Why Are Windows Laptops Still Lagging (Literally and Figuratively) in 2025?

It’s 2025. We’ve got foldable phones, AI doing magic stuff with images and text, and cars that basically drive themselves. But then you pick up a brand new Windows laptop… and it still lags. Like, how?? Why are we still dealing with the same old problems of Windows Laptops? It’s like Microsoft and PC makers are stuck in a time loop or something.

Don’t get me wrong—Windows laptops can look pretty slick nowadays. Thin bezels, lightweight designs, OLED screens… the whole deal. But under the hood? Still the same story: slow startups, random freezes, and fans that sound like a jet engine when you open too many Chrome tabs. Honestly, it feels like Windows laptops never fully “grow up.”

So here’s my little rant (mixed with some thoughts) on why Windows laptops still haven’t evolved the way they should’ve by now.

1. Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen

First off, the biggest issue with Windows laptops is that there’s no single company running the whole show. Unlike Apple, which designs both the hardware and software, Windows laptops come from dozens of different manufacturers—Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer… you name it.

And because of that, there’s never really a “perfect” match between the hardware and the software. You might have great specs on paper, but then the drivers are buggy or the laptop is bloated with useless software that slows everything down. It’s like buying a fancy car but the engine was built by five different teams who didn’t talk to each other.

2. Bloatware… Still a Thing?

I don’t know how this is still a problem, but most new Windows laptops come with a bunch of junk pre-installed. Trial antivirus software, weird manufacturer apps, and other random stuff you’ll probably never use. And all of it just sits there in the background, hogging resources and making your laptop feel way slower than it should.

Apple? No bloatware. Chromebooks? Minimal and clean. Windows laptops? You open it up, and it’s like, “Here’s a 30-day trial of McAfee you didn’t ask for.”

3. Specs ≠ Real-World Performance

Another thing I’ve noticed is that Windows laptops can have killer specs—tons of RAM, a high-end CPU, even a dedicated GPU—and they still lag. Why?? I’ve used laptops with 16GB RAM and an i7 processor that still took 2 minutes to fully boot up.

I swear, it’s like Windows just doesn’t use the hardware efficiently. Maybe it’s the background processes, maybe it’s just the OS being bloated after years of updates… whatever it is, something’s not right. You’d think with all that power under the hood, it would fly. But nope.

4. Too Many Versions, Too Much Confusion

You walk into a store or browse online for a Windows laptop, and you’re instantly bombarded with like 50 different models. Even within the same brand. And each one has slightly different specs, screen types, battery life, and build quality. It’s just confusing.

And half the time, the cheaper models look the same as the premium ones but perform like a potato. So people end up buying the wrong thing, expecting magic, and then get disappointed when it can’t even handle basic multitasking.

5. Windows Updates Still Suck

I feel like Windows updates have been a running joke for over a decade now, and guess what? Nothing’s changed. You’ll be in the middle of something important and suddenly—bam—”Windows will restart in 10 minutes.” Or you update the system and then your WiFi just disappears for no reason.

It’s 2025. Why does this still happen??

6. Cheap Models Drag Everyone Down

A lot of people’s first experience with a Windows laptop is some budget model they got on sale for like $300. And yeah, it works… kind of. But it’s slow, has terrible battery life, and overheats if you sneeze near it.

And because there’s so many of these cheap, low-quality models out there, it kind of ruins the image of Windows laptops in general. Even the good ones don’t stand out as much because people expect them to suck.

7. MacBooks & Chromebooks Just Feel… Nicer?

I used to be a hardcore Windows fan, but after trying out a MacBook and even a basic Chromebook, I started noticing how much smoother those devices feel. MacBooks are crazy optimized, and Chromebooks are dead simple and snappy. Windows laptops are… somewhere in the middle. They try to be everything, and end up being meh at most things.

Final Thoughts

Look, I’m not saying all Windows laptops are bad. There are some really good ones out there—especially in the higher price ranges. But for the average user? The experience just isn’t great. And it’s frustrating because Windows laptops have so much potential. They’re flexible, open, and can run pretty much anything. But year after year, they keep falling short in the areas that actually matter—like speed, stability, and ease of use.

It’s 2025. We shouldn’t still be dealing with laggy performance and buggy updates. So here’s hoping someone out there in the Windows world decides to really shake things up soon.

But until then… I’ll just keep yelling at my laptop like it can hear me.

Also read: https://thephoneyguy.com/can-you-replace-a-laptop-with-a-phone-in-2025/