Nokia revolutionises phone calls with immersive technology

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark showcased a breakthrough in phone call technology, utilising ‘immersive audio and video’ to enhance call quality with three-dimensional sound. Lundmark, who witnessed the first 2G call in 1991, hailed this advancement as the future of voice communication.

Traditional smartphone calls often need more depth, compressing audio and resulting in flat, less detailed sound. Nokia’s innovation promises to revolutionise this experience, offering callers a lifelike interaction akin to being in the same room.

Jenni Lukander, president of Nokia Technologies, emphasised the significance of this advancement, dubbing it the most significant improvement since the introduction of monophonic telephony audio. The technology demonstrated in a call with Finland’s Ambassador of Digitalisation and New Technologies, Stefan Lindström, is poised to become standardised, enabling implementation across network providers, chipset manufacturers, and handset makers.

Beyond personal calls, Nokia’s immersive technology holds potential for conference calls, allowing voices to be separated based on spatial locations. Executives highlighted that most smartphones already possess the necessary microphones for implementation, transmitting real-time spatial characteristics of a call. While the technology is part of the upcoming 5G Advanced standard, widespread availability through licensing opportunities may take several years.