Qualcomm’s Vision for 6G and Transformation of the User Experience

Qualcomm is synonymous with the advancement of each mobile technology generation and leads in research and development for wireless technologies. It’s also central to the 6G standards-setting process through its technical contributions to 3GPP, as it has done for 3G, 4G and 5G.

We were therefore delighted to welcome two of Qualcomm’s engineering leaders to our Predictions for 2026 & Beyond event. Dr John Smee, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Head of Wireless Research, and Dr Hemanth Sampath, Vice President of Engineering for 5G/6G, XR and AI, are both at the forefront of the advancement of 5G and the development of what comes next with 6G.

In two separate interviews we explored both topics in detail. John and I took a step back to discuss the progress made with 5G, lessons learned and what this means as we hurtle toward the next big “G”. The role of AI and its influence on 6G was a central theme set against the changes we’ve witnessed over the past few years.

Today we take for granted video calls we make on the move, and syncing large volumes of data from the cloud. Our collective use of the network has evolved and data consumption has exploded, thanks to the capacity and efficiency of 5G. The road hasn’t necessarily been smooth, and John talked about some of the lessons learned since 5G launched in 2019.

A standout point was how 6G will avoid the small, incremental changes to the standard we’ve become used to in each 3GPP release. By taking a more complete and fully packaged approach to the development of standards, the market has a clearer opportunity to drive innovation and scale. You can hear more in his full interview below.

This conversation set the scene for my interview with Hemanth, who focused more on what 6G could mean for applications, changes to the user experience and the central role of AI. Prominent within this discussion was a future transition from the app-driven interactions that typify how we use smartphones today.

Hemanth outlined the vision of AI agents working on behalf of users to gather and deliver information from multiple sources. This shift will open the door to different ways of interacting with voice assistants and create a bigger opportunity for companion devices such as smart glasses to play a larger role alongside the smartphone. This will, of course, demand a significant increase in bandwidth and drive further growth in data traffic, which is where 6G will be critical.

In the spirit of Predictions, Hemanth wasn’t afraid to put a stake in the ground on when we’ll see 6G in devices such as glasses — watch the video below to hear his take.

A big thank you to Qualcomm for providing such a fascinating view of the path to 6G and what changes to the user experience this will deliver. I strongly recommend watching these and other videos from our Predictions event to learn more.