Thought Vertu was dead and buried after it filed for bankruptcy? Think again. The gaudy smartphone manufacturer is back in 2018 with a new ‘flagship’, the Vertu Aster P.
Vertu hasn’t made a new phone since 2014, and to be honest, we can’t say the market it has missed it. But if £4000 handsets are your thing? Who knows, maybe you haven’t been the same since.
As you’d expect, the Aster P is as ostentatious as phones get, featuring a Jermyn Street-worthy shopping list of hyper-premium materials.
The 4.9-inch Full HD display (1920 x 1080 pixels) is made from a 133-carat samphire crystal glass, while you’ll find the back of the device covered in a mix of crocodile and lizard leather.
Rounding things out, the frame of the Aster P is constructed from Grade-5 titanium, so it should be in with a chance of surviving a drop from your penthouse’s balcony.
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In terms of specs, there’s nothing either wrong or inspiring about the Aster P’s hardware – a Snapdragon 660 CPU backed by 6GB of RAM, 128GB of on-board storage, and a 3200mAh battery. Software comes in the form of Android Oreo, while the rear camera features a 12-megapixel lens and the front of the device sports a 20-megapixel ‘selfie cam’.
One of Vertu’s unique selling points, the concierge button, also makes a return on the Aster P. It’s a dedicated red button on the side of the handset that puts you straight through to Vertu’s own Jeeves army, who are available 24/7 to lend a hand.
Despite being handmade in England, the Aster P is only going on sale in China for the time being. For 35,800 Chinese yuan (about £4000 or $5000) you can get one of the base black or white versions, but if gold’s more your style, it’s a mere 98,000 yuan (~£10,850/$14,000) for the upgrade.
All in all, the Vertu Aster P is as thoroughly unnecessary as ever. Given the company’s turbulent recent history, it’s a wonder it even came into being. But you know what, while easy to mock Vertu phones for their oligarchic ethos, they’ll probably be in museums one day.
Which museums is anyone’s guess
Let us know what you think of the Vertu Aster P over on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
