The talk of NVIDIA putting its chips inside Windows on Arm PCs isn’t new, and it certainly feels like it comes around every year at this point.
However, as we enter 2026, it’s back. This time, apparently, it’s actually going to happen for real.
Supply chain sources revealed that, according to NVIDIA’s latest technology roadmap, Windows on Arm (WoA) platform notebooks using the N1X will debut in the first quarter of 2026, initially targeting the consumer market. Three other versions will go on sale in the second quarter, and the next-generation N2 series is expected to take over in the third quarter of 2027.
DigiTimes (translated)
We’ve previously heard that NVIDIA N1/N1X laptops were originally supposed to launch at some point during 2025. Rumors began as early as 2023, and in mid-2025, the first leaked performance benchmarks of the N1X gave us hope. But the rumored Computex 2025 reveal never happened.
DigiTimes had previously reported that supply chain sources placed some of the blame on Microsoft, specifically “Microsoft OS timelines.” Other factors reportedly include NVIDIA chip redesigns, and global economic situations. Lest we forget the ongoing threat of tariffs from the United States ever looming.
The NVIDIA N1 is actually already out in the world. CEO, Jensen Huang, confirmed that the GB10 inside the DGX Spark AI Supercomputer is actually an N1 in disguise. While these systems are based on Linux, it does at least offer an insight into the sort of performance we could be expecting.
The GB10 features a 20-core ARM CPU paired with an NVIDIA Blackwell GPU, and boasts up to 1,000 TOPS of total AI performance. The CPU is capable of outperfoming AMD’s Strix Halo (AI Max 395+) and the GPU performance can hit RTX 5070 levels.
The short version is that should we actually see N1X-powered PCs launching this year, they’re not going to target the affordable end of the spectrum. For that, we’ll still be looking towards Qualcomm’s lower-tier Snapdragon X chips, but at the high-end, things could get interesting.
NVIDIA is obviously massively invested in the AI market right now, and we can all but guarantee there will be an AI-spin applied to any N1X powered hardware that may release. But aside from that, it would just be nice to finally see Windows on Arm getting another shot in the, well, arm.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform has changed the game, but competition is ultimately what will drive Windows on Arm forward.
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