How AI on the edge fuels the 7 biggest consumer tech trends of 2025
Over the last two years, generative AI (GenAI) has shaken up, well, everything. Heading into 2025, that will only accelerate. We will see more tangible benefits from AI as the technology progresses and the experiences that we already partake in increasingly become AI first. But the real shift will be when we start to consistently rely on AI agents to get everything done.
We’re in the early innings, but one of the benefits of working at Qualcomm Technologies is that I get to work with some of the smartest people in technology and hear what they think about what is coming. Here’s what a few of them are saying about what to expect in 2025.
1. AI models will continue getting smaller and more effective
We're already starting to see this happen. When ChatGPT first blew up, its model operated with 175 billion parameters. This year, models like Llama 3.2 employ just 11 billion parameters, but offer more accurate results.
“The model sizes will continuously decrease, while the quality will improve,” says Durga Malladi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Technology Planning and Edge Solutions at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
“Why does that matter? Because you can run all these models on devices that you and I have in our pockets today. That's a pretty important trend.”
2. AI will become more personal and more cost effective
Having more of these AI models run on devices means smarter agents that can utilize data and personal information stored on the device of consumers and businesses, which means more private and personal experiences.
Another major benefit to on-device AI is that it reduces the financial burden on consumers and companies who otherwise must pay for the data to be ferried back and forth from the cloud. For example, Artificial Analysis estimates the cost of cloud inferencing on OpenAI to be $4.38 per 1 million tokens versus running for free on device.1
"AI will evolve to become smarter, more cost-effective and deeply personal in 2025,” Malladi said. “From empowering phones to act as true digital personal assistants leveraging the computing power that is already in the palm of your hand, to businesses adopting hybrid cloud and on-device AI solutions to rein in cloud costs, this year marks a pivotal shift in how AI integrates seamlessly into our lives and transforms both individual and enterprise experiences."
3. AI will be standard across all mobile device tiers
While AI capabilities have largely been a feature reserved for premium users, they’re poised to hit mass market as more phones embrace the promise of AI technology.
"2025 will be a pivotal year for mobile technology, where AI evolves from an advanced feature in premium devices to an essential standard across all mobile tiers,” said Chris Patrick, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Handset at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
“Fueled by economic recovery, this shift will meet escalating consumer expectations and transform the mobile landscape. This widespread integration will not only elevate user experiences but will also play a crucial role in expanding AI's reach, making it an indispensable part of daily life."
4. PCs with AI capabilities will be more affordable
2024 was a breakthrough year for AI-powered PCs due to the introduction of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs, which were powered by our very own Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors. While the early benefits of these laptops are long-lasting battery and powerful performance, over the long term, AI experiences will become the driving force for consumers and businesses to start upgrading.
“In 2025, we will see more of our OEM and ODM partners quickly scale these AI capabilities to multiple price points with the identical user experience because we use the same NPU (neural processing unit) core across all of these tiers,” said Alex Katouzian, Group General Manager of Mobile, Compute and XR at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Research firm Canalys agrees with this prediction and by 2025, more than 100 million PCs (or 40% of all new devices shipped) will be AI-capable,2 marking a turning point as AI goes mainstream. We already have more than 100 design wins with our partners, which means you’ll be seeing a lot more AI PCs powered by Snapdragon — both on the high and low end of the price spectrum — in the coming months.
5. Agentic AI is hitting the road
The automotive industry is evolving from advanced cockpit features to more intelligent, immersive experiences that tap into the sensors, cameras and increasingly powerful processors in the vehicle. Combine those tools with the user information shared securely within the vehicle, and you have an AI agent that will be able to deliver highly personalized and timely guidance on the road.
“The convergence of automated driving and in-cabin experiences will drive another cycle of innovation powered by GenAI,” Nakul Duggal, Group General Manager of Automotive, Industrial & Embedded IoT, and Cloud Computing at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., said during Qualcomm’s Investor Day keynote last month.
6. Smart glasses will be a hot item in 2025
Oprah thinks it and I am aligned with her. As the proud owner of a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, bringing GenAI to smart glasses changes how you’ll interact with the world and makes smart glasses worth buying. "Smart glasses, combined with AI, can change how we interact with technology by delivering personalized AI experiences,” said Ziad Asghar, Senior Vice President and General Manager, XR, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
“They provide an immersive and hands-free experience, allowing AI to see what we see and give consumers the powers that no other device can. The integration of AI enables smart glasses to perform tasks like translating languages, making purchases and offering personalized recommendations, thus enhancing everyday life."
7. AI will be in your workflow
“More people and companies have started testing different AI tools. Looking ahead, we see the interface for how we interact with these tools evolving so they’re even more deeply ingrained in workflows,” says Don McGuire, CMO of Qualcomm Incorporated.
“As AI runs at the edge, it will evolve and become more fluid, anticipatory of needs, and multimodal, rather than needing to be prompted with a query, making workflows even more seamless. At Qualcomm, we are eating our own dog food in this department — specifically in Marketing, we are on PCs that have CoPilot+ and have GenAI tools like Writer to help us with content development.”
And to close out, our fearless leader, Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, has a prediction that is a little further out. He notes that, “Five years from now, most of the applications are going to be AI-first experiences. The question is, between now and five years, how fast does it happen? Five years for sure, but if I have to bet, I think in two years we're going to see a difference.”
