Self-driving car collaborations are becoming increasingly commonplace. The latest team-up comes from Ford and Walmart -- two older-world companies using autonomous tech to combat nascent startup rivals and remain relevant in an ever-changing landscape. The eventual goal is to bring Walmart shopping items to customers in a self-driving Ford with the help of Postmates' delivery infrastructure. Initially, however, the venture will rely on human-driven cars designed to simulate how a self-driving vehicle would operate. Ford has already started testing its autonomous cars in Miami and Washington DC, with plans for commercial production by 2021.

Ford Motor Co, Walmart Inc and delivery service Postmates Inc will collaborate to design a service for delivering groceries and other goods to Walmart customers that could someday use autonomous vehicles, the companies said on Wednesday. The project is the latest to grow out of Ford s broader effort to develop businesses that could use automated delivery vehicles. Ford was working with San Francisco-based Postmates already to develop delivery services that could employ automated vehicles. The Walmart pilot, which will take place in the Miami area, initially will use human-driven vehicles operated to simulate how a self-driving vehicle would behave, Ford said. Ford Motor Co, Walmart Inc and delivery service Postmates Inc will collaborate to design a service for delivering groceries and other goods to Walmart customers that could someday use autonomous vehicles, the companies said on Wednesday.

Amazon will soon sell Apple products internationally for the first time on its platform, meaning customers could get products faster. Macbooks, iPads and iPhones will become available from the online retailer in the UK as well as other countries in Europe, the US and Japan by Christmas. Coupled with Amazon Prime membership, customers of the site could soon enjoy next day delivery on these products. Amazon already sells Apple devices using third party merchants but pricing, return policies and customer service vary from vendor to vendor. Existing listings will be removed from Amazon and firms affected will need to apply to Apple to become authorised sellers if they want to continue stocking its hardware.

The widely predicted adoption of virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) in the consumer experience may have yet to be fully realized, but all retailers must look to the future in order to stay competitive. You need only look to the demise of market giants like Toys R Us or The Limited to remember what happens when you don't. These days, innovation comes in many forms. Experimentation with voice-commerce through smart home assistants Alexa, Google Home, and Siri has been one notable area, as have fully automated stores like Amazon Go. Who is really leading the charge in organic innovation?

There are plenty of technology gifts that can make someone's domestic life easier, but where to start? For this year's holiday gift guide we've chosen eight devices that can help out in both the kitchen and the home at large. Smart speakers are hot options this year, whether it's an Echo Dot to check the weather or a Smart Display to get directions. And it's a good time to be an aspiring chef -- you can cook sous vide with a Precision Cooker Nano or hop on a culinary trend with the Instant Pot Ultra 6-Quart. Throw in home robots and smart lights and you're bound to find something that can improve your lucky recipient's household, even if they think they have everything.

Relax while these deals help you during the holidays. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA Today's newsroom and any business incentives. We've already been on the hunt for tons of early Black Friday deals you can get right now from Amazon, Target, L.L.Bean, eBay, and so many other retailers, which is already getting us pumped for the big shopping weekend. This is probably the best time to save on the things you'll need for the holidays, gifts, and maybe something special for yourself.

CB Insights suggests that these new cashierless store models reduce the likelihood of stealing--they're loaded with cameras and automatically charge customers. Plus, the Go stores, which are a fraction of the size of a traditional supermarket at about 1,800 to 3,000 square feet, are currently restricted to Prime members only. To be sure, it's not at all clear that this "grab-and-go" technology will be adopted on a mass scale--at least not anytime soon.

A natural showman, Mr. Ma is usually an outsize presence at the gala--but not this year. In September, he said he plans to retire next year as executive chairman and hand the reins to Chief Executive Daniel Zhang. Mr. Ma was present at the event, but didn't take his usual star turn on stage. Instead, he appeared in a prerecorded video that showed him competing against Alibaba employees at tasks including delivering meals, taping packages and tieing up crabs. An Alibaba representative said the founder's participation in the annual gala is "different every year."

Walmart has a vision for its store of the future. Sure, it includes the kinds of things you'd expect -- clean floors, well-stocked aisles, and plenty of shopping carts at the entrance -- but the remarkable part of this vision is how the retail giant plans to monitor all of those things: using an omnipresent artificial intelligence. In 2017, Walmart launched Kepler, a team focused on reimagining the shopping experience using the latest tech innovations. A small Walmart in Levittown, New York serves as the team's testing laboratory. According to TechCrunch, Kepler's next project will be the creation of a Intelligent Retail Lab right inside the Levittown location.

Who says the holiday season doesn't bring people--or, in this case, two near-trillion dollar companies--together? With just two weeks to go until Black Friday, Apple and Amazon appeared to have put their differences behind them with latest iPhones, iPads, Macs and other Apple gear officially beginning to arrive at the online retail giant's virtual shelves. The products, which also includes the Apple Watch and Apple accessories, will be sold and shipped by Amazon directly. The Apple gear will begin arrive to Amazon over the coming weeks and will include the latest iPhone XR and XS phones and recently released MacBook Air and iPad Pros. More: Review: Apple gives MacBook Air (most) of the love it's been lacking The HomePod, Apple's voice-controlled Siri speaker rival to Amazon's Alexa and Echo, will not be among the products soon to be available at the online retailer.