Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark has made a historic leap in communication technology by conducting the world’s first phone call using “immersive audio and video” technology. Announced on Monday, this breakthrough enhances call quality by introducing three-dimensional sound, making interactions feel incredibly lifelike.
“We have demonstrated the future of voice calls,” said Lundmark, who also witnessed the first 2G call in 1991. Unlike current smartphone calls, which use monophonic audio that compresses sound elements, the new immersive technology brings 3D audio. This means callers will hear everything as if they were physically present with the other person.
The groundbreaking call was made between Lundmark and Stefan Lindström, Finland’s Ambassador of Digitalization and New Technologies. Nokia used a regular smartphone over a public 5G network to achieve this feat. This call showcased the potential of immersive audio and video technology to transform standard phone conversations into rich, three-dimensional experiences.
This technology can revolutionize not only personal calls but also conference calls, where participants’ voices can be separated based on their spatial locations. Jyri Huopaniemi, head of audio research at Nokia Technologies, highlighted that the majority of smartphones already have the necessary microphones to implement this technology by transmitting the spatial characteristics of a call in real-time.
“This is now becoming standardized,” said Lukander, “so network providers, chip manufacturers, and handset makers can begin to implement it in their products.”
Nokia is a key contributor to the development of the Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec, which allows consumers to experience 3D spatial sound in real time. This codec is a major advancement from the current monophonic voice call experience.
Nokia’s innovation also paves the way for enhanced extended reality (XR) and metaverse applications, promising to take digital interactions to the next level.