Vertu’s $4,300 Foldable Phone Banks on an AI Butler to Win Back the Ultra-Rich
Vertu, a company notorious for producing extraordinarily gaudy smartphones with outdated technology, luxe materials, and eye-watering prices, is now chasing the artificial intelligence moment with its first-ever book-like folding phone. The device, announced Thursday and targeting business executives, comes equipped with a built-in AI agent called the Hermes Agent that can purportedly handle schedules and tasks on a user’s behalf and “connect to enterprise systems.” This places Vertu squarely in the middle of a broader smartphone trend where companies like Google and Samsung are offering ways for Gemini on Android devices to perform tasks such as booking an Uber or ordering DoorDash.
A Checkered History and a Renewed Push
Vertu’s past is complicated. Originally a Nokia subsidiary in the early 2000s, the company made handcrafted luxury Nokia phones in the United Kingdom, each granting access to a live concierge service. The smartphone revolution proved difficult for the brand, which fell behind the times and then changed hands over several years through various acquisitions. Eventually, the company shuttered its UK factory and laid off staff. In the last few years, Vertu has been churning out luxury Android smartphones again, including a folding flip phone last year that starts at $4,300 with a calfskin backplate. In late 2025, it unveiled the Agent Q, which it calls the “world’s first AI agent phone for entrepreneurs.” While the company still claims British heritage, its phones are no longer made in the UK. According to its website, the head office is now in Hong Kong. Vertu spokesperson Viki You tells WIRED that the phones are “still handcrafted,” but they are assembled in China. “We have different factories,” You says, noting that the company sources its high-end materials from other countries, such as full-grain calfskin from Italy.
Specs and Build: Titanium, Carbon Fiber, and Rare Exotic Leathers
The AlphaFold carries all the markings of a high-end Android smartphone. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset from 2025 and measures 11.8 millimeters thick when folded, and 5.4 millimeters when unfolded. That is not quite as slim as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, but it is not far off from competitors like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Vertu says the hinge and screen architecture were tested to withstand 650,000 folds, which is more than Samsung’s claim of 500,000 folds. Inside, there is a 6,500-milliamp-hour silicon-anode battery, an emerging battery technology that has been making waves in Chinese smartphones and has only recently appeared in Western smartphones from brands like Motorola. The device supports 65-watt fast charging, a 120-hertz screen refresh rate for the inner 8.05-inch display, and a 6.53-inch outer screen. The camera system is triple-lens: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 5-megapixel telephoto. Naturally, in Vertu fashion, the company claims a mix of titanium and carbon fiber in the hinge mechanism, along with options for “rare exotic leathers” on the backplate, plus bespoke options in 18-karat gold or with natural diamond accents. Other hallmarks include a still human-powered 24/7 personal concierge service, two-way satellite messaging, and the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standards. Unfortunately, it runs the already outdated Android 15, and the company did not provide a software update policy.
The Hermes Agent: How It Works
Vertu claims its Hermes Agent can take a user request, break it into steps, coordinate the process with relevant services, and come back with actions the user needs to confirm. One example the company offers in its press release is a user asking the agent to “arrange tomorrow’s Geneva trip, sync the flight, hotel, transportation, and meeting summary with my team.” The Hermes Agent is supposed to handle all of that, presumably after the user provides it access to their emails and conversations. How well all of this will actually work remains to be seen. Google, which manages the Android platform, has not commented on Vertu’s implementation.
Market Context
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