Vertu AlphaFold launches for over $6,800 with alligator leather, but surprisingly weak specs

While smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 ($1,769 on Amazon) focus on offering the strongest possible features at a competitive price, the Vertu AlphaFold takes a different approach. The luxury foldable is primarily intended to set itself apart from the competition with its opulent body, which is covered in alligator leather and gold-plated in some versions.
A hinge made of titanium and carbon is said to enable a service life of 650,000 folding operations. The smartphone offers an exclusive AI assistant, which the manufacturer calls "Hermes". Among other things, this chatbot should be able to summarize business reports or find reasons for a drop in sales. The artificial intelligence is to be processed entirely on the smartphone instead of on a server, and a dedicated "A5" security chip is to provide additional protection for the user's privacy.
The hardware of the Vertu AlphaFold is surprising. On the one hand, because the 264 gram foldable offers a very large 6,500 mAh battery that can be charged via USB-C with up to 65 watts. On the other hand, however, because despite the luxury price, the outdated Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite from 2024 is used, and the telephoto camera uses a 5 MP sensor, with an additional 50 MP main camera, a 50 MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 20 MP selfie camera. Vertu installs an 8.05-inch folding display with a peak HDR brightness of 5,000 nits and a 6.53-inch secondary display.
Pricing and availability
The Vertu AlphaFold is available immediately at the Vertu online store. Depending on the color and material, the smartphone costs between $6,880 and $13,800, always with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB flash memory. Shipping is free of charge.
Source(s)
Vertu (Press release | Product page)








