Vertu wants executives to pay $6,880 for an AI agent - here's how it actually performs
From AI workflows to battery life and security, here's what it's really like to live with Vertu's luxury foldable every day. AI has become the smartphone industry's latest battleground, with manufacturers racing to add AI-powered features to attract mainstream consumers. Vertu is taking a different path: the UK-founded luxury phone maker, known for hand-finished devices often costing tens of thousands of dollars, has built its business selling status symbols to the ultra-wealthy rather than competing on specs.
Key Takeaways
- Its Alphafold targets affluent buyers, particularly chief executives, pairing luxury materials with an AI agent designed to automate parts of an executive's working day.
- Unlike most smartphone AI assistants that largely just respond to prompts, Hermes is designed to execute multi-step workflows on users' behalf, making it the centerpiece of Vertu's pitch rather than the foldable hardware itself.
The review unit I received was wrapped in genuine calfskin leather with titanium accents, setting it apart from mainstream foldables that largely rely on glass or synthetic finishes.
- The Alphafold's curved frame also makes it easier to unfold than the Galaxy Z Fold 7's flatter edges.
Samsung's design, however, feels sleeker and more comfortable to hold when folded, making it easier to use one-handed.
- During the review, I noticed striking similarities between the device and the $1,100 ZTE Nubia Fold - from the hinge design and dimensions to the placement of the speakers, microphones, and the fingerprint reader.
The most visible distinction is Vertu's leather-clad rear panel, though.
- ZTE did not respond to a request for comments.
Its Alphafold targets affluent buyers, particularly chief executives, pairing luxury materials with an AI agent designed to automate parts of an executive's working day. I decided to test that claim on its own terms. Rather than focusing on benchmark scores, camera comparisons, and media consumption - the staples of most smartphone reviews - I spent a few days using the foldable the way Vertu says its customers would: managing documents, analyzing spreadsheets and contracts, planning business trips, automating routine tasks, and relying on its AI agent as a digital companion throughout the working day.
The question wasn't whether it was a good smartphone, but whether it was a good executive smartphone. At the heart of the Alphafold is Hermes Agent, a pre-installed AI agent built on top of the open-source Hermes project , which the company says can analyze files, automate tasks across apps, remember conversations, and hand off requests to a human concierge when needed. Unlike most smartphone AI assistants that largely just respond to prompts, Hermes is designed to execute multi-step workflows on users' behalf, making it the centerpiece of Vertu's pitch rather than the foldable hardware itself.
Compared with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 , which I used as a reference device throughout this review, the 264-gram Alphafold feels noticeably heavier than Samsung's 215-gram foldable. The extra weight is apparent during prolonged use, though it never feels unwieldy. The Alphafold's curved frame also makes it easier to unfold than the Galaxy Z Fold 7's flatter edges.
For more details please read the original article at TechCrunch AI.
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