Qualcomm sees the smartphone evolving into an AI orchestrator as multi-device experiences become the norm
New generations of cellular typically come to market with a killer use case — mobile data with 3G, mobile video with 4G, fixed wireless access with 5G. But as 6G takes shape and AI permeates both the network and the devices consumers use every day, it’s less about a single killer app and more about a new class of multi-device and always-on AI experiences.
During Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm’s Vice President of Engineering Hemanth Sampath described mobile consumer experiences as undergoing a transformation “from episodic, app-based user interaction[s] to a much more always-available, always-on ambient AI that’s continuously perceiving your environment — the user context.”
The broader vision for 6G is a convergence of connectivity, compute and sensing with AI sitting at the center. In that case, connectivity will be as foundational as it is currently; compute becomes distributed across cloud, edge and on-device with resources based on the needs of an app and real-time network conditions at a point in time. In addition,integrated sensing of the physical world will open up new classes of use cases..
But Sampath’s reference to user context is key. Given the proliferation of devices beyond the smartphone — smart glasses and wearables primarily — these devices serve as the ultimate proxy for the user and as a rich source of contextual data that can be leveraged by ambient AI to adapt protocol behavior, quality of service and link operation.
“There’s going to be a lot more multi-device experiences,” Sampath explained. “6G is going to address changing consumer experience to an always-available, always-on AI experience through these multiple devices.”
The move to seamless, multi-device experiences also comes as AI is changing the actual user interface of devices. Whereas we’d typically look at an app and input commands by typing, natural language interfaces, physical movements and video inputs from wearable cameras are becoming mainstream. In this dynamic space, Sampath discussed the changing role of the smartphone.
He described a consumer wearing glasses and earbuds, and carrying a smartphone. “In the 6G era, the smartphone will become the AI orchestrator” coordinating capabilities across those devices. “At the same time, we will also likely see native AI and AR glasses with cellular integration. That’s going to allow for a much more seamless experience as well.”
Qualcomm’s larger narrative here is around developing personal AI experiences grounded in the “ecosystem of you.” At MWC, the company showcased how its Snapdragon Wear Elite platform for a range of wearables now features the Hexagon NPU which can locally support up to a 2 billion-parameter AI model “enabling fluid, low-latency interactions.”
In the context of 6G, one certainty is that this emerging multi-device paradigm will require not just more capacity but more uplink capacity. Sampath said relatively simple “see what I see” video streaming applications or continual use of an AI-based assistant consumes more data in hours than an average user consumes in a month. This, clearly, points to the need for 6G with more spectrum, more capacity and better uplink performance “to scale such rich experiences.”
This also aligns with commentary provided by CEO Cristiano Amon during an MWC keynote. “If you actually believe in the AI revolution, 6G will be required,” he said. Standards body 3GPP is currently working through the first phase of 6G standardization with pre-commercial devices expected in 2028, followed by early network deployments in 2029.
