Qualcomm is drawing a sharp line between AI hype and actual usage. Even with artificial intelligence now appearing across phones, PCs, search tools, productivity apps, and wearables, the company says the technology is still far from fully mainstream.
That view was voiced by Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of Compute & Gaming, during a keynote at Computex 2026. He pointed to a gap that is easy to miss in the current wave of launches and investments: AI may feel omnipresent, but only about 1.1 billion people are using AI tools today.
A large market, but still early
By Qualcomm’s estimate, that user base equals only around 13% of the world’s population. The number suggests that despite the constant visibility of AI products and features, the technology is still in an early stage of growth rather than a mature consumer habit.
That perspective matters because AI has become one of the most dominant themes in the tech industry. Generative features now show up in smartphones, personal computers, search services, productivity software, and even wearable devices, creating the impression that AI has already reached mass adoption.
Qualcomm’s message is that visibility should not be confused with saturation. If the majority of the global population has not yet adopted AI tools, the available room for expansion remains enormous.
Usage is growing, but unevenly
The company also highlighted the scale of activity happening behind the scenes. Around 50 trillion tokens are generated every day, and most of that volume reportedly comes from everyday users rather than only heavy enterprise workloads.
Qualcomm says an average user consumes about 5,000 tokens per day. For more intensive users, that figure can rise to 25,000 tokens a day, a sign that AI is starting to become part of regular digital routines for some people.
Even so, those numbers sit alongside a much larger story about the gap between attention and adoption. AI is drawing huge interest across the industry, but the installed base of real users is still relatively small compared with the total global population.
Billions in spending, but adoption still lags
Kondap also stressed how much money is flowing into the sector. Global AI spending has reportedly reached $1.5 trillion, yet that scale of investment has not been matched by equally broad consumer usage.
That contrast is one of Qualcomm’s key points. AI may dominate headlines, product announcements, and corporate strategy, but in terms of actual users, the market is still in an early phase.
For Qualcomm, that makes the current moment less like a finish line and more like the start of a longer buildout. The company sees strong momentum in innovation, but not a market that has already reached saturation.
The next stage is more connected AI
Qualcomm is already looking beyond basic AI features toward what it sees as the next phase: agentic AI. The company’s focus is on systems that can move smoothly across devices and carry context with them.
In that model, AI is not limited to one app or one screen. A task could begin on a phone, continue on a PC, and stay connected to calendars, wearables, and other linked devices without forcing the user to start over.
That shift changes AI from a reactive tool into something more active. Instead of only answering prompts, an AI agent could retain context and continue work across devices with less manual repetition from the user.
Qualcomm imagines that kind of system handling practical tasks, including scheduling based on information pulled from multiple sources. The goal is not just synchronization, but a more continuous and useful experience across an entire device ecosystem.
Why the device experience matters now
This direction suggests that the next phase of AI competition will not be defined only by larger models. The more important battleground is increasingly about how well AI follows the user across different products and daily tasks.
For PC and mobile markets, that means the value of AI will depend less on standalone chatbots or image tools and more on whether the technology can travel seamlessly between devices. If that happens, AI would feel less like a separate app and more like a constant layer of computing.
For Galaxy users, the idea may sound familiar, since Samsung is also pushing connected AI experiences through Galaxy AI. Phones, tablets, and wearables are being positioned to work more intelligently as part of one ecosystem.
Qualcomm’s view is that the industry has not yet fully reached that stage, but the direction is clear. The real test for AI is moving from widespread visibility to deeper, more connected use across devices.
Source: sammyguru.com
