Overview
- Qualcomm, which disclosed the plans on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, told CNBC it is working on over 40 distinct AI device designs that include smart glasses, smart jewelry, camera-equipped earbuds, pins, and watches.
- CEO Cristiano Amon framed AI "agents" as the next user interface that can carry out multi-step tasks across services so users no longer must open and navigate apps to get things done.
- Qualcomm said its entire chip roadmap is being upgraded to deliver more powerful and energy-efficient processors that can run on much smaller, always-on form factors without draining batteries or overheating.
- The announcement underscores growing competition from AI firms that are moving into hardware to control data-rich endpoints, a trend that the company says will produce exponentially more user data for model training and personalization.
- Execution risks include squeezing high compute into tiny devices, memory and supply constraints, chip and thermal limits, and uncertain consumer uptake of new form factors even as smart glasses are projected to scale from tens to potentially hundreds of millions of units.