Nvidia and Mediatek's AI CPU may not see mass rollout until late 2026 — Asus, Dell, and Lenovo reportedly developing N1X desktops and laptops

NVIDIA and mediatek chip with G-Sync logo on CG motherboard
(Image credit: NVIDIA)

Nvidia and MediaTek's hotly anticipated AI PC chips may not see meaningful shipment volumes to the mass market until the second half of 2026, according to a new report. As reported by Digitimes, Nvidia and MediaTek are expected to jointly unveil their new 'N1' Arm chips for Windows PCs at Computex.

According to Digitimes, the joint chip will "likely debut under the Nvidia brand," with both N1X and N1 models planned, echoing previous reports. Digitimes says that both companies are well into production ramp-up, however, states "insiders believe meaningful shipment volumes won't emerge until the second half of 2026."

The chips, which we expect to be unveiled at Computex next week, will mark the second offspring of Nvidia and MediaTek's newly-minted partnership, inaugurated by the GB10 chip unveiled earlier this year.

As the report notes, early N1X benchmarks hint at performance that lags behind some Arm-based PC chips, noting "the results have raised industry concerns."

Perhaps more worryingly, Digitimes reiterates reports that there are "unresolved integration issues with endpoint devices." These manufacturing headaches have previously been reported elsewhere, and could explain the hefty lead time of 2H26 on these chips.

Nvidia and mediatek logos on a black background

(Image credit: Nvidia)

In a separate report, Digitimes claims that the Nvidia and MediaTek roadmap includes commercial N1X AI notebooks targeted at both high-end consumers and commercial markets with 180-200 AI TOPS compute performance.

Digitimes also reports that consumer AI notebooks will adopt the N1C processor platform, now delayed until 2026 because of tariffs and inflation. The report claims Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lenovo, and Asus are all in the pipeline to launch desktop and notebook models, with MSI and Compal also entering the supply chain.

Also in the pipeline is Nvidia's DFX Station featuring the GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra 'superchip'. According to the report, it will feature 748GB of memory and be capable of 20K TOPS AI computing power, which will work with both Windows and macOS.

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Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen is Tom's Hardware's News Editor with almost a decade of industry experience covering technology, having worked at TechRadar, iMore, and even Apple over the years. He has covered the world of consumer tech from nearly every angle, including supply chain rumors, patents, and litigation, and more. When he's not at work, he loves reading about history and playing video games.