Vertu wants executives to pay $6,880 for an AI agent — here’s how it actually performs

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.

Hermes was more willing to act autonomously, while Gemini preferred to confirm details before proceeding. As a result, Hermes completed more of the requested workflow, but Gemini ultimately produced the more accurate outcome.

A second test focused on a more open-ended task. I asked Vertu’s Hermes Agent to organize a business trip from Mumbai to Pune, including a morning flight, a hotel recommendation, and adding the itinerary to my calendar. The agent responded that there were no direct morning flights available for the requested journey and offered a Contact Butler button to escalate the request to Vertu’s concierge service. It also created a calendar entry for the wrong dates, scheduling the trip for 7 July instead of 18–19 July, leaving the workflow incomplete.

Gemini on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 took a different approach. After determining that no suitable direct morning flight was available for the requested journey, it continued planning the trip by suggesting alternative travel options rather than handing the task off.

Business documents revealed a mixed picture, too. I asked both Hermes Agent and Gemini to analyze a locally saved financial spreadsheet, summarize the quarterly results, and determine whether third-quarter sales figures were included.

During my original testing, Hermes analyzed an uploaded sales spreadsheet and correctly summarised the Q2 figures. However, when I returned to the same conversation days later, it no longer recognized the previously shared document, instead responding: “I cannot access files stored directly on your local device. Please upload or attach the Sales spreadsheet here in the chat, and I will gladly analyze the Q2 data for you.”

Gemini also required the spreadsheet to be uploaded initially, but retained the context of the conversation. Days later, it was still able to answer follow-up questions about the document, correctly identifying the North region as generating the highest sales without requiring the file to be uploaded again.

Taken together, the testing suggested Hermes Agent is an ambitious AI assistant rather than a finished one. Its willingness to act autonomously often made it feel more like an agent than Gemini on Samsung’s phone, but that same approach occasionally produced incomplete workflows, incorrect outputs, and inconsistent behavior. The pace of updates during the review also suggested Vertu is actively refining the platform, meaning today’s experience may not be the same one buyers encounter a few months from now.

Beyond general assistance, Vertu has built Hermes around a collection of specialist AI agents aimed at affluent professionals, including agents focused on legal advice and investment insights, along with the option to escalate certain requests to a human concierge. The idea is to position the Alphafold as more than a premium smartphone, instead presenting it as a digital assistant for executives.

In practice, however, the specialist agents should be treated as starting points rather than authoritative advisers. They can provide useful summaries and recommendations, their responses remain AI-generated and should be independently verified before being relied upon for legal, financial, or other high-stakes decisions. The option to escalate certain requests to Vertu’s concierge service underscores the current limits of AI agents. Human expertise still matters.

Vertu is also positioning the Alphafold as a business platform rather than just a smartphone. The company demonstrated an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system designed to give executives access to business data and workflows from the device. My testing, however, was limited to a demonstration environment, making it difficult to assess how the feature performs in day-to-day use or how well it integrates with existing enterprise systems.

For Alphafold’s target audience, security may matter as much as AI. Executives are unlikely to use an assistant that analyses contracts, financial reports, and business plans if they are uncertain where that data is processed or stored.

Vertu says conversations with Hermes Agent are encrypted and are not used to train public AI models. According to the company, users can also choose where their data is processed, with enterprise deployments supporting private infrastructure for organizations that require greater control over sensitive information.

Vertu backs those claims up with a dedicated “A5” security chip, which it says provides hardware-level protection for sensitive data, encrypted communications, and digital credentials. Those claims couldn’t be independently verified during testing, but they’re central to Vertu’s pitch to executives and enterprises.

Away from AI, the Alphafold behaves much like any modern flagship foldable. The battery comfortably lasted more than a day during testing. However, the absence of wireless charging is a surprising omission at this price, particularly when Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 supports convenient Qi charging alongside wired USB-C charging.

The camera app also includes a document scanning mode under a “Smart AI” setting that can recognize paperwork and save them with enhancements, making it useful for digitizing contracts, receipts, and other business documents. Samsung offers a comparable scanning experience through its own camera software, so this is feels more like a parity feature than a differentiator.

The Alphafold is an ambitious attempt to build an AI-first luxury smartphone, but the execution falls short of its price tag. Despite its premium materials and exclusive services, the core hardware offers little that cannot be found in significantly less expensive foldables, while Hermes Agent remains an evolving platform rather than a compelling reason to spend thousands more.

Ultimately, Vertu is asking buyers to pay a substantial premium for branding, craftsmanship, and an ecosystem of AI and concierge services built on top of an established smartphone platform. Based on my testing, that premium is difficult to justify, particularly when Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 offers a more mature foldable experience with comparable day-to-day functionality at a fraction of the price. With Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy Z Fold 8 expected very soon, the Alphafold’s value proposition becomes even harder to defend.