GoKawiilAI 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, 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 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.
Vertu’s Alphafold with a Calfskin Leather back and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 with a Glass Back Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch
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.
Vertu Alphafold’s with a luxury packaging Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch
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.
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