Vertu’s $6,880 Alphafold phone centers on an AI agent for executives

In short: Vertu is selling a $6,880 foldable phone aimed at executives, built around an AI assistant called Hermes Agent, but a review found mixed real-world results.

What happened

Vertu, a luxury phone brand, is pitching its Alphafold as a phone for chief executives who want an AI helper built into their daily work. The phone starts at $6,880 and uses premium materials like calfskin leather and titanium.

TechCrunch tested the Alphafold for a few days, focusing on work tasks like analyzing spreadsheets and contracts, planning trips, and automating actions across apps. Vertu’s key feature is Hermes Agent, an “AI agent” (software that can try to carry out steps for you, like a digital assistant that does errands instead of only answering questions).

In testing, Hermes sometimes did more actions on its own than Google’s Gemini assistant on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. For example, it could send a message and turn on Do Not Disturb as part of a multi-step request. But it also made mistakes, like setting a reminder at the wrong time or adding a trip to the wrong dates.

The review also noted that the Alphafold hardware appears similar to a much cheaper ZTE Nubia Fold. Vertu confirmed it used a supply-chain partnership involving ZTE/Nubia’s hardware platform, while Vertu handled materials, software experience, quality checks, and service.

Vertu says Hermes chats are encrypted and not used to train public AI models. It also claims users can choose where data is processed, and it includes a dedicated security chip, although those security claims were not independently verified in the review.

Why it matters

Phones are starting to compete on AI helpers, not just cameras and screens. This review suggests that “do it for me” AI can save steps, but it can also act like an eager assistant who moves fast and sometimes gets the details wrong.

Source: TechCrunch AI