AI Agents Will Replace Apps, Says Qualcomm CEO as Company Builds 40+ AI Devices | Future of Smartphones Explained

Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon has made a bold prediction about the future of technology, saying that AI agents will soon replace traditional mobile apps as the main way people interact with their devices. Speaking on CNBC’s The Tech Download podcast, he revealed that the company is already working on more than 40 different AI-powered device designs, signaling a major shift in consumer electronics.

According to Amon, these next-generation devices won’t look like the smartphones we use today. Instead, Qualcomm is experimenting with a wide range of wearable tech such as smart glasses, earbuds equipped with cameras, smart pins, and even AI-powered jewellery. He described them as always-on devices that “see the world around you” and help users interact naturally with AI assistants in real time.

At the center of this transformation are what Amon calls “AI agents”—advanced digital assistants designed to go far beyond today’s tools like Siri or Google Gemini. These agents could handle complex tasks such as managing banking information or booking services without users needing to manually navigate apps. In his view, apps are not disappearing completely, but their role will dramatically change as AI becomes the main interface.

Amon also believes smartphones will no longer be the central hub of digital life. Instead, AI agents will become the “new center of gravity,” powering a variety of devices that surround users in everyday life. He added that smart glasses, in particular, could become a mass-market product, potentially reaching hundreds of millions of shipments annually and even rivaling smartphones in scale.

The Qualcomm CEO also noted that this shift is attracting major tech players, including AI companies entering hardware for the first time. He warned that future AI devices will generate massive amounts of data, which will be critical for training next-generation models. To prepare for this future, Qualcomm is overhauling its entire chip roadmap to build more powerful and energy-efficient processors capable of powering a new wave of AI-driven gadgets.

source: cnbc