Retailers who were punting on growth from new AI notebooks may have to wait a bit after Nvidia and MediaTek postponed the launch of their ambitious AI PC platform, codenamed N1X.

The project which would have seen multiple PC brands take advantage of the PC AI technology to sell new AI enabled notebooks has been delayed until 2026, due to a mix of industry-level and technical hurdles, including Microsoft’s delayed operating system roadmap, critical chip revisions of Nvidia processor technology.

Originally slated for a Q3 2025 release, the N1X platform was expected to debut in both commercial and high-end consumer devices.

Observers first suspected a problem when the two Companies failed to reveal product at the recent Computex 2025 trade show in Taiwan.

Industry insiders the problems are attributable to Microsoft’s upcoming Windows release, which are supposed to be optimized for Arm and AI workloads, but is reportedly behind schedule creating a software bottleneck.

Additionally, Nvidia is said to have uncovered issues in the initial silicon that required a significant redesign.

Adding to this was concerns about the broader economic conditions, including weaker-than-expected notebook sales and a cautious enterprise spending this resulted in both companies moving to re-evaluate the platform’s timing and market strategy.

The N1X launch is now being repositioned with Dell, HP, Lenovo, and other OEMs expected to lead the rollout in early 2026.

Analysts suggest that the B2b market is better positioned to adopt AI-enhanced systems in the short term, given ongoing IT refresh cycles and the growing demand for on-device AI in business applications.

This pivot is also a way to avoid launching into a volatile consumer market, where purchasing behaviour remains unpredictable and value perception around AI PCs is still at an early stage.