{"id":613,"date":"2026-06-16T12:05:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/?p=613"},"modified":"2026-06-16T12:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:05:31","slug":"qualcomm-ceo-says-ai-agents-will-replace-apps-and-hes-building-40-devices-to-prove-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/qualcomm-ceo-says-ai-agents-will-replace-apps-and-hes-building-40-devices-to-prove-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualcomm CEO Says AI Agents Will Replace Apps \u2013 And He&#8217;s Building 40 Devices to Prove It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cristiano Amon just dropped a statement that changes everything we know about our phones. And unlike most tech CEOs who just talk, he&#8217;s actually building the hardware to back it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-base-background-color has-background\">\n<li>Your phone is about to become less important than the AI that lives on it<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Qualcomm is quietly building over 40 new gadgets you&#8217;ll wear instead of hold<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Smart glasses are finally happening \u2013 and they&#8217;re coming faster than you think<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whoever controls your AI agent controls your data. That&#8217;s the real battle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There&#8217;s a chip shortage so bad even Qualcomm can&#8217;t get enough memory<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before we get into what he said, let me tell you who this guy is. Amon isn&#8217;t some outsider who parachuted into the CEO seat. He started at Qualcomm in 1995 as an engineer \u2013 a fresh graduate from Brazil with an electrical engineering degree. Nearly three decades later, he took over as CEO in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He&#8217;s built Snapdragon platforms, led the company&#8217;s 5G strategy, and expanded the business into cars, VR, and industrial tech. When this man talks about where technology is heading, he&#8217;s speaking from experience, not a PR script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, let&#8217;s talk about what he actually said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The interview was supposed to be just another executive chat. But within minutes, Amon casually dropped something that made me rewind and listen again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He wasn&#8217;t talking about intelligent technology as some fancy add-on. He wasn&#8217;t pitching the next incremental upgrade. He flat out told CNBC that the thing we all carry in our pockets \u2013 the little black rectangle that runs our entire lives \u2013 is about to take a massive backseat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Those agents are going to be the new app,&#8221; Amon said. Apps are &#8220;not dead,&#8221; he added, &#8220;but apps are going to change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Translation? You won&#8217;t open Uber to book a ride. You&#8217;ll just tell your agent you need to go somewhere. You won&#8217;t scroll through Amazon to find a gift. You&#8217;ll just ask. And your agent will handle the rest. Instead of opening your banking app and hunting through menus, the assistant will just show you your balance instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The phone sticks around. But it&#8217;s not the star anymore. It&#8217;s just the sidekick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">40 Gadgets That Prove This Is Really Happening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ve heard plenty of big talk from Silicon Valley executives. But here&#8217;s what got me: Amon backed it up with real numbers. Qualcomm is currently working on over 40 different intelligent-powered devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not just phones. Not just watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&#8217;re talking smart jewelry. Camera-equipped earbuds. Pins you clip to your shirt. Pendants you wear around your neck. All of them designed to do one thing \u2013 keep your intelligent agent constantly connected to you, constantly watching, constantly ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Right now, we have over 40 designs of those devices, and I&#8217;m telling you, the types of form factors are very, very broad,&#8221; Amon said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The principle behind all of them is the same: something you wear that&#8217;s always with you, can see the world around you, and gives you constant access to your agent. You won&#8217;t need to pull out your phone to check something. Your glasses will show it to you. Your watch will tell you. Your earbuds will whisper it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agent becomes the interface. Everything else just becomes hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Smart Glasses Might Actually Work This Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember Google Glass? Total flop. Everyone looked ridiculous wearing them. Nobody wanted to be that guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amon thinks this time is different. And honestly? He might be right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/06\/16\/qualcomm-ceo-ai-devices-agents.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNBC<\/a> that smart glasses shipments are already in the &#8220;multiple tens of millions&#8221; per year. Within &#8220;a couple of years,&#8221; he expects that to hit &#8220;hundreds of millions&#8221; \u2013 putting them on par with the roughly 1.2 billion smartphones shipped annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s everyone wearing a computer on their face without thinking twice about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it&#8217;s not just Google or Meta chasing this anymore. Samsung&#8217;s jumping in too, with Google announcing upcoming models in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm. Everyone wants a piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Real Reason Companies Are Suddenly Obsessed With Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s what nobody&#8217;s really talking about. All these companies \u2013 OpenAI, Google, Meta, Qualcomm \u2013 they&#8217;re not building wearables because they think glasses look cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They&#8217;re doing it for the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The video and audio these devices capture is &#8220;exponentially larger&#8221; than what trains today&#8217;s intelligent models. Whoever owns the device that talks to your agent essentially owns the pipeline to your entire life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OpenAI spent billions buying Jony Ive&#8217;s hardware startup last year. That&#8217;s not because they wanted to make pretty gadgets. It&#8217;s because they know the future belongs to whoever controls the endpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Companies understand they have to &#8220;win those endpoints from agents,&#8221; Amon said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Apple Problem Nobody Wants to Admit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s where it gets uncomfortable for one particular company in Cupertino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apple&#8217;s whole business is built on owning the phone. Everything revolves around that shiny rectangle. When the phone is the center, Apple wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when the agent becomes the center? When you interact with the device differently? When hardware becomes just hardware? The market opens up. Suddenly anyone can compete. It becomes what Amon calls a &#8220;horizontal&#8221; free-for-all. And that&#8217;s bad news for Apple&#8217;s walled garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Supply Chain Nightmare That Could Ruin Everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s one problem Amon was brutally honest about. And it&#8217;s a big one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;You know, if you have some memory, I&#8217;ll buy it from you,&#8221; he joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The memory shortage is so bad right now that even Qualcomm can&#8217;t get enough chips. Capacity might not catch up until the second half of 2027. Some analysts say 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This explains why Qualcomm is reportedly in talks to buy chip startup Tenstorrent for billions. Amon needs more silicon. He needs it now. And he&#8217;s willing to pay whatever it takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Keeps Me Up at Night<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look, I want to believe this vision. I really do. A world where I don&#8217;t have to tap through five different apps to book a flight sounds amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But hardware transitions take forever. Consumer habits are stubborn. And that memory shortage isn&#8217;t going anywhere fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, Amon&#8217;s track record speaks for itself. He called 2026 &#8220;the year of agents.&#8221; We&#8217;re halfway through. And if these 40 devices actually ship on time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We are in a period of profound industry transformation,&#8221; Amon said. &#8220;The rise of intelligent agents is reshaping our roadmap across every platform we develop.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question isn&#8217;t whether this happens. It&#8217;s whether Qualcomm can actually pull it off before someone else does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cristiano Amon just dropped a statement that changes everything we know about our phones. And unlike most tech CEOs who just talk, he&#8217;s actually building the hardware to back it &#8230; <a title=\"Qualcomm CEO Says AI Agents Will Replace Apps \u2013 And He&#8217;s Building 40 Devices to Prove It\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/qualcomm-ceo-says-ai-agents-will-replace-apps-and-hes-building-40-devices-to-prove-it\/\" aria-label=\"More on Qualcomm CEO Says AI Agents Will Replace Apps \u2013 And He&#8217;s Building 40 Devices to Prove It\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Qualcomm-CEO-Says-AI-Agents-Will-Replace-Apps.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pg4bLz-9T","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions\/615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aiseotoolshub.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}