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Vertu wants CEOs to run companies from an AI foldable starting at $6,880
Luxury smartphone brand Vertu on Thursday unveiled a foldable phone powered by an AI agent that connects with enterprise software and coordinates workflows. The company is targeting executives who manage business operations and communications on the move.
Called the Alphafold, the foldable smartphone starts at $6,880 for the calfskin version. Higher-end models feature bespoke finishes including alligator leather, 18K gold, and natural diamond accents, along with customized detailing. This continues Vertu’s long-standing strategy of positioning its phones as luxury status symbols aimed at affluent buyers. The company told TechCrunch that its highest-end standard model is currently priced at $46,800, with further customization options available.
The launch marks Vertu’s latest attempt to reinvent itself for the AI era after struggling to remain relevant in the modern smartphone market. The Hong Kong-headquartered company, once known for luxury handsets and concierge services popular among wealthy buyers before the rise of the iPhone, has changed ownership multiple times over the years as mainstream smartphone makers came to dominate the industry. Nonetheless, Vertu is betting the Alphafold can help reinvent the brand for the AI era by combining luxury hardware with enterprise-focused AI capabilities.
Vertu’s Alphafold comes with Hermes Agent, built on top of the open-source Hermes project by Nous Research. The agent can connect to enterprise systems like ERP and CRM, and coordinate tasks such as approvals, scheduling, sales tracking, travel planning, and operational reporting through natural-language prompts. However, the company said that its Phone-to-ERP and VPS deployments would be customized for each customer depending on their existing enterprise systems, with pricing varying accordingly.
The Alphafold, Vertu said, can route requests across multiple AI models including OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and selected open-source models, while also integrating with more than 80 apps and dozens of native phone functions for cross-platform workflows.
Existing AI features on smartphones from major manufacturers remain focused largely on consumer tools such as image editing and voice assistance, Vertu CEO Molly Ma said. This leaves room for more advanced AI-agent workflows tied to enterprise systems. She also pointed to earlier AI-agent smartphone experiments in China that gained popularity before facing challenges over data privacy and cloud-based data collection.
The Alphafold, Ma said, aims to address those concerns through a privacy-focused architecture featuring a proprietary A5 security chip. This silicon is designed to isolate authentication keys, biometric credentials, and sensitive enterprise information from the main operating system, the company said. It added that commercially sensitive data can be processed locally on the device, while prompts sent to external AI models are redacted or tokenized before leaving the phone.
While Vertu has emphasized the device’s privacy and security architecture, including on-device processing and data redaction features, the company said the system has not yet undergone third-party security audits or independent certification. However, Vertu told TechCrunch that independent audits and certification remain on its security roadmap “as an explicit next-stage commitment,” adding that it would “communicate the progress and the results publicly” once the product matures further.
The Alphafold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor and features an 8.05-inch foldable display alongside a 6.53-inch outer screen, a 6,500mAh battery, and satellite communication capabilities. The device also includes a triple rear camera setup with 50-megapixel primary and ultrawide cameras, as well as a 5-megapixel telephoto lens. Vertu said the phone’s hinge uses metal, titanium, and carbon-fiber components and is rated for up to 650,000 folds.
The Alphafold is not Vertu’s first attempt to combine AI with foldable devices. The company last year introduced Agent Q, a clamshell-style foldable smartphone focused on AI-driven automation and productivity features.
However, Ma told TechCrunch that Alphafold represents a significant step forward from Agent Q, arguing that AI-agent technology has matured rapidly over the past year, with improvements in memory, automation and app integration.
Foldable smartphones remain a niche segment globally despite years of investment by major manufacturers including Samsung and Huawei. As many as 20 million foldable smartphones were shipped globally in 2025, accounting for less than 2% of total smartphone shipments, according to IDC data shared with TechCrunch. The research firm said foldables sold at an average price of about $1,300 last year — roughly three times the price of non-foldable smartphones.
Kiranjeet Kaur, associate research director for mobile phones research at IDC, said foldables could eventually benefit from AI-agent workflows because their larger displays are better suited for multitasking and productivity-oriented experiences. She, however, added that enterprise AI adoption on smartphones still lags behind computers, and that most enterprise smartphone decisions continue to be driven by ecosystem integration and device management support rather than AI capabilities.
The first 115-unit batch of Vertu’s Alphafold begins shipping this week across major markets including the U.S.
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The National Judicial Council (NJC) has suspended three judicial officers for one year without pay and cautioned eight others over various acts of misconduct, including unlawful detention of litigants, abuse of judicial powers and disregard for due process.
The decisions were taken at the Council’s 112th meeting held on November 3, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the three suspended judicial officers are Justice Hannatu Mohammed Kabir of the Nasarawa State High Court, Grand Kadi Mohammed Sani Salihu of the Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal and Justice Sobere Biambo of the Rivers State High Court.
The NJC also barred the three judicial officers from being considered for elevation for three years.
Justice Kabir was suspended over her decision to order the arrest and detention of a litigant for 58 days over alleged disobedience of a court order without following the required contempt proceedings.
According to the Council, the judge failed to serve the litigant the mandatory Forms 48 and 49 before ordering the detention.
The NJC held that her actions violated the litigant’s right to fair hearing and amounted to an abuse of judicial authority.
Similarly, Grand Kadi Salihu was suspended for exceeding his judicial powers by reopening a judgment delivered by the FCT Upper Area Court.
