Microsoft’s not the only reason NVIDIA’s Arm chips are delayed — but Windows deserves part of the blame

NVIDIA's rumored Arm processors are said to be delayed until next year. Now, a new report sheds light on why we'll have to wait for the chips.

According to a report by DigiTimes, NVIDIA and MediaTek are facing delays due to "a combination of delays in Microsoft's operating system roadmap, ongoing chip revisions at Nvidia, and weakening demand in the overall notebook market."

Windows on Arm has come a long way since it was introduced, but there are still limits to the platform. It seems Microsoft will have to iron out some kinks to prepare the way for NVIDIA's Arm chips.

Blame for the delay also falls on NVIDIA's required redesign of the processors, according to the report.

The first wave of NVIDIA Arm chips is expected to target enterprise users. Presumably, consumer and gaming-focused devices would follow.

NVIDIA Arm CPUs: What are they?

NVIDIA's N1-series chips have not been formally announced and are said to be delayed, so we're far from getting benchmarks or firm specs. It's said by Taiwanese outlet UDN that the chips will rival the performance of the RTX 4070 laptop GPU while being much more energy efficient.

Rumors suggest there will be a 65W processor that matches the performance of a 120W RTX 4070 gaming laptop. If that proves true, the N1 series could power slim and powerful gaming laptops that outperform Arm-based PCs powered by Qualcomm chips.

There are also rumors that the chips will have a TDP of 80W or 120W. Needless to say, more information is needed before anyone makes plans to purchase a PC running an NVIDIA Arm chip.

In effect, the introduction of the N1 series would expand the offerings available to consumers on the Arm side of things. Between Qualcomm's range of Snapdragon X chips and a pair of N1 processors, consumers would have a wide range to choose from.

NVIDIA Arm CPUs: Rumors and reports

Rumors of NVIDIA N1X and N1 Arm-based processors have been around for quite some time. When we covered the rumored chips back in January of this year, it was believed that millions of N1X chips would ship in Q4 2025 and that millions of N1 processors would follow in 2026.

That timeline appears to have shifted significantly. But considering that at one point it was believed the NVIDIA Arm-based processors would be here already in July, it's important to take all reports with a grain of salt.

Based on the latest report from DigiTimes, we could see plans change again. With Microsoft's operating system roadmap and NVIDIA's chip revisions in play, things could be fluid for a while.

It's believed that the N1X and N1 chips will be made in partnership with MediaTek. The processors could shake up the computing industry and provide fresh competition for Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple.

The latest reports state that the chips are expected to be ready in late 2026, though that could translate to an announcement at CES 2027.