Qualcomm Develops Over 40 AI Devices and Predicts the End of the App Era

Qualcomm is changing strategy: the company is working on approximately 40 personal AI devices, and its head is convinced that AI agents will fundamentally change the very role of traditional software.

A World Without Familiar Applications

In an interview with CNBC, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon laid out a radical vision of the future of computing. According to him, AI agents can do more than just automate routine tasks — they can completely redefine the very concept of software. The familiar application that needs to be downloaded, installed, and manually opened risks becoming a relic of the past.

Amon believes that future users will formulate intentions in free form, and the agent will independently select the necessary tools, switch between services, and bring the task to completion. Individual applications in this picture become "access points" for agents, not standalone products requiring user attention. This means that the familiar logic of app development and monetization could be completely rewritten.

If an agent decides which service to use, competition will shift from the UX level to the level of agent compatibility and API quality.

About 40 Devices in Development

Qualcomm is not just talking about this direction. The company is developing approximately 40 personal devices based on local processing of AI tasks directly on the chip — without requiring mandatory cloud access. Among the proposed formats:

• Smartphones with enhanced neural network processors
• Laptops based on Snapdragon X Elite and next-generation processors
• AR and VR headsets with real-time scene processing
• Smart home devices with local voice AI
• Specialized corporate terminals

Local AI is not just a marketing claim. This is a technological bet on user privacy, response speed without network dependency, and the ability to work offline. For a chipmaker, this is a strategic shift: not just supplying computing power to OEM partners, but becoming part of the complete AI stack of a device.

Qualcomm vs. Cloud Giants

Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have long bet that the most powerful AI will live in their data centers, while the user device remains a "thin client." Qualcomm offers an alternative model: sufficiently powerful local inference right in the pocket or on the desktop.

"We are convinced that computing will be distributed between device and cloud — and our role on the device side becomes critically important," —

Cristiano Amon, CEO Qualcomm.

Behind this technological debate lies the question of who will control the user's AI interaction. If the agent lives on the device and processes data locally, it is precisely the chip manufacturer that finds itself at the center of the new ecosystem. Qualcomm clearly wants to occupy this position before competitors do.

What This Means

If Amon's prediction comes true even partially, developers will face a new question: not how to create a beautiful interface, but how to become visible and convenient for an AI agent. Qualcomm, in doing so, goes beyond its role as a chip manufacturer — the company is positioning itself as the architect of a new AI ecosystem on the user side.