Agentic AI Will Reshape Smart Technology, Says Qualcomm CEO
In a keynote speech for the 2026 Computex trade show in Taipei, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said automated systems that harness AI models to automate complex tasks without human supervision, will fundamentally change humanity’s relationship with technology.
He added that the rise of agentic AI will transform how people interact with phones, PCs, vehicles and wearable devices.
Describing the technology as the next major evolution in computing, Cristiano said that “2026 is the year of agents”.
“The phone, today, is at the centre of your digital life and therefore everything is around the phone,” he said.
Additionally, he claimed that AI could eventually take the place of traditional computer hardware like phones and wearables, which would simply become an extension of the agent.
Flexibility across devices and digital ecosystems
Cristiano outlined his theory that despite smartphones acting as a hub for digital ecosystems – with applications, operating systems and connected devices built around them – it could soon be replace by agentic AI.
“The digital ecosystem is no longer at the phone itself,” he added.
He went on to discuss how AI agents are becoming the centrepoint of how users interact with devices and services, adding that hardware would simply be a way of connecting users to AI agents, rather than serving as a gateway to digital experiences.
Unlike modern apps and services, which are often tied to specific operating systems, AI agents will soon be able to move across multiple devices and ecosystems, Cristiano said.
He suggested that devices would eventually need to be redesigned and would effectively have "two personalities" — one controlled by the user and another operated by AI agents working in the background.
“The agent isn't tied to the device, it actually moves with the user. It’s there with the user, regardless of the device that you have,” Cristiano explained.
“Once you understand that change, you understand how the whole mobile industry is going to change.”
He also discussed how the introduction of 6G networks will likely enhance and accelerate the abilities of this technology.
“If you have smart glasses, they see what you see, so the connectivity needs to enable a very fast uplink,” he said. “6G is going to make all of us into walking cameras in this world.”
Agentic AI on an industrial scale
Ambitious and innovative developments like these are likely to require new kinds of software and hardware, which according to Cristiano, Qualcomm is already well-positioned to build.
“It plans, it executes, you verify, will keep interacting with it until the task is done, and that by definition changes the hardware,” Cristiano said.
“If it is challenging to make your phone last all day with you operating it, what happens when you and the agent are operating it?
He went on to say that AI workloads would be distributed across devices and cloud infrastructure, with software automatically determining where tasks can be performed most efficiently.
An approach like this could reduce costs and also lower the number of AI-generated tokens required to complete tasks.
The same AI-driven transformation is expected to extend beyond personal devices to vehicles, robots and industrial systems, Cristiano added.
“Agents are not coming in the future. They’re already here," he said. “This upgrade cycle can be one of the largest that the industry has seen.”
