After the Vertu Quantum, a luxury folding phone, you know a book-style luxury folding phone is inevitable. Well, folks, that inevitability just materialized. Behold what could possibly be the most luxurious book-style foldable yet, the Vertu AlphaFold.
The latest flagship from luxury gadget maker Vertu, and the world’s first Hermes Agent phone, the AlphaFold is an 8.05-inch crease-free display device featuring a titanium multi-axis hinge. The phone further touts the next-generation AI supporting voice commands for 70 apps and 64 phone functions, plus Vertu bread-and-butter features such as a 24/7 human concierge service and full-cycle encrypted data security. It has a 6,500 mAh battery onboard, with 65 W fast charging and enough juice for up to 28 hours of use between charges.
It may be Vertu’s first book-style foldable, but it is not pretending to be a mainstream device. Only 99 units of the Vertu AlphaFold will be released globally.
Aesthetically, the AlphaFold looks very much like a regular Vertu smartphone when closed. The surprise comes when it unfolds into an 8.05-inch display. On the outside, there is a 6.53-inch cover display, and both screens support a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate. Powering the entire experience is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.
Luxury, of course, is not measured by silicon alone. The AlphaFold is available with a variety of hand-selected rare leather back covers paired with a metal frame. The rear frame features Vertu’s exclusive “Paris Cloud” texture, while the metal surfaces are decorated with 624 Clous de Paris patterns micro-engraved to a precision of 1 mm and finished by hand.
And if that somehow sounds too ordinary, Vertu is prepared to go further. Private bespoke editions can be commissioned with hand-forged 18K solid gold back covers and natural brilliant-cut diamonds in G color and VS grade or better. Because what’s luxury without gold, right?
The headline feature, however, is not the leather, the gold, or even the foldable display. It is Hermes Agent.
Billed as a pioneering AI agent for the AI era, Hermes is designed to function more like a personal assistant than a voice assistant. According to Vertu, you can simply tell it what you need and let it handle alarms, reminders, schedules, travel arrangements, and meeting coordination. It can even connect to enterprise systems, retrieve business data, and generate analysis reports.
The AI is also deeply integrated into the phone itself. More than 64 native phone functions can be controlled entirely by voice, including setting alarms, turning on hotspots, adjusting brightness, and starting recordings. Hermes can also operate more than 70 popular apps, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Gmail.
Vertu says the AI learns from your usage patterns over time, remembering details such as preferred flights, favorite meals, seating preferences, and daily habits. If I can be honest, it sounds just a little creepy when they put it that way. Then again, perhaps that is what modern AI assistants are supposed to do.
To address privacy concerns, Vertu says Hermes processes conversations locally on the device and protects information using an A5 security chip and decentralized storage architecture. In other words, the company wants to reassure owners that their highly expensive phone is not quietly sharing their business plans with the rest of the internet.
For a luxury device, the AlphaFold does not neglect camera hardware either. Around the back are three cameras: a 50-megapixel main camera with a 1/1.56-inch sensor and optical image stabilization, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a telephoto module. The phone also supports two-way satellite communication for situations where cellular coverage is nowhere to be found.
The Vertu AlphaFold is the latest example of how far luxury smartphones have evolved. Once upon a time, luxury phones were ordinary handsets wrapped in exotic leather. Today, they come with foldable displays, AI agents, satellite connectivity, enterprise integrations, and enough security features to make a corporate executive sleep a little easier at night.
Or at least sleep better on a pillow made of money. Speaking of money, the prices for the new Vertu AlphaFold range from US$6,880 to a cool US$34,200, a.k.a. the price of a brand-new, well-equipped compact SUV or sedan such as the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Then again, if you can afford this phone at the range-topping price point, your ride of choice wouldn’t be a Camry or a Subaru Outback, would it?
Images: Vertu.
