It’s hard to imagine a world without the tethers of your cell phone. Unless you work for Nokia.

The telecommunications giant envisions the metaverse becoming an all-consuming technology by the end of this decade, replacing smartphones as the primary form of communication.

“Our belief is that this device will be surpassed by a metaverse experience in the second half of the decade,” its chief technology and strategy officer, Nishant Batra, said as he clutched his phone during a recent visit to North Texas.

To a large extent, it will depend on the 1,700 employees of the Finland-based company working on the development of Cypress Waters to turn that ambitious goal into a reality.

Nokia traces its roots in the Dallas area to the 1950s. The company now leases 250,000 square feet of space in the sprawling corporate…