- A new rumor suggests that laptops with new Nvidia CPUs could arrive in the first half of 2026
- These are the long-rumored N1 and N1X processors, which are based on Arm
- There will be laptops from Dell and Lenovo, as well as other suppliers
If you’re wondering when laptops with Nvidia’s new Arm CPU inside will start shipping, the latest rumor suggests initial models will debut in the first half of this year.
A Wall Street Journal report (via VideoCardz) claims that Dell and Lenovo are working on laptops with Nvidia’s Arm CPUs, built in collaboration with MediaTek, that “could arrive in the first half of this year.”
That suggests an arrival in the next four months or so, and this information comes from sources in Nvidia’s supply chain.
These are the long-rumored N1 and N1X CPUs, in case you had any doubts. The report notes that the hope is that Nvidia’s silicon can help make laptops lighter and thinner while maintaining long battery life.
That, of course, fits nicely with an Arm chip, as these processors excel at achieving new levels of battery longevity in thin and light laptops.
Dell and Lenovo are specifically mentioned, but the WSJ notes that other laptop makers will be on board with Nvidia’s Arm CPU, as expected, although perhaps the first devices will be from the mentioned vendors.
Analysis: strong arm tactics
While Arm has its strengths, as noted, certainly in power efficiency, these laptops also have their weaknesses when running Windows 11. Namely compatibility issues with some programs and, in particular, games, although many significant steps were taken last year to smooth out gaming on an Arm laptop.
So an Nvidia-powered Windows on Arm laptop could be quite exciting, as it’s thin and light capable of tackling mainstream gaming relatively well with its integrated graphics. Because naturally the GPU will be one of Nvidia’s strong points here, with previous rumors that the number of graphics cores could be on par with the RTX 5070. Although note that that doesn’t mean actual performance will be – we have to be realistic about the range with integrated graphics, given thermals etc.
There’s also the issue of driver quality in Nvidia’s favor, which is a shakier area for Adreno GPUs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips (which will be Team Green’s rival in the Windows on Arm laptop space).
As for the rumored timing, there are concerns about the RAM crisis, which is making everything difficult in the PC world and spilling over into storage memory chips as well, and how that could interfere with Nvidia’s launch plans.
Previous rumors suggested a Q1 2026 launch for these N1X laptops, but that never seemed all that likely, as Nvidia didn’t even mention the devices at CES 2026 (and if they were available, Team Green surely would have).
I’m also not sure about a release in the first half of 2026 at this time. The WSJ seems quite hesitant in its wording of the rumored deadline, so it sounds far from certain. From a betting perspective, I’d give Q3 the same odds as Q2 given the current PC climate, but we’ll see.
Additionally, there are other notable questions here. What’s up with the rumored desktop incarnation of Nvidia’s new Arm CPU? And in fact, remember Nvidia’s separate collaboration, away from MediaTek, in which the company provides integrated graphics for Intel CPUs (among other plans) – how does that fit with this Arm master plan? 2026 is sure to be a revealing year for Nvidia, but I’m not convinced those revelations are imminent just yet.
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