Xiaomi’s next flagship may borrow a powerful audio trick from an old rival

It looks like Xiaomi is digging into the mobile phone history books for its next flagship release. Ahead of the anticipated debut of the Xiaomi 16 series later this year, a new report claims the phones will launch with Nokia’s OZO Audio, a powerful software suite designed to seriously upgrade your video sound. If you’ve ever recorded a video at a concert or a windy beach and been disappointed by the garbled mess you captured, this is a feature you’ll want to pay attention to.

For those unfamiliar, OZO Audio isn’t new. It was originally developed for Nokia’s high-end 360-degree cameras before making its way to smartphones from brands like Asus, Oppo, and OnePlus. The software is a bundle of clever tools: “Audio Zoom” lets you focus in on a specific sound source, “Audio Windscreen” digitally cuts out wind noise, and “3D Audio” captures a more immersive, spatial soundscape. It’s a robust package that has proven its worth in improving the quality of on-device audio recording.