Qualcomm and the AI Era: Towards a World Without Smartphones

Qualcomm and the Era of AI: Towards a World Without Smartphones

At Computex 2026, Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, presented a bold vision for the future of technology. According to him, AI agents will soon replace smartphones as the center of our digital lives. This transition will rely on 6G, a technology specifically designed for the era of artificial intelligence, promising always-on and ubiquitous connectivity.

Qualcomm predicts that this new generation of connectivity will transform every user into a true " walking camera," capable of detecting and identifying vehicles, pedestrians, and surrounding objects in real time. This evolution is based on a strategy of intelligent load distribution between terminals and the cloud, allowing for a 30 to 60% reduction in the number of tokens processed while maintaining optimal performance.

Furthermore, Qualcomm is venturing into the data center market with its Dragonfly platform, highlighting its competitive strategy.

The AI Agent: A Ubiquitous Assistant

Cristiano Amon described the AI agent as a permanent personal assistant, accessible through all connected devices. This agent will be capable of continuously processing data captured by these devices, thus becoming the nerve center of our digital lives. The phone, once central, will become just another terminal among many.

A Consensus at Computex 2026

Computex 2026 also saw other industry figures sharing this vision of the agentic AI. Among them, Jensen Huang from Nvidia, Rene Haas from ARM, and Charles Liang from Supermicro all addressed this theme as the new paradigm of computing.

• Nvidia emphasized its integrated infrastructures as essential for this transition.
• ARM highlighted the importance of the central processor to orchestrate always-active agents.
• Supermicro boasted about the speed of its installations, with a gigawatt data center built in just three months.