Vertu wants executives to pay $6,880 for an AI agent — here’s how it actually performs Jagmeet Singh 3:55 PM PDT · July 17, 2026 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, sells status instead of specs. Its Alphafold, a foldable phone, targets affluent buyers, particularly chief executives, pairing luxury materials with an AI agent designed to automate parts of an executive’s working day.
So I put that pitch to the test. 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.
Physically, the Alphafold, which starts at $6,880 , 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.
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. Samsung’s design, however, feels sleeker and more comfortable to hold when folded, making it easier to use one-handed.
The Alphafold also arrives in packaging that feels more akin to a jewelry presentation case than a smartphone box. The oversized box opens to reveal neatly arranged drawers containing bundled accessories, including a leather sleeve and charging cables, reinforcing the sense that Vertu is selling a luxury experience rather than just a handset.
Beneath the premium materials, however, 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.
When asked about these observations, 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. ZTE did not respond to a request for comments.
This isn’t new for Vertu. In a 2023 review of the MetaVertu, Wired reported that the device appeared to be based on a ZTE Nubia handset, citing hardware similarities and comments from Counterpoint Research that Vertu had been adapting existing ZTE models with luxury materials and custom software.
Still, focusing solely on the hardware misses the point of the Alphafold. Vertu’s real bet is not on building a better foldable but on whether executives will pay for an AI agent that helps them get through the working day more efficiently.
Over several days, I used the Alphafold as my primary smartphone, replacing routine prompts with real executive-style 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. But that greater autonomy came with trade-offs, raising questions about when an AI should act independently and when it should ask for clarification.
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, enabled Do Not Disturb, and opened Google Maps with directions to the airport. It did not, however, automatically begin navigation and instead set the reminder for 9:08 p.m., despite the request being made at 2:32 a.m. for a reminder 15 minutes later.
Running the same request on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 produced a different experience. Rather than attempting every action immediately, Gemini asked follow-up questions, including which airport I wanted to travel to and whether the reminder should be created in Google Tasks or Samsung Reminder. Once I made those selections, it created the reminder for the correct time.
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