Three for the Road: OnePlus, BMX, and Roborock

Best Smartphone: OnePlus 15R

When you're traveling, the last thing you want is a smart phone that runs out of battery power. Without power, there's no navigating foreign cobblestone streets or using Google Translate to converse with the wait staff in a 400-year-old Estonian pub. That's why the OnePlus 15R is such a wonderful travel companion, with a battery that will last a full 24 hours without having to plug in.

The OnePlus 15R is a top-tier phone priced at just $700 list (deals are available). While that's hundreds of dollars less than leading brands, the 15R still offers leading specifications and processing speed so you won't feel like you have to upgrade in a year (or two). It's based on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor and a 165Hz, 6.83-inch OLED screen. The 15R's display is crystal clear and the high refresh rate means it's easy on the eyes.

The basic model comes with 256 GB, which is more that the basic models from the competition, such as Samsung. Also critical for me, and my work with the audiophile outlet The Absolute Sound , the OnePlus 15R supports high-res streaming codecs, LDAC, aptX, and aptX HD The OnePlus 15R also has up-to-date wireless support for WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0.

But for me, it's the battery that really shines on the road. It lasts for so long in real world situations, I've often gone two full days of regular use without panicking about finding an outlet or wondering if I have the right adapter with me. In rundown benchmark tests, the OnePlus 15R is second only to the OnePlus 15, lasting for well over 20 hours. So no matter how many pics or TripAdvisor recommendations you check out, you'll be fine until you get back to your hotel room.

Best Battery: BMX SolidSafe 5K

If you don't have a OnePlus 15R and need an extra charge on the road, you'll want to take a portable power bank with you. However, standard lithium ion batteries have come under increasing scrutiny for their (still rare) potential as fire hazards. Thankfully, there's a better—and safer—battery solution, a semi-solid-state model.

BMX (which stands for Better Mobile Xperience) sells the SolidSafe 5K Solid-State Magnetic Power Bank for $60. The SolidSafe power banks use semi-solid-state battery cells with an oxide electrolyte vs. lithium-ion batteries that use significantly more liquid electrolyte, making them vulnerable to thermal runaway. In other words, lithium ion batteries can more easily catch fire, especially if they are damaged. Semi-solid-state batteries are significantly safer. (There's no shortage of videos showing people intentionally damaging semi-solid-state batteries to demonstrate this fact.

The SolidSafe 5K holds enough of a charge to completely recharge most smartphones (5,000 mAh) and includes the convenience of Qi2 15W magnetic wireless charging, as well as USB-C 20W fast charging. Better yet, its built-in lanyard cable doubles as a USB cable. No more searching for a cable or wondering if you forgot to toss one in your bag.

Yes, the BMX SolidSafe 5K costs more that garden variety lithium ion batteries, but because of its semi-solid-state design, it also boasts an effective re-charge life double that of cheaper lithium ion batteries.

Best Autonomous Vacuum: Roborock Saros 20

When you're on the road, with the wind blowing through your hair and the Beach Boys blasting on the radio, you haven't a care in the world. And then it occurs to you: When you eventually return home, you're going to have some cleaning up to do—unless you've got a robo vac on the job while you're away.

The Saros 20 covers hardwoods and carpets.

Indeed, the most popular autonomous vehicles today are robotic vacuums, which have become a mainstay for those of us who hate to do housework. My current favorite is Roborock's Saros 20, which sucks, really sucks. And for a vacuum, that's a good thing.

The Saros 20 is Roborock's most powerful robo vac boasting a rated 36,000 Pa of suction. Pa stands for Pascals, as in units of negative pressure. For comparison, inexpensive robo vacs are generally rated at 10,000 Pa. Consequently, the Saros 20 does an excellent job vacuuming up detritus on deep, concentrated pile carpets. On my test living room sample, it was the first robo vacuum to satisfactorily clean up country messes.

In addition, the Saros 20 touts improved mopping and mapping and automatically recognizes some 200 common household obstacles. I've found that means it very rarely gets stuck or calls out for help. Better still, the Roborock vacuum has a feature the company calls AdaptLift, which allows it to use wheeled armatures to raise up and get over room thresholds up to 1.77 inches high. So it can get into areas, like bathrooms, that typically have ridges or low door barriers that can stymie other robo vacs.

At $1,600, the Roborock Saros 20 is not inexpensive, but when it comes to vacuums—robotic and otherwise—you get what you pay for. And the Saros 20 is so good, I replaced another competitor (I'm not saying who) on the main floor of my house with the Saros 20. Best of all, it's a great feeling to know that when you return from your peregrinations, the Roborock Saros 20 will have kept things neat and tidy (unless you left the kids back home in charge, of course).