Question Is Microsoft's Surface Pro Snapdragon's significantly ''better'' than the Ultra choices - how does one choose?

[Sugar Kaine Mostly]

Let me give some real context to my question. I'm a fan of Apple M Silicon performance. I'm also a fan of Apple's old school ARM Bionic processors. Basically, with developers creating for mobile and also creating for Windows/Mac, we're able to see a bridge or gap of biased preferences.

For example, Tik Tok's Capcut video editor is very popular and widely used. It was initially created for mobile platforms, and still runs as low as iOS 12. Basically they optimized usage with old Bionic Processors. I seen that if you have a Snapdragon processor like with a Surface Pro, you can install the ''mobile'' or ARM version of CapCut from the Microsoft Store, opposed to installing the x64 Windows version.

The reason why I'm specifically looking at a Surface Pro is because of the Snapdragon choice and because it's a 2in1, whereas in the Mac world you're stuck with an iPad Pro iPad OS Capcut version or the Mac OS Capcut version. Microsoft makes everything easy because of the 2in1 that can compete with Apple's M2 or M3.

However, does anybody recommending any 2in1 Intel Core Ultra's that would outperform an intel i5-1235U? Basically my iPhone 15 Pro Max absolutely destroys the i5-1235U in rendering times. I can only assume the reason is because mobile is running an ARM version of CapCut and the i5-1235U is running off a Windows x64 version. How an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 8GB of RAM can outperform an i5-1235U with 24GB of memory is beyond me. These real world tests is the reason why I'm currently using an iPhone 16 Pro.

 

[Aeacus]

Intel Core Ultra's that would outperform an intel i5-1235U?

Well, Core Ultra 9 185H does outperform i5-1235U,
comparison: https://versus.com/en/intel-core-i5-1235u-vs-intel-core-ultra-9-185h

And so does Core Ultra 7 155H,
comparison: https://versus.com/en/intel-core-i5-1235u-vs-intel-core-ultra-7-155h

For other options, here entire lineup of mobile CPUs in Core Ultra series;
link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_Lake#List_of_Core_Ultra_Series_1_processors

Just pick a CPU, plop it into the comparison and look how it fares against old Core i5.
Do note that those benchmarks are synthetic and doesn't show real world usage. Real world usage may differ.

How an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 8GB of RAM can outperform an i5-1235U with 24GB of memory is beyond me.

RAM amount isn't everything. CPU frequency, core/thread amount and most importantly, optimization with software plays much higher role than sheer RAM amount.