ONE of the world’s biggest tech brands has given a significant update on the next generation of speedy mobile connectivity, 6G.
Many countries like the UK and US are still working to upgrade networks to 5G – and some companies haven’t finished taking out old 3G yet either.
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Nevertheless, people are wondering when 6G might land – and US tech giant Qualcomm has made an announcement that provides a hint of where we’re at.
The firm has been busy revealing big upgrades for its flagship Snapdragon chips, a brand millions will be familiar with as the front-of-shirt sponsor for Manchester United.
But amid all the developments was an update from the company’s CEO Cristiano Amon.
Speaking to attendees at the Snapdragon Summit 2025 in Maui, Hawaii – including The Sun – Mr Amon shared that Qualcomm has been “very busy” working on the next generation of connectivity.
He said the first devices that support 6G connectivity will be ready “as early as 2028”.
However, don’t get too excited just yet.
These smartphones will be “pre-commercial devices” meaning they won’t be available to buy for consumers.
Instead, these will be test handsets to show what 6G is capable of.
Still, it’s a significant update on where the mobile industry is at on the highly-anticipated next generation.
“The difference between 5G and 6G, besides increasing the speeds, increasing broadband, increasing the amount of data, it’s also a network that has intelligence to have perception and sensor data,” Amon explained.
“We’re going to have completely new use cases for this network of intelligence – connecting the edge and the cloud.
“We have been working on this for a while, and it’s sooner than you think.
“We are ready to have pre-commercial devices with 6G as early as 2028. We’re going to have context-aware intelligence at scale.”
