NVIDIA N1X: A new reverse delays the release of the first ARM processors for laptops

The long -awaited Incursion of Nvidia on the ARM processor market for laptops, with its N1 and N1X chips, faces a new major obstacle. Despite public statements affirming a series production, sources close to Semacurate reveal new engineering problems, potentially pushing marketing at the end of 2026. This unexpected setback could even require a change in silicon itself.

It is not the first hitch for Nvidia in this adventure. In early 2025, subtle defects had already been reported during the initial validation. The engineers had then managed to correct them without requiring “resin” (refabrication of silicon), bringing the launch date at the beginning of 2026. However, the nature of the current problems seems more complex.

Always promising performances despite the pitfalls

Despite these delays, the performance of the N1X remains promising. Prototypes of N1X fleas were seen last month on Geekbench 6.2.2, displaying scores of 3,096 in a monocoeur and 18,837 in multicœur. The specimen tested, which would be integrated into an 8EA3 “HP development laptop” 8ea3 “equipped with 20 logical cores clocked at 2.81 GHz and 128 GB of RAM under Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS, suggested promising performance. The N1X incorporates a “Big.little” arrangement composed of 10 Cortex-X925 performance cores and 10 Cortex-A725 efficiency cores, supplemented by graphic units from the Blackwell architecture of the 50 serial geForce RTX and an NPU (neural-processing unit). These characteristics would position the N1X as a serious competitor of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite series and even Apple M3 chips.

A definite impact on partners and the market

This new deadline will undoubtedly have repercussions for OEM partners (Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo etc.) of Nvidia, who will have to review their plans concerning laptops under Windows. Nvidia will have to juggle between the risk of new delays and the need to deliver an impeccable software and hardware to win in the face of the actors established on the CPU market for laptops. The end of 2026 now seems to be the new horizon for the arrival of the first laptops equipped with the N1, which will have a lot to meet the Snapdragon X2 Elite expected at the end of September and the Apple M5 flea 2026.

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