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No, you shouldn’t buy the Vertu Alphafold. If you want a big-screen folding phone, every single model released over the last two years is a far better choice, performance and ability-wise. The Find N6, Magic V6, and Galaxy Z Fold 7's hardware is more modern and more durable, too. If you want a luxury product, it’s probably best not to go looking for a so-called luxury smartphone at all. Get a phone that works well for you, and buy an accepted luxury product like a watch, bag, piece of jewelry, clothes, or if your pockets are really deep, a car or a boat instead. The problem hit home when I dug

It’s impossible to say how effective the Hermes Agent will be at organizing business life, and whether the CEOs Vertu wants to attract will be prepared to leave their dealings to an AI at all, so has the hardware got what it takes to seal the deal? The hardware is made up of an 8.05-inch, 120Hz inner screen with a 2480 x 2200 pixel resolution, and a cover screen measuring 6.53-inches with a 2748 x 1172 pixel resolution. The body is covered in real leather and equipped with a titanium hinge apparently rated to 650,000 folds. On the back is a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50MP wide-angle camera, a

Vertu sold its phones on them being made in small numbers, out of true luxury materials, and finished by hand at a small factory in the south of England. The signature of the person who made the phone was hidden inside it. According to Vertu, the signature is still a part of the deal (although the UK factory is not), as are intricate manufacturing methods, materials like alligator leather, diamonds, and 18K gold, plus a degree of hand finishing too, although exactly what was hand finished isn’t clear. All this adds up to a typically Vertu price. The standard model with calfskin leather is $6,8

To answer the question about whether the Alphafold is a luxury product, we have to leave aside the old processor, old software, and AI of questionable usefulness. Even if they were up-to-date, they still wouldn’t contribute to a luxury feel. Instead, it needs to be desirable, indulgent, and enviable. Vertu gets the presentation right, with a soft-lined flip-up box and a host of accessories, so it feels special when you first get the phone. But it loses its sheen as time goes on. At an event during my review period, I showed the Alphafold to a table of people. None knew the Vertu name, and hadn