Breakthroughs in video, audio and sensory technologies position Nokia at the forefront of 6G-era experiences
18 December 2025, London: Nokia is today outlining a series of milestones that have shaped the global multimedia landscape in 2025, including recognition as the leading contributor to the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) during a year that set the direction for the 6G era.
Nokia advanced research and standards across video, audio and emerging sensory technologies to support the next decade of connected experiences and added to its portfolio of more than 5,000 multimedia inventions.
Leading the next era of streaming technology
Nokia strengthened its position as a global leader in video technologies through major advances in codecs and compression that enable high-quality, lower-energy streaming. A multi-year licensing agreement with Samsung and a separate patent agreement with Amazon underscored growing industry uptake of Nokia’s video IP.
Nokia’s research collaborations have delivered major efficiency gains in Versatile Video Coding (VVC/H.266), cutting bandwidth demands for ultra-high-definition streaming. It’s leadership of MC-IF with Justin Ridge as President, helped to advance industry adoption of H.266/VVC with highlights including showcases at NAB. In parallel, Nokia collaborated with Ericsson and Fraunhofer on a proof-of-concept next-gen video codec for 6G, positively evaluated by both ITU-T and MPEG experts.
In addition, Nokia video experts Miska Hannuksela and Kashyap Kammachi Sreedhar were members of the MPEG Systems Working Group that received a Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for its work on the Common Media Application Format (CMAF).
Finally, at IBC Amsterdam, Nokia showcased progress in neural network-based post filtering for streaming quality enhancement, VVC and 360-degree video communication, alongside demonstrations of volumetric video that point to future mainstream applications.
Elevating the future of call audio and immersive sound
Nokia played a central role in launching the Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) standard with Vodafone and RingCentral at Mobile World Congress, which introduced immersive 3D spatial audio for mobile communications.
Building on this progress, Nokia also achieved a major industry milestone with the first interoperable IVAS call over a live 5G IMS network, in collaboration with Fraunhofer IIS. Demonstrated during a 3GPP SA4 standards meeting, the successful test validated interoperability between different immersive audio implementations, underlining the readiness of IVAS for real-world deployment.
Lastly, research with Tampere University introduced an AI-based Ambisonics encoder that adapts to varied microphone configurations, improving spatial recording for XR, live production and content creation. Nokia also contributed to the finalisation of the MPEG Immersive Audio standard, enabling sound that responds dynamically to user movement and position.
Expanding sensory innovation for more lifelike digital experiences
Beyond audio and video, Nokia extended its research beyond audio-visual innovation, demonstrating conductivity-based thermal haptics capable of rendering realistic temperature sensations in extended-reality environments. The company additionally published a framework for AI standardisation in multimedia, supporting future systems that are interoperable, efficient and responsibly designed.
Ville-Veikko, Head of Multimedia Technologies at Nokia comments: “2025 has been a significant year for Nokia in multimedia innovation. From AI-enhanced video codecs and immersive audio to sensory haptics and streaming for the 6G era, our teams have pushed the boundaries of what connected experiences can be. These breakthroughs reflect years of leadership in standardisation, research collaboration and invention that shape how billions of people watch, play and connect every day. Our vision remains unchanged: we want to power the next generation of streaming, and immersive XR and gaming, creating experiences that feel seamless, intuitive and alive.
“Our sustained leadership in research and standardisation underpins many of the technologies that the industry now relies on, from advanced codecs to immersive communication tools. We’re proud of the contributions made throughout 2025, which have helped the entire ecosystem move towards more intelligent, efficient and human-centred experiences.”
ENDS
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