Qualcomm: First pre-commercial 6G devices coming in 2028 at the earliest

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon used the keynote speech at the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii, to provide an insight into the current status of 6G development. The first 6G products are in the works, but it will be some time before they reach end customers. Amon also explained what the next mobile communications standard could be used for.

Interconnectivity

According to Amon, Qualcomm's plans envisage that 6G-capable “pre-commercial devices” can be expected from 2028. As the name suggests, these products are not yet intended for commercial use in market-ready devices.

According to Amon, 6G will fundamentally change the way devices are networked with each other. The Qualcomm CEO said that 6G will be “designed as a connection between the cloud and edge devices.” According to the company's vision, personal AI agents will take over a significant proportion of tasks, such as sending emails, making reservations, and performing administrative tasks. According to Amon, smartphones, laptops, cars, smart glasses, headphones, and other devices will have a direct communication link to these AI agents—made possible by 6G connectivity.

6G standard not ready before 2030

Even though Amon is talking about the first 6G products for 2028, the upcoming mobile communications standard will not be finalized before 2030. Qualcomm is also aware of this. The company plays an important role in the process of mobile communications standardization, which is taking place within the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). This is a global cooperation of standardization committees for standardization in mobile communications.

At the beginning of this year, 3GPP laid the foundation for the future 6G standard with Release 20, which should be operational by the beginning of 2027. Release 21, meanwhile, is to contain the first 6G standards, but there is currently no public timetable for this. With theoretically achievable data rates of up to 200 GBit/s, 6G is expected to boost applications in the fields of artificial intelligence, digital healthcare, and the Internet of Things and enable sustainable connectivity.

In addition to Qualcomm, many other companies are involved in the development of the 6G standard: chip developers such as MediaTek and Broadcom are also on board, as are tech companies such as Apple and Samsung, as well as telecoms companies and network equipment suppliers.

(afl)