5 smartphones more powerful than the laptop you bought a few years ago

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Smartphones have evolved a lot in recent years, and some are even more powerful than laptops released just a few years ago. Indeed, they are now equipped with more efficient processors, additional memory and have also benefited from major advances in cooling, making current models capable of handling several heavy tasks. Therefore, gaming, high-resolution video editing, and multitasking have become something these devices can handle more easily.

Some of this difference is evident when comparing recent smartphone processors to the standard specifications of laptops from 2023 or even newer years. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen benchmark scores are very good, especially compared to older processors used in laptops a few years ago. For example, many smartphones today come with productivity features that support external displays and allow you to run multiple apps at once. So multitasking can easily match a laptop from a few years ago, especially for professional tasks.

As one of the best Android phones of 2026, Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra beats many laptops from recent years. It comes with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is also one of its best new features. In benchmarks, this chip has excellent benchmark numbers. It managed to achieve 3,698 points in single-core and 11,093 points in multi-core, and it also comes with 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM, which provides additional processing power for demanding applications.

On a benchmark, Dell’s Latitude 3340 released in 2023, with a Core i5-1335U, scored 2,054 points in single-core and 7,049 points in multi-core. This difference is also reflected in some tests, where the Galaxy processes 288.3 megapixels per second when rendering a PDF, while the Dell only processes 97.1 and 185.7 frames per second in the Photo Library test, compared to 112.2 for the laptop.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy found in the Galaxy S26, delivering foldable performance that can outperform some high-end 2023 laptops. This includes models like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 with Intel’s Core i7-1355U. Looking at the Geekbench 6 results, the Fold 8 comfortably comes out on top, especially in terms of multi-core performance.

The Fold 8 can handle demanding gaming, image and video editing, and heavy multitasking without any slowdown. The model also comes with 16GB of RAM, which is comparable to many high-end laptops available in 2023. However, unlike those laptops, the Fold 8’s hardware is crammed into a device that’s just a few millimeters thick when unfolded, with a 7.6-inch internal display that can run multiple apps at once. DeX takes the comparison further. Combined with multitasking on a foldable phone, this feature allows you to connect your smartphone to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, while supporting multiple workspaces and windowed applications.

During the launch of the OnePlus 15, the company made it clear that it had built this device specifically to deliver good gaming performance and not for multitasking. In fact, none of the marketing for the device talked about replacing a computer for everyday tasks. However, the phone still ranks among the fastest ever released, with 3,606 points in single-core performance and 11,442 in multi-core when tested in Geekbench 6. These scores are better than many older laptop models released in recent years.

The OnePlus 15, for example, holds a good lead over the Ryzen 7 7730U, a processor common in laptops by 2023, especially in single-core work. In Geekbench’s Ray Tracer test, replacing heavy rendering tasks, the OnePlus 15 processes 2.94 megapixels per second compared to 2.08 for the Ryzen chip. That said, sustained, graphics-intensive workloads can cause the phone to heat up and lose some of its initial speed, but in multitasking and large documents it still outperforms many laptops designed for office work.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is powered by the A19 Pro, one of Apple’s most powerful chips yet, with performance that now rivals some of the company’s laptop chips. For comparison, the MacBook Air M2 2023 scores around 2,349 single-core and 9,661 multi-core on Geekbench 6, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max scores over 3,800 single-core and around 10,100 multi-core.

Although the MacBook 2023 remains a very capable laptop to handle tasks like writing, multitasking, and even some gaming, the gap has narrowed a lot in recent years. Indeed, in 2023, the iPhone 15 Pro chip was not as competitive as an M2, especially for games. Today, an iPhone 17 Pro Max can run games like “Resident Evil 4” and “Resident Evil 2” stably at 1080p, something older chips couldn’t do.

Its new vapor chamber and aluminum monocoque also allow it to operate longer. When running certain games, the MacBook Air M2 can still get ahead, depending on settings and resolution, but Apple’s flagship iPhone is now much closer to its 2023 laptop than previous models, which also helps it retain its resale value. Additionally, the MacBook Neo released in early 2026 actually runs on the A18 Pro chipset, the same processor as the iPhone 16 Pro.

Motorola decided to use the older Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for the Razr Ultra 2026, instead of switching to the new Gen 5 processor that many other companies are integrating into their flagships. However, even with a weaker processor, the Razr Ultra 2026 manages to deliver better performance than many older laptops, especially those with a Core i5-1335U. For example, Geekbench’s Photo Library test results show that the Razr Ultra processes 142.5 frames per second, while the Dell Inspiron 15 3530 manages 119.8 frames per second.

The Razr Ultra also comes with Smart Connect, which is one of the best perks of switching to a Motorola phone. In fact, thanks to this feature, it becomes easier to connect the phone to a computer, allowing the user to better control it and even drag and drop files between devices. Another point is that the Razr Ultra also comes with 16GB of RAM, which is very useful, especially for anyone buying a multitasking phone. With this extra memory, it is possible to maintain the phone’s performance, even when you need to keep multiple apps open. So you can edit a document while copying information from the messaging application, without needing to switch applications.

To determine which models would make this list, we researched the most powerful phones sold in the US and compared them to laptops that were also popular in 2022 and 2023 – which we consider to be a few years ago. We also chose 2023 as the cutoff year for laptops because these models remain new enough that people can still use them, but old enough to show how smartphone chips have evolved.

We compared the benchmark results of all these products, because in this context, more powerful refers to the raw performance of the smartphones in single-core and multi-core tests and their performance in everyday tasks. Laptops have larger screens and access to Windows or macOS, which offers a wider range of applications and gives them a major advantage. However, we limited the comparison to productivity-focused laptops, as the gaming models have more powerful processors and dedicated GPUs that give them a significant advantage.