AI has become the latest battleground in the smartphone industry, with manufacturers racing to add AI-powered features to attract mainstream consumers. However, luxury phone maker Vertu is taking a different path. The company has built its business selling status symbols to the ultra-wealthy rather than competing on specs. 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 Alphafold is built around Hermes Agent, a pre-installed AI agent built on top of the open-source Hermes project. The company claims that Hermes 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.
Physically, the Alphafold looks and feels every bit like a luxury device. 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. It’s clearly built for buyers who see their phone as both a tool and a status symbol.
However, beneath the premium materials, the Alphafold tells a different story. 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. System information also revealed ZTE identifiers in parts of the software.
Vertu confirmed to TechCrunch that the Alphafold was developed through a specialist supply-chain partnership involving ZTE/Nubia’s hardware platform, component integration, and production engineering. However, the company said it was responsible for the luxury materials, software experience, quality control, and after-sales service.
The real test of Vertu’s AI agent came when I used it to automate tasks and workflows. Instead of asking Hermes to write emails or answer trivia questions, I tasked it with analyzing spreadsheets and contracts, planning business trips, managing my schedule, and automating actions across multiple apps. I then compared the experience with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 running Google’s Gemini.
The testing evolved as I went. Early software builds struggled to upload files, analyze images, and connect to Vertu’s concierge service. After I reported these issues to Vertu, the company rolled out server-side fixes that restored the missing functionality, allowing the remaining tests to be completed.
What emerged over days of testing was a more nuanced picture than the company’s claims might suggest. Hermes impressed when analyzing local files and spreadsheets, areas where Gemini on Samsung’s foldable still relied on manually uploaded documents during my testing. It was also more willing to automate actions across apps and complete multi-step workflows.
However, that greater autonomy came with trade-offs, raising questions about when an AI should act independently and when it should ask for clarification. Can Vertu’s Hermes Agent replace an executive assistant? One of the first tests simulated a common executive scenario before leaving for the airport. I asked Hermes Agent on the Alphafold to message a contact that I was running 20 minutes late, navigate to the airport, switch the phone to Do Not Disturb, and remind me to call the hotel in 15 minutes.
The agent sent the message but struggled with navigation instructions. It also failed to automatically switch the phone to Do Not Disturb mode. In contrast, Gemini on Samsung’s foldable successfully navigated to the airport and switched modes without any issues.
In conclusion, Vertu’s luxury AI agent for executives shows promise when it comes to automating tasks and workflows. However, its performance is not without limitations. While Hermes Agent impressed in certain areas, such as analyzing local files and spreadsheets, it struggled with navigation instructions and failed to automate actions across apps consistently.
Ultimately, the question remains whether executives will pay $6,880 for an AI agent that helps them get through the working day more efficiently. Only time will tell if Vertu’s luxury smartphone is worth the price tag.
Source: Original article