This is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited product of the year in the PC world. Nvidia will be coming out with ARM chips for the PC world. The N1X version of the chip appears to be destined for notebook PCs, but is now facing a major setback. According to new leaks, its release has now been pushed back to 2026, due to a design flaw requiring a complete redesign. Originally, we thought we’d at least catch a glimpse of this chip at Computex 2025…but that was not to be.
The N1x chip is said to be an ARM SOC integrating Geforce graphics and developed jointly with MediaTek. Nvidia’s solution is intended for both desktop and notebook PCs. Its launch is (or was) to be the subject of an exclusive collaboration with Alienware, which would then release the first gaming notebooks equipped with this SoC.
A major design flaw in Nvidia’s N1X chip?
True to its culture of secrecy, Nvidia has done its utmost to limit leaks on this project. Technical details are still unclear. Potential benchmarks suggest a 20-core configuration, with a Geekbench score in excess of 3,000 single-core, and close to 19,000 multi-core. If confirmed, the design flaw evoked in this leak is serious enough to justify a one-year delay, bringing Nvidia’s arrival in this sector to the second half of 2026. The consequences of this delay could weaken NVIDIA’s strategy in the PC chip sector. While players such as Qualcomm are trying to gain ground with their own ARM-based solutions for PCs, Nvidia was aiming to hit the gaming market hard. Under these conditions, the Green’s misadventures would give AMD and Intel a little more fuel to accelerate their X86 solutions. AMD is currently in a strong position with its APUs, which equip most handheld consoles. The Reds have also signed a multi-year agreement with Microsoft concerning the future of Xbox. Intel is keeping a low profile, but has demonstrated that its architectures are capable of high performance and efficiency. Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake HX show that X86 can be more than competitive with ARM, too quickly heralded as the miracle solution.
Even so, we must remain cautious about these rumours. Nvidia is a master at communicating about its future products, and in the past has repeatedly caught off guard by going the opposite way of information and rumors.