Extended Reality (XR)

It could be the next paradigm shift after the smartphone

Immersive technology

5G and immersive technology are fundamentally changing the way we live, work and consume information and media. The physical and digital worlds are now bridged, starting with augmented and virtual reality.

Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term that covers immersive technologies ranging from virtual reality (VR), to mixed reality (MR), and augmented reality (AR). The combination of 5G and XR technologies enables completely new mobile experiences, both for consumers and professional users. At the same time, it opens for a broad range of business opportunities for service providers, in collaboration with the wider XR ecosystem.

XR terminology

In VR, users are totally immersed in a simulated digital environment or a digital replica of reality. MR includes all variants where virtual and real environments are mixed. AR is one such variant, where digital information is overlaid on images of reality viewed through a device. The level of augmentation can vary from a simple information display to the addition of virtual objects and even complete augmentation of the real world. MR can also include variants where real objects are included in the virtual world.

New experiences and opportunities emerging

Enabling new experiences with 5G, Edge, and XR devices

Listen to Erik Ekudden (CTO, Ericsson) and Ronnie Vasishta (SVP Telecom, NVIDIA) discuss how the combination of 5G and intelligence in the Edge network will enable completely new immersive user experiences. | 27 min

Building the future of entertainment with 5G XR

This proof of concept outlines the collaborative approach Ericsson took to bring together key industry players AT&T, Dreamscape Immersive, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Wevr to create a leading example for the future of VR experiences.

Explore the case

EE brings AR to consumers with 5G

What can a 5G immersive experience be like? Imagine being able to bring the world’s most astonishing and picturesque natural environments to central London. Check out this case to read how EE and a partner network created a digital immersive experience to achieve exactly that.

Explore the case

Holographic communication using 5G

With 5G, holographic communication is no longer science fiction but ready to be explored further. Check out more in this short video and dive into details of our proposed network architecture in this Ericsson Technology Review article.

Read the article

5G paves the path to the metaverse

5G is emerging as an important enabler for early adopters to embrace metaverse-related services, such as socializing, playing and buying digital items in interactive 3D virtual gaming platforms. The amount of time spent on augmented reality apps by 5G users has doubled over the past two years.

The metaverse 5G relationship explained

For Metaverse to reach its full potential, the 5G relationship will be key. Tap into this blogpost and explore how 5G can enable exciting uses like metaverse VR, metaverse XR, and help make Web 3.0 a reality.