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What do you do if you are a bankrupt company? Make a $5,000 phone, of course!
- British luxury phone maker Vertu rose from its bankrupt ashes and announced the Aster P.
- The Aster P retains the company’s gaudy design style, materials, and exorbitant price tag.
- The phone is only available in China, however.
Do you remember Vertu, the British smartphone maker that made outlandish luxury smartphones and went bankrupt over a year ago? To hell with that bankruptcy, Vertu said, as GizmoChina reported that the company unveiled the gaudy Aster P earlier today.
Before we talk about anything else, just look at it. A titanium frame runs along the sides, with the back made out of crocodile and lizard leather and the display covered by sapphire crystal glass. Sapphire should stand up to scratches better than glass, though the former is more brittle and more prone to cracking than the latter.
That red button on the right is not just there to look good. It acts as the “concierge” button that gives you 24/7 access to your own personal butler. That might be overkill, but do not pretend like you do not want a butler to do your rich person things for you.
There is even a small metal “door” that, when opened, shows you the etched signature of the person that assembled your phone. As with previous Vertu devices, each Aster P is individually assembled. Both doors open gull-wing-style to reveal the dual SIM slots.
Overall, the only words that come to mind are “this exists.” Vertu smartphones have a knack for making me both sick and ashamedly admire their designs, and the Aster P is no different.
There is not much to write home about when it comes to the rest of the phone. The Aster P features a 4.9-inch AMOLED display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, 3,200mAh battery, 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 20MP front-facing sensor.
Finally, the Aster P runs Android Oreo out of the box.
Weirdly enough, the Aster P was only announced for release in China. You can pre-order the phone for a whopping 35,800 yuan (~$5,167) if you want the phone in either Ink Black or White. If you go for Dazzling Gold, prepare to put down a wallet-shredding 98,000 yuan (~$14,146).
Way to make four-figure phones like the Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone XS Max feel like phones for plebs, Vertu.