Google launches Lyra codec in beta to reduce voice call bandwidth usage

Google today open-sourced Lyra in beta, an audio codec that uses machine learning to produce high-quality voice calls. The code and demo, which are available on GitHub, compress raw audio down to 3 kilobits per second for “quality that compares favorably to other codecs,” Google says.

While mobile connectivity has steadily increased over the past decade, the explosive growth of on-device compute power has outstripped access to reliable, fast internet. Even in areas with reliable connections, the emergence of work-from-anywhere and telecommuting have stretched data limits.

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