in 2020?

If 2018 was when the industry was shocked into sobriety, 2019 turned into a year when pragmatism and the challenges of trying to develop and scale a technology got a lot more real. And this coming year promises some of the same. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

Apply to present your startup at TechCrunch's CES Pitch Night

This Vegas Pitch Night, scheduled for the evening of January 8, isn't a polished show with massive screens, celebrity guests and life-changing cash prizes. It’s meant to be quick and efficient, held in a co-working event space outside of downtown Vegas. But a bunch of TechCrunch editors and writers (including me) will be there!