Marques Brownlee, a popular YouTuber, reviewed the Vertu Agent Q, a very expensive phone costing over $5,000. He found that its main selling point – a 24/7 AI assistant – didn’t perform well.
In a video posted on January 10, 2026, tech reviewer MKBHD (Marques Brownlee) advised against purchasing a Vertu “Ultra Luxury” smartphone, warning viewers not to be misled by the company’s website.
MKBHD estimated the phone’s parts would cost between $800 and $1,000 to make. However, his final cost ended up being much higher: $5,380, not including tax and shipping.
What makes these phones so pricey? It’s not just the design and high-quality materials; Vertu heavily promoted its built-in AI assistant, claiming it was the first of its kind in a mobile phone.
MKBHD critical of Vertu Agent Q’s AI Agent
After using the phone for several weeks, Brownlee said he was pleased with certain features, finding them superior to those on typical phones.
The well-known tech creator liked the camera’s design and internal features at first. But he became worried when he realized the online descriptions weren’t accurate or didn’t match up with how the camera actually performed.
Things started to fall apart when he started testing the phone’s AI feature. A red button on the side launches the Vertu Life app, which is designed to fulfill any request, available around the clock.
It can assist with tasks like making restaurant reservations or planning trips. Brownlee initially tested it by ordering a t-shirt from his website, and it seemed to function perfectly at first.
The AI assistant requested Brownlee’s shirt size and shipping address, but then some odd things started happening. He realized the price the AI quoted was wrong – his shirts normally sell for $29 on his website, but the AI was only asking for $20.30.
The AI assistant then told Brownlee to wait until 10 AM in Beijing before making his purchase. This made Brownlee suspicious, so he directly asked if he was communicating with a real person. The response, a grammatically flawed “It’s real man,” only deepened his doubts.
This discovery led Brownlee to explore Vertu’s online store, where he was shocked to find phones priced as high as $55,600 and even a toothbrush costing $370,000.
He criticized the website, saying it felt like it was written by artificial intelligence – full of empty buzzwords. He explained that the site was packed with countless pages of rambling, meaningless text.
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2026-01-12 08:19