Amazon has finally added voice control to the Alexa app for iOS devices. The capability has been on Android phones for some time.

Microsoft has decided not to add virtual reality to the Xbox, preferring to leave it as a TV-focused experience. Microsoft has said the VR market has grown more slowly than many imagined.

To keep pace with Amazon and its cashier-less approach to store checkout, Walmart’s Sam’s Club is working on a technology-drive store concept.

After presenting information both with and without virtual reality researchers found that those using VR had better recall. The study, at the university of Maryland, involved 40 test subjects.

Walmart launched a small-format supermarket in China, a store that carries 8,000 items with a high-tech system that allows associates to precisely locate products and fulfil online orders, enabling home deliver in under 30 minutes.

Amazon is increasingly turning to automated technology to manage its massive supply chain. The online retail giant started automating retail team jobs several year ago, using mahcines to forecast demand.

Amazon is now shipping its $249 DeepLens camera for developers to build vision-centric machine learning models. Pre-orders for the product started in November.

In a challenge to Amazon, Microsoft is reportedly working on technology to eliminate cashiers and checkout lines at stores. The system would track what shoppers put in their carts.

Samsung is introducing a new venture fund to finance early stage artificial intelligence startups. The Q Fund is aimed at working exclusive with startups creating AI software and services.

Rather than working on a driverless vehicle to carry passengers, a company named Nuro is creating a vehicle to carry things. The vehicle is being tested in California.