RTX Spark: Nvidia announces ARM processors for Windows notebooks
Years late, Nvidia announces its N1X notebook processor – but only a little bit for now. Devices will arrive at the earliest in the fall.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shows first RTX Spark notebooks. However, functional devices are still rare.
(Image: Mark Mantel / heise medien)
The sparrows had been chirping it from the rooftops since 2024; now the time had come: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the notebook processor with the codename N1X at his Computex keynote. It is now marketed under the brand name RTX Spark. This means Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors will finally have competition in Windows-on-ARM devices, and AMD and Intel also have another competitor offering processors for Windows devices.
With 20 ARM CPU cores (10 Cortex-X925 and 10 A725 each) and 6144 shader cores (Blackwell architecture), the N1X processor is an end-user version of the System-on-Chip (SoC) GB10. Nvidia already introduced the latter at the beginning of 2025 for its AI mini-PC DGX Spark.
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However, due to errors in chip design, it took until autumn 2025 for DGX Spark to actually reach its first customers. DGX Spark also runs under Nvidia's Linux derivative DGX OS, not under Windows. The latter is now set to change: Huang promises a new era of the Windows PC with AI agents, which Nvidia wants to embark on together with Microsoft. Details were not available at the venue in Taipei; however, they are expected to follow in the coming days. Huang plans to appear with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at Microsoft's developer conference Build 2026, which begins on June 2 in San Francisco.
Device Range
In his keynote, Huang announced that several manufacturers are working on notebooks with N1X or RTX Spark, including Acer, Asus (ProArt P14 and P16), Dell (XPS), Lenovo (Legion, IdeaPad, Yoga), Microsoft (Surface Laptop Ultra), and MSI. Some manufacturers, like Microsoft, have already started teasing their devices in their blogs and on social media, but none have provided concrete technical details. While there might be mockups to see in the exhibition halls, which are not yet open, there will be no functional devices.
(Image:Â Mark Mantel / heise medien)
This is because the devices are not yet ready for launch. Manufacturers have told us informally that they hope to start sales before the end of the year. Huang officially named autumn 2026 as the launch date on stage; some manufacturers are more specific, expecting September or October.
However, this schedule is not set in stone: According to reports, Windows is still experiencing significant issues under the hood, which also explains the long delay mentioned at the beginning. The technical problems are likely also a reason why Microsoft has released Windows version 26H1 (Build 28000) for selected systems, decoupled from the rest of the development. It is currently already running on all notebooks sold with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2.
(Image:Â Microsoft)
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