With how mature smartphones are these days, many people wonder what is the next big thing in computing. Will there be something new that will replace smartphones? Maybe replace laptops? Well, according to Qualcomm’s CEO, that’s not happening. The smartphone isn’t going anywhere.
Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon said, “we are moving from a smartphone-centric environment, when you look at our phones today, and we have been on this journey with you for many years, a lot of the devices we wear are extending the capabilities of the phone.” Amon is referring to other devices like earbuds, smart glasses, smartwatches, and more. He says that this is now changing as the UI of your computing device is turning into AI and is able to understand human intention.
“Now the center of the whole experience is the AI agent, and that changes how we think about all the devices that we have,” says Amon. This is because these devices are no longer simply extending the capabilities of the phone, but interacting directly with the agent.
What is going to replace the smartphone?
Amon says that the phone isn’t going anywhere. Just like when smartphones appeared, laptops didn’t go anywhere. “Humans already decided what they’re going to wear, glasses, earbuds, rings, watches, that’s what humans are going to wear. However, those devices are transforming and will be part of how we transform the experience with the agent at the center.”
With Agents, this technology is going to get even more personal, and make it the most personal technology ever. Amon also mentioned that this is “where horizontal platforms are better than vertical platforms. You’re going to choose what glasses you want, what jewelry you want, those are things decided a long time ago, so this is an exciting time for technology.”
Obviously, going Agent centric means that the apps are changing too, and the apps are going to be agentic. So the UI will be able to understand your intention. “You’re going to continue to use the apps you want to use, but the apps are going to evolve and anticipate your needs, be able to do things for you. And that’s what an agentic experience is going to be.” Amon believes that this will come so naturally to you.
So while other technology is on the horizon, like smart glasses and Android XR, smartphones are here to stay. Qualcomm’s CEO did also demo these agents that he’s been talking about, later on in the keynote. Which you can see that demo below.
