During his keynote speech at the Oracle Industry Conference earlier this week, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse confirmed the network is still working hard to bring HD Voice capabilities to its subscribers. While a small percentage of Sprint users have already enjoyed HD Voice, it’s finally getting ready to launch it nationwide. He’s quoted as saying it’ll be live “around July 1.”
Sprint’s HD Voice capability has been a long time coming. This time last year, it was talking about the limited test launch, but didn’t offer any timeframe for a final, nationwide rollout. Why? It had learnt from previous mistakes. When the HTC Evo 4G was released in 2012, it came with HD Voice support, and Sprint promised to offer the feature across America in late 2012.
Hesse’s words match the company line taken from its HD Voice FAQ. “We expect to have HD Voice available network-wide by mid-2014,” it says, fitting in almost perfectly with the July 1 estimate. At the moment, Sprint has HD Voice up and running in a few test areas, meaning some of you may have already heard the benefits. Provided, that is, everything has been just right at the time.
HD Voice is a considerable upgrade over current audio technology, providing more natural sounding voices, and lowering background noise while on a call. However, to appreciate the joy of HD Voice, both you and the other caller need to have HD Voice compatible phones, and be connected to not only an HD Voice network, but a cell with HD Voice capabilities. The list of compatible phones over at Sprint is suitably wide though, and includes the Nexus 5, HTC One and One Max, the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S, the Moto X, and the LG G2.
Sprint hasn’t made an official announcement outside of the Oracle event, and as HD Voice’s launch hasn’t been smooth sailing in the past, the July 1 date may change again closer to the time.
