Luxury phone maker Vertu is under scrutiny after a teardown of its $5,380 Vertu Agent Q revealed that the device contains no significant gold components, despite marketing that strongly suggests otherwise.
The teardown, published by YouTuber JerryRigEverything, examined the ultra-premium smartphone that was recently purchased by MKBHD. Vertu promotes the Agent Q as an “AI agent phone for entrepreneurs,” highlighting luxury materials and showcasing imagery of gold-plated internals on its website.
However, once disassembled, the phone showed standard smartphone construction. While it does include stainless steel side rails, calfskin leather backing, and a ceramic panel, there was no visible gold plating inside. As with most smartphones, small traces of gold are present on circuit board connectors for conductivity typically worth under $2 but nothing beyond what’s found in regular flagship devices.
An XRF material analysis of the vapor chamber confirmed it contains iron and chromium, not gold. For comparison, gaming brand Red Magic has previously released a model with verified gold plating at a fraction of the price.
In terms of durability, the Agent Q scratched at a level 6 on the Mohs scale, indicating standard tempered glass rather than sapphire. The device also showed structural weakness during a bend test and lacks official water resistance.
On paper, the phone offers competitive specs including a 6-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, 1TB of storage, triple rear cameras, and a 5,565mAh battery. But at over $5,000, expectations were far higher than what the internal components delivered.
The teardown ultimately concludes that the Agent Q contains no more precious materials than a typical iPhone or Android flagship, raising questions about how much of its price reflects actual hardware versus branding and luxury positioning.
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