Former Vertu man to launch new luxury handset brand XOR next year

The Titanium feature handset out next year will cost £3,000

A new premium mobile brand called XOR was unveiled yesterday by former Vertu employees, with the launch expected next summer.

The UK start-up has been co-founded by former Vertu man Hutch Hutchison, who is head of design for the brand.

It is being headed up by a number of entrepreneurs with experience in this segment of the market.

Vertu were a British-based luxury handset brand that were owned by Nokia, developing handsets costing up to £23,000.

However XOR won’t be going this big, with its debut Titanium feature handset starting from £3,000 when it comes out next year.

Each handset will be hand built in a UK workshop, from materials including titanium, ceramic, sapphire crystal and fine leather.

The feature phone offers 2G and 3G voice calling and SMS, as it avoids going down the route of being a smartphone.

The phone will also feature wireless charging, plus an air quality meter, while battery life is expected to provide up to at least five days support.

Commenting on the new brand, Hutchison said: “Owning a XOR is like having a trusted friend, a reliable ally, a protective bodyguard by your side.

“Trust and security are at the heart of XOR, from our bold shield knot logo which is an ancient symbol of warding and protection, to the name itself, a logic gate used in the algorithm that encrypt your speech and text.”

Encryption

One of the key areas of focus has been around encryption of the handset, with two or more XOR users able to exchange calls and messages through the brands Advanced Encryption System (AES) algorithm: AES 256.

This means that the phone will be able to use a different ringtone, to distinguish whether a call is encrypted or not.

Hutchison adds that he isn’t targeting a set amount of sales, but rather to give people an option for a high-end handset to be used as a second phone, much in the same way as people opt to buy expensive watches.

“The race to monetise it, is what kills a lot of start-ups so keeping the integrity in the brand is key. You don’t really sell these things, people come to you for them.”

The global coronavirus pandemic has delayed the launch of the brand, while XOR will announce partners ranging the series at a later date.