With 5G adoption on the rise, an increasing number of smartphone OEMs are releasing 5G-enabled devices in the market. Telecom service providers around the world are also working to expand their 5G network, with AT&T in the US recently extending 5G coverage to 22 more cities in the country. In keeping with the times, Chinese OEM OPPO has now successfully conducted voice and video calls solely based on the next-gen 5G network in partnership with Ericsson and MediaTek.

As per a recent press release shared by the company, OPPO made use of a modified commercial smartphone featuring MediaTek's Dimensity 1000 SoC for the Voice over 5G NR (VoNR) testing. Since the OPPO Reno3 is the only smartphone from the company featuring a MediaTek Dimensity 1000 chip, it's safe to assume that a modified version of the device was used to conduct the testing. For the unaware, VoNR is a basic call service that relies solely on the 5G network. Compared to older call services, VoNR offers significantly lower latency and greatly improved sound and video quality, which results in an elevated experience overall.

In a statement regarding the test, OPPO's Vice President and President of the Software Engineering Business Unit, Andy Wu, was quoted saying, "as a leading global technology company, OPPO proactively works to accelerate large-scale commercialization of 5G. Our cooperation with Ericsson and MediaTek on VoNR is part of our in-depth collaborations in the 5G era. We aim to become the industry's ideal partner to deploy 5G around the world and at the same time improve 5G experience for users."

The voice and video calls were conducted in a 5G SA (standalone) network environment that was provided by Ericsson at its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. The release further notes that the two phones used in the test connected almost instantly after dialing and then seamlessly switched to a high-definition video call with a single tap.