The Hot Take: It appears they're looking to accelerate Windows on ARM here. Nvidia seems to be pushing the ARM ISA hard these days with their new Server ARM SoC they just announced last month.
With the unexpected cancellation of MediaTek keynote, all eyes will be on NVIDIA's Jensen's presentation, possibly revealing the N1 Laptop SoC. Taitra Cancels MediaTek Rick Tsai's Computex Keynote Unexpectedly Ahead of the Event; NVIDIA Likely to Unveil the N1/N1X SoC for Low-Power Gaming Laptops We have all been waiting for NVIDIA to reveal its N1/N1X SoC that will power the next generation of low-power gaming laptops, positioning itself as a strong competitor against AMD and Intel in the mainstream segment. We are interested to know how the NVIDIA-MediaTek collaboration will shape up the laptop market since the N1X SoC is […]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/mediatek-abruptly-pulled-from-computex-2026-keynote-slot-handing-nvidia-the-stage/
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The Hot Take: ARM has a awakened and re-newed Intel to start competing with.
Intel has just launched its highly anticipated Wildcat Lake "Core Series 3" SoCs, designed for everyday PCs & a strong competitor to MacBook Neo. Intel Wildcat Lake vs Apple MacBook Neo Laptop Battle Is Something To Look Forward To As Chipzilla Brings Panther Lake's Goodness To Mainstream Users The Panther Lake "Core Ultra Series 3" lineup took the laptop market by storm, offering unprecedented levels of efficiency, battery times, and graphics performance. While the laptop designs were great, these products were mainly positioned in the high-end category with only a few options within the sub-$1000 segment. Then came Apple's MacBook […]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-launched-its-macbook-neo-competitor-wildcat-lake-for-everyday-pcs/
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The Hot Take: I mean really, WHY do they want us on ARM??
Qualcomm has the stars to align for Windows on Arm. The chip is strong enough, and the software situation is improving, so this could be the point where ARM Windows laptops stop being a niche joke and start going mainstream.
The timing for Snapdragon X2 Elite looks spot on, with a faster chip aimed at the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple’s M5 series and the usual x86 crowd, plus Windows on Arm gaining more native apps.
Developers are starting to treat Qualcomm’s top-end SoC like a platform worth bothering with, rather than a science project that only runs half their tools. That should have been the point where everyone stopped playing silly games and started building volume.
Instead, a Reddit thread suggests that OEMs shipping Snapdragon X2 Elite machines are leaning into premium pricing to chase margins while the software stack remains fragile. If the pricing stays daft, adoption stays niche, and the whole thing risks stalling before it has properly started.
Redditor Large_Bear_6962 wrote: “Developers are less likely to invest their time and effort in an architecture if user adoption is limited. Notebook manufacturers who price their machines out of reach for the majority of buyers are ultimately creating a difficult barrier to entry, which is what’s currently being faced by the Snapdragon X2 Elite.”
ASUS did not help by launching the Zenbook A16 at $1,599.99, then slapping on a $100 hike after reviews went live, once the hype had done the marketing for them.
The argument is that Windows on Arm has the technical base now, but developers will not spend months optimising for a tiny installed base. If users do not buy the machines, the apps do not arrive, and everyone goes back to pretending emulation is fine.
Not everyone is blaming the laptop brands, because Qualcomm is not exactly running a charity either. It is the only realistic option for Windows notebook makers who want this platform, and it prices its Snapdragon X2 Elite family as if it were already a hit.
There is grumbling that Qualcomm should subsidise early designs to undercut rivals, then make money once volume and app support land. Instead, it charges a hefty upfront premium, making every machine look like a luxury purchase.
There is more noise about Qualcomm being too lax about pushing partners to deliver timely software updates, leaving bugs to fester and souring the user experience. That kind of drift is poison when you are trying to convince developers that the platform is stable.
Apple is sitting there with Apple Silicon MacBooks and a wider software library, which makes premium-priced Snapdragon X2 Elite laptops a harder sell than they need to be. Some “Extreme” designs are already landing near M5 and M5 Pro money, and that is a nasty place to start a platform fight.
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The Hot Take: Question is - Why do they really want us on AMR instead of x86/CISC chips?
A new powerful chipset has arrived to take on x86 CPUs and Apple's M5, writes Wccftech.
The blog Windows Central writes that "Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 processors are here" — and they run Windows:
Microsoft has done a massive amount of work to improve compatibility and has also convinced developers to embrace Windows 11 on Arm. Users of Windows 11 on Arm PCs spend 90% of their time on Arm-based apps that run natively. Additionally, apps that do not run natively can often run through Prism emulation, which has improved dramatically since launch...
[A]pp compatibility issues are overblown by many, and unfortunately those sharing false information are the same folks people rely on to make purchases... Works on Windows on Arm maintains a list of compatible apps and games for the platform. There, you'll see well-known apps like Google Chrome, the Adobe Creative Suite, and Spotify. We also have a collection of the best Windows on Arm apps to help you out. Snapdragon X PCs aren't gaming PCs, but there is a growing library of games that can run on the chips.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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The Hot Take: And the push beings it's fifth or sixth try for Windows & ARM....
Windows 11 on Arm has come a long way, but many reviewers and commenters fall back on horror stories of incompatibility that haven't been true for years.
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The Hot Take: Oh, you think? Desktop is never truly going to fit into the palm of your hand unless we do something drastic like quantum-computing.
