In 2013 I made a speed comparison of smartphones, tablets, PCs and notebooks on my old blog (in Dutch). My reasoning then: with the benchmark program Geekbench you can compare the speed of a smartphone directly with that of a PC, because it is the same test on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac. Download Geekbench, test your own device and look up where you stand.
Does that reasoning still hold in 2026? Yes, mostly. Geekbench still exists for Android, iPhone and iPad, Windows, macOS and Linux, and is still the test for comparing devices across operating systems. There are three caveats:
1. Only compare scores from the same version. In 2013 I used Geekbench 3. Every new version calculates differently, so you can't put the scores from then next to today's. Geekbench 7 came out in July 2026. There are few measurements yet, so below I mainly use Geekbench 6, with the Geekbench 7 score added where it is already known.
2. The balance has completely reversed. In 2013 the fastest smartphone (the Galaxy Note 3) scored only a sixth of a fast desktop PC. Today the iPhone 18 Pro has the highest single-core score of the entire list, and with all its cores together it is faster than many laptops.
3. A benchmark measures a short peak. A smartphone has no fan and slows down after a few minutes of heavy load to avoid overheating. A PC or laptop keeps its speed up much longer.
Single-core and multi-core: what's the difference?
- Single-core: how fast one processor core is. This mainly determines how smooth your phone or PC feels in everyday use: opening apps, loading websites, scrolling through photos.
- Multi-core: how fast all cores are together. This counts for heavy work: editing videos, exporting photos, games and programs that use all cores.
The higher the score, the faster. A score twice as high means roughly twice the computing power.
The comparison: smartphones, tablets, PCs and laptops
Below are 51 devices and processors, ranked by their Geekbench 6 multi-core score. The scores are averages from Notebookcheck's tests, retrieved on November 12, 2026. For PCs and laptops the score mainly depends on the processor, so I list the processor and the type of device.
| Device | Type | Single-core | Multi-core | Geekbench 7 multi-core |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Pro (M5 Max)Mac | Mac | 4,322 | 29,256 | 35,738 |
| Desktop PC with Intel Core Ultra 9 285KDesktop PC | Desktop PC | 3,260 | 21,688 | 26,435 |
| Desktop PC with AMD Ryzen 9 9950XDesktop PC | Desktop PC | 3,408 | 21,383 | 29,134 |
| Gaming laptop with Intel Core Ultra 9 275HXLaptop | Laptop | 3,062 | 19,464 | 24,763 |
| Desktop PC with AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3DDesktop PC | Desktop PC | 3,285 | 18,109 | 19,263 |
| Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5)Mac | Mac | 4,195 | 17,072 | 15,676 |
| Desktop PC with AMD Ryzen 5 9600XDesktop PC | Desktop PC | 3,320 | 15,378 | 16,694 |
| Laptop with AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370Laptop | Laptop | 2,881 | 14,996 | 17,515 |
| Apple iPad Pro (M4, 2024)Tablet | Tablet | 3,749 | 14,988 | 16,111 |
| Laptop with Snapdragon X EliteLaptop | Laptop | 2,455 | 14,256 | 15,542 |
| Desktop PC with AMD Ryzen 5 7600Desktop PC | Desktop PC | 2,893 | 13,326 | 13,814 |
| Laptop or mini PC with AMD Ryzen 7 8845HSLaptop | Laptop | 2,630 | 12,998 | 14,420 |
| Apple iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max (A20 Pro)Smartphone | Smartphone | 4,729 | 12,715 | 11,622 |
| Laptop with Intel Core Ultra 7 155HLaptop | Laptop | 2,409 | 12,385 | 10,917 |
| Xiaomi 18 Pro Max (Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6)Smartphone | Smartphone | 4,099 | 12,162 | 11,157 |
| Apple iPad Air (M3, 2025)Tablet | Tablet | 3,054 | 11,966 | 11,879 |
| Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,687 | 11,298 | 9,676 |
| Laptop with Intel Core Ultra 7 258VLaptop | Laptop | 2,754 | 10,966 | 10,821 |
| OnePlus 15 (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,631 | 10,949 | 8,709 |
| Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+ in Europe (Exynos 2600)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,076 | 10,487 | 10,345 |
| Oppo Find X9 / vivo X300 (Dimensity 9500)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,397 | 10,166 | 7,725 |
