That is not true at all. For compute, it's about 5x slower than the cheapest Intel processor you can buy.
It's certainly much better than the original Raspberry Pi (which felt like a 486), but it is not using recent technology and it just doesn't compare to what is available today. It is for projects where you would normally use a microcontroller, but want HDMI and Linux out of the box. People using the Pi for art projects, signage, dashboards, controlling their sprinkler system, etc. have the right idea. People using them to serve interactive traffic are going to have a bad time. They are really, really slow.
It's certainly much better than the original Raspberry Pi (which felt like a 486), but it is not using recent technology and it just doesn't compare to what is available today. It is for projects where you would normally use a microcontroller, but want HDMI and Linux out of the box. People using the Pi for art projects, signage, dashboards, controlling their sprinkler system, etc. have the right idea. People using them to serve interactive traffic are going to have a bad time. They are really, really slow.