The digital revolution is taking an unexpected turn, and surprisingly, it’s not all virtual reality goggles and AI-generated cat memes. Nokia, the Finnish titan of telecommunications, has just announced a groundbreaking advancement in phone calls , and you’re not going to want to miss this.

Pekka Lundmark, the CEO of Nokia, claims he just participated in the world’s first ‘immersive’ voice call. That’s right, folks. The biggest leap in telephony since your grandma first yelled at you to stop using your phone at the dinner table. This so-called ‘immersive’ experience combines three-dimensional sound technology with real-time spatial audio. It’s less like talking through a tin can and more like having a heart-to-heart with your bestie while standing in their living room. Because, apparently, that’s what the world needs , telephonic proximity!

Lundmark gushed about this experience, stating it “takes you to the caller’s environment” and made the communication feel “more lifelike and engaging”. Does that mean your awful cousin’s annoying voice will be even more annoying? If so, who needs it?

But wait, it gets better! This technology isn’t just about fabulously immersive chats; it’s designed for the metaverse and other ‘extended reality’ services. So, we might just find ourselves having conference calls where you can tell who’s speaking based on the direction of their voice. Because we all know what a game-changer that concept is during those monotonous Zoom meetings , we still aren’t entirely sure who will accidentally get muted this time.

Sadly, before you start planning your next virtual hangout, hold your horses. The IVAS tech, which was dreamed up through a ‘public collaboration’ with other companies, is not quite ready for your iPhone or Android. This shiny new feature is part of the still-developing 5G Advanced Standard network, which, according to our friends at Reuters, won’t see the light of day for a couple of years. So, for now, you’ll have to stick with your standard phone calls and those facepalm-inducing family group chats.

Let’s be real , what we really need is for the tech world to focus on solving the climate crisis and housing disparities rather than just reinventing the wheel on phone calls. But hey, at least it sounds cool, right?