| Apple iPhone 17 Pro / Pro Max (A19 Pro)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,843 | 10,057 | 9,003 |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 (Snapdragon 8 Elite)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,105 | 9,941 | – |
| Apple iPhone 17 (A19)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,732 | 9,438 | 8,745 |
| Desktop PC with AMD Ryzen 7 5700GDesktop PC | Desktop PC | 1,948 | 9,407 | 11,066 |
| Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)Mac | Mac | 2,363 | 8,622 | 8,356 |
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro (A18 Pro)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,479 | 8,568 | 7,947 |
| Laptop with Intel Core i7-1255ULaptop | Laptop | 2,319 | 8,273 | 7,231 |
| Apple iPhone 16 / 16e (A18)Smartphone | Smartphone | 3,338 | 8,044 | 7,602 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 (Dimensity 9400+)Tablet | Tablet | 2,652 | 8,040 | 8,467 |
| Desktop PC with Intel Core i7-8700K (2017)Desktop PC | Desktop PC | 1,778 | 7,418 | – |
| Apple iPhone 15 Pro / iPad mini 2024 (A17 Pro)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,930 | 7,244 | 7,209 |
| Google Pixel 11 (Tensor G6)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,687 | 7,220 | 7,164 |
| Laptop with AMD Ryzen 5 7530ULaptop | Laptop | 1,969 | 6,901 | 6,237 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,239 | 6,894 | 7,087 |
| Laptop with Intel Core i5-1235ULaptop | Laptop | 2,095 | 6,875 | 6,638 |
| Apple iPhone 15 / iPad 11th generation (A16)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,566 | 6,673 | 6,643 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 in Europe (Exynos 2400)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,066 | 6,534 | – |
| Google Pixel 10 (Tensor G5)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,308 | 6,108 | 5,989 |
| Apple iPhone 13 / 14 / SE 2022 (A15)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,332 | 5,661 | 5,310 |
| Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2)Smartphone | Smartphone | 2,060 | 5,444 | 4,909 |
| Google Pixel 9 (Tensor G4)Smartphone | Smartphone | 1,874 | 4,519 | 4,268 |
| Google Pixel 8 (Tensor G3)Smartphone | Smartphone | 1,676 | 4,317 | 3,913 |
| Samsung Galaxy A56 / Tab S10 FE (Exynos 1580)Smartphone | Smartphone | 1,368 | 3,921 | 3,891 |
| Samsung Galaxy A55 (Exynos 1480)Smartphone | Smartphone | 1,149 | 3,481 | 3,466 |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro+ (Snapdragon 7s Gen 3)Smartphone | Smartphone | 1,171 | 3,309 | 2,946 |
| Mini PC with Intel N100Desktop PC | Desktop PC | 1,222 | 3,157 | 2,914 |
| Samsung Galaxy A54 / A35 (Exynos 1380)Smartphone | Smartphone | 1,015 | 2,883 | 2,884 |
| Samsung Galaxy A16 4G / Tab A9 (Helio G99)Smartphone | Smartphone | 730 | 1,983 | 2,043 |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 (Helio G85)Smartphone | Smartphone | 409 | 1,429 | – |
| Laptop with Intel Celeron N4500Laptop | Laptop | 460 | 710 | – |
A few things stand out:
- An iPhone 17 or a Galaxy S26 is, with all its cores together, about as fast as a desktop PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G, and faster than a fast desktop PC from 2017.
- A cheap laptop with an Intel Celeron N4500 is slower than almost every smartphone in the list. I really wouldn't buy one in 2026.
- The difference between cheap and expensive smartphones is big: a flagship is three to six times faster than an entry-level phone with a Helio G99.
Test your own device
Just like in 2013, you can test your own smartphone, tablet or PC with Geekbench. It is free for personal use and the test takes a few minutes.
- Download Geekbench from geekbench.com, the Google Play Store or the App Store.
- Close other apps and keep your device on the charger, so the test isn't slowed down.
- Start the CPU test. After a few minutes you see your single-core and multi-core score.
- Compare your score with the table. Note: if you test with Geekbench 7, compare with the last column.
Want to know how your processor scores in PassMark, the test I use for PCs? Then see How fast is your CPU?
Sources
- Notebookcheck: Smartphone Processors Benchmark List (Geekbench 6.7 and 7.0, November 12, 2026)
- Notebookcheck: Mobile Processors Benchmark List (laptop and desktop processors)
- MacRumors: Geekbench 7 launches
- MacRumors: iPhone 18 Pro benchmarks (A20 Pro)
- BGR: European vs American Galaxy S26
- My original 2013 article (Dutch)
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