MediaTek may have conceded its plans to bring only a single chipset to its Dimensity 9600 lineup because a new rumor claims a ‘Pro’ version will arrive later this year, likely as a direct counter to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Like its closest rival, a tipster states that the SoC is bringing desktop-level performance with a target frequency of 5.00GHz and a new CPU cluster. The only catch is that MediaTek has yet to find a way to cool it properly. New target frequency for the Dimensity 9600 Pro may only be in short bursts, as overheating problems plague the chipset, […]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/dimensity-9600-pro-bringing-desktop-level-performance-with-5ghz-clock-speed-target/
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The Hot Take: Stop making claims, we'll see the actual here soon enough.
As hyperscalers seek efficiency and control from custom CPUs they build in house, they adopt Arm and 90% of servers running custom silicon will use the Arm ISA in 2029.
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The Hot Take: ARM appears to have miffed licenses already.
ARM's ecosystem is both expansive and pervasive these days, with Samsung's latest cutting-edge Exynos 2600 chips also leveraging ARMv9.3 CPU cores. Even so, Samsung is apparently taking its first tentative steps towards the open-source RISC-V architecture via a custom SSD controller chip. Samsung is tentatively exploring the RISC-V open-source architecture via a custom SSD controller chip, moving away from ARM's IP According to South Korea-based ETNews, Samsung's upcoming SSD lineup, called the BM9K1 and designed entirely in-house, will leverage a controller chip that is based on the open-source RISC-V architecture. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, […]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-takes-first-step-away-from-arms-ecosystem-by-working-on-an-ssd-controller-chip-based-on-risc-v-architecture/
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The Hot Take: ARM wants that data center pie that AMD & Intel has but it looks like it's targeting Intel directly. Culling the weakest I guess? I feel intel isn't weak, just getting re-engaged and back fully into the game.
Cores it's got what agents crave Interview In recent weeks, the likes of Nvidia and Arm have revealed CPUs designed expressly to run AI agents like OpenClaw.…
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The Hot Take: You will get mid-range only and love it.... Probably all while renting it I assume.
Nvidia wants a slice of every laptop sold, not just the ones with a chunky discrete GPU.
The firm is lining up “exclusive” laptop system-on-chips for consumers this year, barging into a market long owned by Intel and AMD while trying to cash in on the AI PC hype.
The pitch is that Nvidia has ignored the huge integrated CPU-and-GPU segment, even though it ships bucketloads of graphics chips for gaming and workstations.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said: “There’s 150 million laptops sold per year, and Nvidia’s market largely targets gaming and workstation markets where discrete GPUs are used. And we’re very successful there. There’s an entire segment of the market where the CPU and the GPU are integrated. And that segment has been largely unaddressed by Nvidia today.”
He said that entire segment of the market is quite rich, large, and underserved today, with state-of-the-art, world-class GPUs like Nvidia’s.
The big idea leans hard on on-device AI, with CPU vendors repackaging product lines around NPUs such as Intel’s NPU and AMD XDNA, and Nvidia fancies itself as the obvious third wheel.
It is pushing the envelope by pairing silicon with software, dropping its open-source model stack, Nemotron, alongside laptop SoCs to ride the edge AI frenzy.
If Nvidia stuffs enough consumer machines with its own silicon, it can bake “on-device AI” features in as defaults and grab a bigger cut of whatever edge AI turns into.
This would give Nvidia an edge that Intel and AMD “cannot achieve”, because they are not building foundation models, they are just selling the compute.
If edge AI really does hit the predicted $160 billion valuation by 2030, then Nvidia could be on to something.
On the silicon side, the rumour mill says Nvidia is building ARM-based laptop chips with MediaTek, following the shape of its GB10 SuperChip used in the DGX Spark mini-AI supercomputer.
The Nvidia and MediaTek pairing is not new, since they have already collaborated in automotive via the “Dimensity Auto” line with RTX GPU IP bolted in.
Two consumer SKUs are expected, codenamed “N1X” and “N1”, with the latter pitched as the weaker of the two, and both have appeared on public benchmarks.
The architecture is tipped to use “ARM foundations” because power efficiency matters in laptops and MediaTek lives on ARM anyway.
There is speculation that Nvidia could co-design ARM IP to stand out from other ARM laptop plays, such as the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple and Qualcomm.
If Nvidia follows the GB10 pattern, it could use ARM v9.2, but that is still guesswork.
Process rumours point to TSMC 3nm, and the leaked CPU numbers for the bigger N1X suggest a 20-core cluster at 2.81GHz base with a 4GHz boost.
The weaker N1 is expected to land in eight or 12-core setups.
In graphics, the integrated RTX chunk is expected to be Blackwell-based, and early chatter claims a 6,144-CUDA-core layout with 48 SMs.
Despite that headline figure, it is still a mobile part, with leaks suggesting up to 120W TDP, putting it in the same power bracket as AMD Strix Halo and Intel Lunar Lake.
The Geekbench OpenCL numbers being waved around put “Nvidia N1X (6144 Cores)” at 46,361, miles behind “RTX 5070 Desktop (6144 Cores)” at 185,269.
Memory support is expected to include LPDDR5X, with up to one petaflop of FP4 AI compute.
Nvidia is even rumoured to be eyeing handhelds later, since it cannot resist chasing the whole gaming market once it smells blood.
It is not stopping at ARM, either, since it is said to be working on an x86 laptop chip through its partnership with Intel, which would give it a foot in both camps.
That ambition runs straight into supply reality, with DRAM tight and TSMC capacity reportedly fully booked, so consumer dreams may lose to data centre margins.
The expectation is that if the N1X and N1 show up at Computex in early June 2026, early availability may be limited due to a stretched supply chain.
Dell and Lenovo are said to be gearing up for designs, hinting that OEMs are curious, even as they brace for pricing and volume drama.
Pricing is still foggy, but the piece puts the N1X laptops in a rough $1,500 to $2,000 range, depending on configuration.
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