Skip to main content

The iPhone 7 is more powerful than the MacBook Air — but there's a catch

iphone 7 more powerful macbook air a10 chip
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The iPhone 7 is one of the most powerful smartphones to date, but did you know that’s it’s actually more powerful than plenty of computers? In fact, it’s more powerful than both the MacBook Air and the 2013 MacBook Pro.

This appraisal comes from John Gruber, who notes that the iPhone 7 pretty much leaves every other smartphone in the dust when it comes to performance, achieving a single-core score of 3,450 on Geekbench, which is around twice the score as the second-best device, the Samsung Galaxy S7.

It’s only recently that we have even been able to compare smartphones and computers. Previously, there wasn’t a direct comparison between Geekbench’s scores for desktop and mobile devices, but Geekbench has made a recent effort to bring the two scoring systems in line with each other to make for easier comparison.

Still, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to benchmarks. Benchmarks are an indicator of a phone’s performance, but they don’t always line up with real-world results. In fact, manufacturers can sometimes optimize how a phone runs to achieve higher benchmark scores while leaving real-life performance behind.

The other thing to remember is that Geekbench measures things like CPU speed, but the amount of RAM and SSD speed will help make the MacBook perform a lot faster.

Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the iPhone 7 is really the most powerful smartphone ever, and whether the iPhone 7 is more powerful than MacBooks or not, it’s still impressive.  Other smartphone manufacturers will likely be playing catch up for at least the next few months or so. It will be interesting to see how Android handsets stack up against the iPhone 7 once the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 starts shipping on devices.

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
iOS 18 makes an 11-year-old iPhone feature exciting again
Someone holding an iPhone 14, showing the Lock Screen.

Following the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) keynote, developers are starting to dig into the first iOS 18 developer beta. Though this beta lacks Apple Intelligence and many of the other features demoed on Monday, it offers a surprising new take on an old iOS feature: the flashlight.

The built-in flashlight feature has been available on the iPhone since iOS 7, which was released in 2013. It hasn't changed much at all since then, which makes sense, given its basic function. Interestingly, it has received a significant update in iOS 18.

Read more
iOS 18 is official. Here’s how it’s going to change your iPhone forever
Screenshots of new features in iOS 18.

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here: iOS 18 has just been announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 keynote. And, like the rumors have been saying, this is a very big, juicy update for your iPhone.

There's been a lot of anticipation for iOS 18. Rumors and leaks for the new update have been particularly intense this year, more so than iOS 17 rumors last year. So, was the hype worth it? Here's what's coming to your iPhone with iOS 18.
Home screen changes

Read more
MacOS 15 will completely change how you use your iPhone
An iPhone being mirrored on a MacBook.

Apple just announced macOS 15 at WWDC 2024. Called macOS Sequoia, the updated operating system brings a suite of new features to Macs this fall. The key change, however, is a new Continuity feature that allows you to mirror your iPhone on your Mac, from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio.

Although iPhone mirroring takes center stage, there are a ton of new features in MacOS 15. Here are all of them.
iPhone mirroring

Read more