While apps have turned smartphones into digital Swiss Army knives that can do everything from tracking your heartbeat to hailing you a cab, the phone part of the smartphone hasn’t gotten much better over the years.

We’re accustomed to mobile phone calls that sound muffled and choppy, making it hard to hear exactly what others are saying and how they’re saying it. It’s one of the reasons why we increasingly use other methods, like texting, e-mail, and instant messaging, to get points across to a group or keep a record of a discussion.