Comment by HPsquared

In that case it might be security updates to the kernel or even the microcode, making things slower

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meltdown_(security_vulnerabili...

So there is now software that has come out making it worse even running the same applications.

I suppose the same can be said of people with all the digital distractions we have now. The hardware might be the same but I certainly can't focus as well as I used to because the mind is full of irrelevant content.