I just got back from a two week trip so South Africa, the third country that I have travelled to with my OnePlus 5, and I can now confidently conclude that the OnePlus 5 is THE best smart phone for travel.

I first got my OnePlus 5 last September and have taken it with me to Taipei, Tokyo and South Africa. I had heard about the OnePlus brand early last year and had salivated at the thought of having such a powerful device but it took me a while before I can gather enough funds to actually buy a phone from the company. I initially wanted to get the OnePlus 3T but they come with units so fast that I managed to snag the OnePlus 5 by the time I had found the cash. At the time I had a Lenovo unit that wasn’t too speedy but boasted a powerful 4000mah battery that was partially why it took me a long time to buy one; I was tossing and turning if I wanted to give up the awesome battery life.

Let me just say: I am so glad I upgraded because seriously, the OnePlus 5 is such a godsend if you like to travel around like me. Here are 5 reasons why that is the case:

1. The dual SIM card slots. At this day and age, being connected online is an absolute must especially when you’re in a foreign place. The Internet just makes everything easier. Can’t understand something? Google Translate. Want to know how to get from point A to point B? Google Maps. Want to get from point A to point B? Book an Uber. Unfortunately, because the Internet is such a high value commodity, international data roaming plans are expensive AF. Buying a local SIM card for data is much more affordable and with the OnePlus 5’s dual SIM card slots, you can use one SIM for data and still keep your local number active while you’re abroad so you still get SMS and/or voice calls if needed.
2. The awesome camera. I’ve read somewhere that the OnePlus cameras are basically knock offs of iPhone cameras but since I’ve never had an iPhone, I can’t really attest if this is the case. The front camera is 16 megapixels while the rear is 20 megapixels and offers 1.6x optical zoom that really came in handy when I was taking photos of the animals in the Safari. Although I’m not a professional photographer, I do like how the photos turn out crisp and clear. Here are some photos that I’ve taken during my South Africa trip (unedited except for the watermark):

   

    

   

   

   

   

   

3. The battery life’s not too shabby. It may have seemed like a step down from my previous Lenovo’s 4000mah battery because OnePlus 5 only has 3300mah but I’ve never actually found myself running low on juice while I was out and about; I usually end up at 25-30% at the end of a full day despite taking photos constantly, being connected to two networks and being online all the time. Although to be fair, I didn’t really stream or record a lot of videos while I was in South Africa, but still I think the battery performance of the OnePlus 5 is excellent. I’ve never even had to use my power bank.
4. Two words: DASH CHARGE. I once forgot to charge my phone before falling asleep and I woke up to 6% of power. After a moment of panic, I plugged it in and took a bath and got ready for my day. Fortunately OnePlus 5 has this dash charge technology that allows for super quick charging that by the time I had gotten out of the shower, my phone was already at 70% and at 86% by the time I got out of my room for breakfast. Assuming that you do burn through the 3300mah battery while you’re out, I imagine that you can get back up to 50% in like 20 minutes which is fantastic if you’re exploring a new city because there’s never a fear of your phone being out of commission.
5. 8 GB RAM! I didn’t think that I would appreciate this feature as much but it really is a godsend. There was one time when I was trying to navigate my way through the Tokyo railway system (not the easiest of feats) and I had Google Translate, XE currency Exchange, Google Maps and Chrome with 50 tabs open all at the same time and experienced no lags in between switching apps. I can’t imagine doing that with my Lenovo without it overheating.

So far I haven’t found a downside to the OnePlus 5 yet except for the non-expandable memory but even that’s not a deal breaker for me because they offer 64GB and 128GB variants. I seriously can’t see myself switching phones in the next two years because this one is so powerful.

If you’re interested in checking out the OnePlus brand, you can go to the official OnePlus Philippines Facebook page. I got my unit from Digital Walker but I believe Widget City offers the OnePlus brand as well.