Vertu, the British luxury phone maker known for hand-finished devices costing tens of thousands of dollars, is targeting executives with its new Alphafold foldable, priced at $6,880. The device's core selling point is not the hardware but a pre-installed AI agent called Hermes, designed to automate multi-step workflows like analyzing documents and planning trips. A hands-on test found the AI performed well on local file analysis but stumbled on complex tasks, raising questions about whether it can truly replace a human executive assistant.
Luxury Hardware with a Familiar Core
The Alphafold looks and feels like a luxury item, wrapped in genuine calfskin leather with titanium accents and packaged in a presentation box akin to jewelry. However, beneath the premium materials, the device shares striking similarities with the $1,100 ZTE Nubia Fold, including hinge design, dimensions, and speaker placement. Vertu confirmed to TechCrunch that the Alphafold was developed through a partnership with ZTE/Nubia for the hardware platform, while Vertu handled luxury materials, software, and quality control. This is not new for Vertu; a 2023 Wired review noted a similar relationship with the MetaVertu.
AI Agent: Autonomy vs. Accuracy
In testing, Hermes Agent showed a willingness to act autonomously, completing more steps in a workflow than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 running Google Gemini. For example, when asked to message a contact, navigate to the airport, enable Do Not Disturb, and set a reminder, Hermes executed most actions but set the reminder for the wrong time. Gemini, by contrast, asked clarifying questions and produced the correct outcome. In a business trip planning test, Hermes failed to find a morning flight and created a calendar entry for the wrong dates, eventually offering to hand off to a concierge. Gemini suggested alternative travel options instead.
Document Analysis and Software Issues
Hermes impressed when analyzing local files and spreadsheets, correctly summarizing quarterly sales figures from a spreadsheet. However, it struggled with consistency: returning to the same conversation days later, it no longer recognized the previous data. Early software builds had issues uploading files and connecting to the concierge service, which Vertu fixed with server-side updates during the review period. The AI's greater autonomy came with trade-offs, sometimes acting without enough context, while Gemini's more cautious approach led to fewer errors.
Verdict: A Niche Proposition
Vertu's Alphafold is clearly not for mainstream consumers. It is a luxury status symbol that bundles an ambitious AI assistant, but the hardware is essentially a rebadged ZTE device with premium materials. The Hermes Agent shows potential in specific tasks like local file analysis but falls short on complex, multi-step workflows where accuracy matters. For executives who value exclusivity and are willing to pay for a digital companion that can handle routine document work, the Alphafold may appeal. But for those seeking a reliable assistant, the $6,880 price tag is hard to justify when a $1,100 foldable with Gemini offers comparable or better performance.