Nokia CEO Performs the World's First "Immersive" 3D Audio Phone Call

Nokia recently presented its latest innovation, "immersive audio and video" technology. This innovation attempts to improve the way we experience phone calls by making them more realistic and engaging than ever before. The company's CEO, Pekka Lundmark, who was also there for the initial 2G call in 1991, made the world's first call with this cutting-edge technology.

At the core of this progress is the transition from monophonic audio, which is presently utilized in the majority of phone conversations and can sound flat, to 3D audio. This transition promises to produce a more lifelike soundscape, making callers feel as if they are in the same room, due to the added spatial dimension to the sound. Jenni Lukander, head of Nokia Technologies, described this as the most significant advancement in voice calling since the advent of monophonic audio.

While the most obvious application is for person-to-person talks, Nokia's aim for this technology is broader. Consider a conference call in which you can readily identify between speakers depending on their location, as if they were physically there in the room. This might transform remote meetings and cooperation by making virtual interactions more natural and intuitive.

Perhaps more amazing is the fact that this approach does not require any specific hardware. Nokia's technology, which takes advantage of the many microphones already available in most smartphones, can send spatial audio information in real-time, increasing the depth and realism of the call.

The timing of this breakthrough is also significant. This immersive audio technique is compatible with the impending 5G Advanced standard, implying that it may be included into future network technologies and made widely available. Nokia is already looking at licensing prospects, indicating that they consider this technology as a possible game changer in the telecoms sector.

The latest demonstration call, which used a typical 5G network and a regular smartphone, demonstrates the technology's potential for seamless integration into our daily lives. While immersive audio may take a few years to become widely available, this is a huge step toward a future in which phone calls are about more than simply listening, but also about experiencing.