Observed Signal · Jun 16, 2026 · Product Development · Source: CNBC Technology · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Qualcomm: AI Agents to Replace Apps; 40+ AI Devices
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told CNBC the company is working on more than 40 designs for new AI-powered devices — including jewelry, earbuds with cameras, pins and watches — as it prepares for a wave of AI "agents" that he says will become the "new app." Amon argued agents will change how consumers interact with devices and could shift the centre of digital life away from smartphones toward always‑with‑you endpoints like smart glasses. He said Qualcomm is upgrading its chip roadmap for smaller, more energy‑efficient devices and noted these new endpoints will generate exponentially larger data for training models. Amon also said smart glasses shipments could scale from multiple tens of millions today to potentially hundreds of millions within a few years. Published 2026-06-16.
Qualcomm is a major chip supplier; new AI-centric device form factors and agent-driven interfaces could create new endpoints and data flows that affect device ecosystems, ad inventory and targeting, and the hardware requirements for AI inference at the edge.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Qualcomm is working on over 40 designs of new AI-powered devices, Cristiano Amon said.
- Qualcomm-listed device form factors include jewelry, earbuds with cameras, pins, and watches.
- Cristiano Amon said AI "agents" will become the "new app," changing how users interact with services.
- Amon predicts smart glasses shipments could grow from multiple tens of millions to potentially hundreds of millions in a few years.
- Qualcomm is upgrading its chip roadmap to build more powerful, energy-efficient chips for smaller device form factors.
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Qualcomm CEO on AI Agents and New AI Gadgets
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told CNBC’s The Tech Download podcast that a new class of AI agents — software assistants that coordinate across apps and services — will change how users interact with devices, saying “agents are going to be the new app.” Amon said Qualcomm is developing more than 40 different AI-powered device designs, including jewelry, camera-enabled earbuds, pins and watches, and he is especially bullish on smart glasses becoming as significant as smartphones. He framed these devices as wearables that provide contextual sensing for agents, and noted that privacy vs. functionality trade-offs will be central to their adoption.
OpenAI reportedly building an AI‑agent smartphone
OpenAI is reportedly developing its own smartphone built around AI agents that perform tasks (writing messages, managing email, bookings, research) instead of relying on traditional apps. Analyst Ming‑Chi Kuo reported that Qualcomm and Mediatek would co‑design a custom processor and that Luxshare would handle manufacturing. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon has promoted a similar vision where agents become the primary interaction layer. Kuo suggested the device could redefine smartphones and forecasted potential annual shipments of 300–400 million units. 9to5Google reported the device might be completed late 2026 or early 2027, with mass production targeted for 2028. Qualcomm’s share price rose ~13% after the report.
Qualcomm unveils AI wearable platforms Snapdragon Reality Elite and START
Qualcomm announced two new offerings aimed at powering the next generation of AI wearables: Snapdragon Reality Elite, a mixed-reality platform optimized for on-device AI inference for glasses, and the Scalable Turnkey AI-Ready Toolkit (START), a hardware-and-software white-label toolkit for AI devices starting with smart glasses. CEO Cristiano Amon said Qualcomm is working on more than 40 AI wearable designs. Qualcomm claims Snapdragon Reality Elite improves GPU (up to 60%), CPU (up to 30%) and NPU (up to 160%) performance versus its prior XR platform, can run a 3-billion-parameter language model at ~45 tokens/sec, and supports 4.4K per-eye at 90 fps. START offers reference designs (audio+camera, monocular, binocular) and initial white-label partners include Inspecs and O’Neill (TitanFlex). Early devices using the platform include XREAL Project Aura and an upcoming Play for Dream device.
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