AFDM: Evolving OFDM Toward 6G+

As sixth generation (6G) standardization accelerates, there is growing consensus in favor of evolutionary waveforms that add new capabilities while preserving compatibility with the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) core of 4G and 5G. This article positions affine frequency division multiplexing (AFDM) as such a candidate, providing structural robustness for high-mobility communications and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) over doubly dispersive channels while remaining backward-compatible with the legacy OFDM air interface. We first develop a generalized fractional-delay-fractional-Doppler (FDFD) channel model that accounts for practical pulse-shaping filters and the resulting inter-sample coupling. Building on this model, we show that the AFDM transceiver reuses nearly the entire OFDM chain, adding only lightweight digital pre- and post-processing. We then analyze the impact of hardware impairments such as phase noise and carrier frequency offset, and examine the advanced functionalities enabled by the chirp-parameter domain, including index modulation and physical-layer security. Assessing reusability across the radio-frequency, physical, and higher layers, we conclude that AFDM offers an efficient path toward high-fidelity later versions of 6G and beyond (6G+) communications.