If you’ve been waiting for Nvidia to launch its first CPU for gaming laptops, you might be in luck. A new leak has shown what Nvidia’s first-ever consumer APU (accelerated processing unit) could be for laptops – and the details are pretty exciting.
While Nvidia made several announcements during Computex 2025, including new RTX-powered laptops and AI features, one major product was missing from the spotlight: the long-rumoured gaming laptop APU, now, it looks like the chip might finally be real.
A new video posted by Moore’s Law Is Dead has revealed what seems to be an early engineering sample of Nvidia’s APU. At around the 40-minute mark, the video shows a close-up image of the chip, attached to at least eight memory modules. This new information offers the best look yet at what could be coming soon for mobile gaming devices.
Nvidia’s new chip could be built for performance and efficiency
The leaked chip seems to have a design similar to AMD’s Strix Halo, with a built-in iGPU (integrated graphics processing unit) and a reported thermal design power (TDP) between 80 and 120 watts. That indicates that Nvidia aims for serious gaming performance in a compact, all-in-one chip.
It’s also believed that this APU will be based on ARM architecture, with Mediatek possibly developing the CPU side. This move mirrors what other companies are doing to create more energy-efficient laptops without sacrificing power.
A good example is AMD’s Ryzen AI Max 390 APU in the Asus ROG Flow Z13. That device skips a traditional graphics card in favour of a strong integrated chip – and it still handles gaming well. By doing something similar, Nvidia could offer more portable laptops, longer battery life, and less reliance on bulky cooling systems.
This could also change the game for handheld consoles. A chip like this could make handheld gaming PCs more powerful without needing external GPUs. The design looks toward the future, combining speed, battery life, and performance in one package.
Hints from the Switch and what’s next for Nvidia
If you’re wondering whether Nvidia can pull this off, look at the Nintendo Switch. The original Switch used Nvidia’s Tegra chip, and the upcoming Switch 2 – launching on June 5 – will reportedly use a custom Nvidia chip. Thanks to DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), Nvidia has proven tech to squeeze extra performance from modest hardware.
So when can you expect to see this APU in action? According to Moore’s Law Is Dead, Nvidia may release it either at the end of this year or in early 2026. That aligns with reports suggesting the new APU could hit the market sometime in 2025.
If these rumours are accurate, we may see a big shift in gaming laptop design. With Nvidia entering the APU market and competitors like AMD already showing what’s possible, the next generation of laptops could be lighter, cooler, and more powerful than ever before.
And if you enjoy gaming on the go or want a sleek device with high-quality graphics, this could be the product you’ve been waiting for.