The Council found that he constituted a committee to review the judgment and subsequently transferred the matter to another judge, who received fresh evidence and delivered a new judgment.
The NJC considered the process improper, holding that it amounted to an appeal against a valid judgment delivered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Justice Biambo was also suspended for ordering the arrest of litigants and imposing fines of N300,000 on each of them in connection with a civil dispute without following the prescribed contempt proceedings.
The Council further cautioned Justice Kayode Agunloye of the FCT High Court over his handling of post-judgment garnishee proceedings in a case involving First Bank of Nigeria Plc.
The NJC found that the judge granted a fresh ex parte application for a Garnishee Order Nisi after an earlier similar application had been withdrawn and struck out.
It also noted that other applications, including a request for a stay of execution, were still pending before the court when he granted the fresh order.
In another disciplinary decision, the Council approved a warning for Justice Bello Kawu over his decision to grant interim bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, despite an existing remand order issued by another judge.
Justices Danjuma Oyigbenu and Isa Ebini Kana were also issued warning letters for delivering judgments in an appeal outside the constitutionally prescribed 90-day period.
Other judicial officers cautioned or placed on the Council’s Watch List include Justice Mohammed Zubairu of the FCT High Court, who allegedly made orders after being informed that an appeal had been entered at the Court of Appeal.
Justice C. A. Ogbuagor of the Enugu State High Court was also cautioned for continuing proceedings despite a pending appeal and an application for a stay of execution.
Similarly, Justice Chibuike Azuama of the Imo State High Court was cautioned for granting an ex parte garnishee order freezing the accounts of Puma Energy, a company that was not a party to the substantive suit.
The NJC also considered 35 petitions submitted by its Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committees. It dismissed 24 petitions for lacking merit, recommended four for further investigation and placed one on hold because the matter was already before a court.
The Council further directed that investigations into a petition against Justice G. N. Ugbala of the Ebonyi State High Court should continue despite the petitioner’s decision to withdraw the complaint.
Meanwhile, the NJC recommended 28 candidates for judicial appointments across several states.
The recommendations include 24 candidates for appointment as judges of the High Courts of Kano, Ebonyi, Edo, Adamawa and Ogun States.
Other recommendations include a Grand Kadi for the Plateau State Sharia Court of Appeal, a Kadi for the Adamawa State Sharia Court of Appeal and two judges for the Adamawa State Customary Court of Appeal.
The Council also directed the Imo State Judicial Service Commission to include the name of the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ijeoma Agugua, on the shortlist for appointment as substantive Chief Judge following a petition challenging her exclusion.
In addition, the NJC approved the retirement notifications of six judicial officers, including two justices of the Supreme Court.
The Council also expressed condolences over the deaths of nine judicial officers recorded between May and September 2026.
A coalition of civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations has announced plans to stage a one-million-man protest against the administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State on Monday, November 9, 2026.
The protest, according to the coalition, will take place simultaneously in Abakaliki, Abuja and Lagos, with 56 non-governmental organisations, NGOs, and 39 civil society organisations, CSOs, expected to participate.
The leader of the coalition, Dr Ibiam Oko Ibiam, disclosed this in a press statement made available to journalists in Abakaliki on Thursday.
Ibiam said the demonstration was intended to draw national and international attention to what he described as deteriorating human rights conditions, politically motivated assassinations, electoral violence and alleged mismanagement of public funds in Ebonyi State.
He called on well-meaning Ebonyians, irrespective of political affiliation, to rise and participate in what he described as a collective effort to rescue the state from what he termed the grip of political vampires and blood-sucking forces.
The activist also questioned Governor Nwifuru's understanding of the responsibilities of the office of governor, particularly his constitutional obligation to protect lives and property and ensure the welfare of citizens.
He specifically expressed concern over the gruesome killing of Ubochi Onwe at Mgbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, alleging that the victim's mouth was cut off after he had offered prayers for an opposition political candidate.
He also referenced other reported assassination incidents in Ezza South Local Government Area, describing the development as alarming and demanding urgent attention from security agencies.
On public expenditure, Ibiam criticised what he described as the administration's misplaced priorities, questioning the alleged procurement of SUV vehicles for female political office holders, expensive champagne consumption, and distribution of public funds to political guests and associates.
He wondered why government expenditure on entertainment, hospitality and political largesse would allegedly take precedence over education, healthcare and other essential services.
Citing figures covering January to September 2026, Ibiam questioned how the state government could allegedly spend ₦22.2 billion on entertainment, approximately ₦17 billion on cash donations to official guests and ₦30 billion on loan servicing, while only about ₦9.3 billion went to education and primary healthcare.
He described the figures as disturbing, insisting that the government must explain its spending priorities to the people of Ebonyi State.
The coalition leader further raised concerns over the state's borrowing profile, warning that mounting debt obligations could place considerable pressure on projected government revenue and threaten the state's financial stability in the coming months.
He urged Ebonyians, human rights advocates, labour groups, youth organisations and other stakeholders to mobilise for the planned demonstration.
According to the statement, the protest locations include Abakaliki, Louis Edet House in Abuja and the American Embassy area in Lagos.
Ibiam maintained that the planned demonstration was aimed at demanding accountability, protection of human rights, an end to political violence and responsible management of public resources.
The coalition called on security agencies to provide adequate protection for peaceful protesters and ensure that the exercise remained peaceful and orderly.
2027 poll: ‘One-million-man’ protest against Gov Nwifuru set for November 9
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