Nokia's Call of the Future: 3D Audio for a New Era
Nokia's Call of the Future: 3D Audio for a New Era
Are traditional phone calls dead in the water as Nokia revolutionizes with 3D audio technology?"
Nokia has made a groundbreaking step forward with the first immersive audio and video call using the new 3GPP Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec. This significant advancement transforms the monophonic audio of current smartphone calls into a rich, 3D spatial sound experience, revolutionizing how we interact and collaborate. The demonstration, conducted over a public 5G network, highlights Nokia's commitment to enhancing communication technologies.
Spatial computing is poised to be the future of human interaction and collaboration. By enabling callers to experience sound as if they were physically present with the other person, 3D audio enhances the realism and engagement of conversations. This technology is not just about clearer calls; it's about creating a more immersive, natural communication experience. For businesses, this means more effective remote meetings, with spatial audio helping to distinguish between different speakers and making conversations more intuitive and lifelike.
However, with the increased use of immersive technologies comes a greater responsibility to protect the data required for these experiences. The spatial characteristics of a call require more sensitive and detailed data about users' environments and voices. This data must be handled with the utmost care to ensure privacy and security. Companies like Nokia need to implement robust data protection measures to prevent misuse and unauthorized access. Ensuring the privacy of spatial audio data is crucial to gaining user trust and widespread adoption of this technology.
The potential applications of 3D audio extend beyond personal and business calls. In conference calls, participants' voices can be separated based on their spatial locations, improving clarity and understanding. In sectors like healthcare and education, immersive audio can enhance training simulations and remote consultations, providing a more engaging and effective experience.
As we move towards this new era of spatial computing, it is essential to balance innovation with responsibility. How will companies safeguard the sensitive data that makes these immersive experiences possible? The future of collaboration and interaction depends not only on technological advancements but also on the ethical use of the data that powers these innovations.
Read the full article on Nokia.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Nokia's new 3D audio calling technology?
It is the first immersive audio and video call built on the new 3GPP Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec. It transforms the flat, monophonic sound of current smartphone calls into a rich, 3D spatial sound experience, demonstrated over a public 5G network, making conversations feel as if callers are physically present with one another.
Link to this questionHow does 3D audio improve business communication?
Spatial audio makes remote meetings more effective by helping distinguish between different speakers, making conversations more intuitive and lifelike. In conference calls, participants' voices can be separated based on their spatial locations, improving clarity and understanding, which creates a more natural and engaging collaboration experience for teams working remotely.
Link to this questionWhat privacy risks come with immersive audio technology?
Delivering spatial sound requires collecting more sensitive and detailed data about users' environments and voices than traditional calls. This heightened data sensitivity increases responsibility for companies to protect it from misuse and unauthorized access. Robust data protection measures are essential to safeguard privacy and build the user trust needed for widespread adoption of the technology.
Link to this questionWhere else could 3D audio technology be used besides phone calls?
Beyond personal and business calls, immersive audio has potential applications in healthcare and education, where it can enhance training simulations and remote consultations by making them more engaging and effective. It can also improve conference calls generally by separating participants' voices according to their spatial locations for clearer understanding.
Link to this question💡 We're entering a world where intelligence is synthetic, reality is augmented, and the rules are being rewritten in front of our eyes.
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Dr. Mark van Rijmenam
Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is The Digital Speaker, a world-leading futurist and global AI keynote speaker who helps leaders decide what AI, and the technologies that follow it, mean for their business. He speaks to leadership teams at their retreats and to conference audiences worldwide, and his WAVE framework gives them a way of deciding that they keep using long after he has left the room. His Intelligence Age Scorecard measures how ready an organization is across the four WAVE pillars.
He holds a PhD from the University of Technology Sydney, is a Certified Speaking Professional and Global Speaking Fellow, and ranks among the world’s top futurists on the Global Gurus list (#1 in 2025, #3 in 2026). Salesforce named him one of its 16 leading AI voices. He has written six books, most recently Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, writes the Synthetic Minds newsletter on Substack, and founded Futurwise. Talk to his digital twin on WhatsApp: +1 (830) 463-6967.
