As smartphones have evolved from simple mobile devices into essential digital hubs, voice calling has lagged behind in innovation. Nokia now claims it has delivered the “world’s first immersive voice and audio call” using a new codec designed to bring spatial audio to real-time calls.
Nokia demonstrated the industry-first immersive audio and video call over a commercial 5G network in Finland. The live call connected Pekka Lundmark, Nokia’s president and CEO, with Stefan Lindström, Finland’s ambassador for digitalisation and new technologies. The experience relied on the Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec technology, a new component that will be incorporated into the 5G Advanced standard.
Where conventional smartphone calls deliver monophonic audio, the IVAS codec enables real-time spatial sound, adding depth and directionality so callers can perceive audio as if it’s coming from specific points in space. During the demonstration, Lundmark showcased these spatial audio features while calling from Nokia’s campus in Espoo.
According to Lindström, the IVAS-powered call noticeably improved audio quality and richness, creating a more realistic interaction through three-dimensional sound. These improvements promise clear benefits for both personal conversations and professional communications. As immersive communication technologies mature, they are also expected to enhance XR and metaverse experiences by providing more natural and convincing audio cues.
Lundmark described the demo as a glimpse of the future for voice calls: “This groundbreaking audio technology places you in the caller’s environment, creating a spatial and vastly improved listening experience for voice and video calls, with meaningful benefits for enterprise and industrial applications.”
IVAS aims to bring live spatial audio to smartphones, tablets, and PCs by leveraging network capabilities to deliver consistent experiences across devices. Nokia positions this advancement as the most significant improvement in live voice calling since the transition from traditional monophonic telephony audio to today’s smartphone and PC audio systems.
Nokia played a leading role in developing the 3GPP IVAS codec standard, contributing key technology and helping shape a smartphone-friendly implementation. For spatial communications to become widely available, the industry needs a global standard so operators, chipset makers, and handset manufacturers can interoperate.
Although IVAS is not yet deployed on commercial mobile networks, Nokia completed the first real-time IVAS call over a commercial 5G network using its proprietary immersive voice technology, built on the company’s commercial 5G Core.
The good news for potential adoption is that most modern smartphones already include at least two microphones—the minimum hardware required for IVAS compatibility. However, the broader 5G Advanced standard that will fully support IVAS is still years from widespread deployment, and mobile networks have yet to adopt the codec.
Still, this inaugural immersive call could accelerate licensing and industry agreements needed to raise voice-call quality and prepare networks and devices for enhanced extended reality and metaverse applications, as Nokia envisions.
Nokia and its 3GPP partners, who co-developed the IVAS codec, anticipate applications beyond smartphone voice calls. The technology has potential for a range of multimedia uses where spatial audio can improve user experience, from conferencing and remote collaboration to XR content and immersive media.
See also: Nokia and Vodafone test latency-busting technology
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