Nvidia’s RTX Spark sounds almost perfect for a PC handheld — too bad Jensen Huang doesn’t seem to care about that | Tech Radar
Overview
News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Details
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Nvidia’s RTX Spark sounds almost perfect for a PC handheld — too bad Jensen Huang doesn’t seem to care about that
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
The new So C is laptop-focused, according to Nvidia's CEO
It continues to feel like Team Green isn't focused on gamers anymore
Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip — its first full system on a chip — landed at Computex with a bang, as the small but mighty ARM So C looks set to give Apple’s M5 chip a run for its money. But anyone hoping its power might come to a gaming handheld could be disappointed, and that includes me.
Speaking after Spark’s announcement Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was asked if it could appear in a handheld, to which he responded, “If somebody wants to do it, you know, we'll work with them on it. But right now we're really focused on doing something that is just such a big deal, reinventing the PC after 40 years."
On the one hand, this dismissive response makes some sense. While ARM is great in a lot of ways for gaming, it struggles as most titles are built to run on Intel and AMD hardware. You can still game on chips like Spark with an emulation layer that translates the software to ARM hardware, but this has a serious impact on the title’s performance.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (Image credit: Getty Images)
On the other hand, Spark promises some impressive performance — with 20 cores, a GPU that matches the desktop RTX5070, and a battery life that’s "much better than anything you've seen before on RTX laptops" according to Huang, with an Nvidia exec telling us we should "expect all-day battery life."
With rumors of a smaller (read: more handheld-friendly), but slightly less powerful, Spark on the way, I can’t help but feel this chip could have been the light in PC handheld’s very dark tunnel.
Intel says it 'welcomes the competition' from Nvidia's new RTX Spark CPU
Nvidia really doesn't seem to care about gaming GPUs anymore
Nvidia claims RTX Spark laptops will offer all-day battery life
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X (Image credit: Microsoft / Asus)
In recent months, we’ve seen some seriously major price hikes. Pricier models of the Lenovo Legion Go 2 handheld now cost more than two Nvidia RTX 5080 GPUs, and Valve very recently hiked the Steam Deck OLED price by almost 50%. Nintendo has already teased that the Switch 2 is getting a solid price bump later this year.
The RTX Spark might not help keep costs down dramatically — in fact rumors are laptops will cost close to
Some might question the appeal of a handheld if it costs as much as a full gaming laptop, but having been glued to my pair — the Switch 2 and Rog Xbox Ally X — throughout 2026, the form factor and portability are a major draw, especially when trying to game while travelling or kicking back in bed.
Spark laptops are coming, why not a handheld? (Image credit: Nvidia)
Admittedly, I’m not in the market for a super-pricey handheld, but I know plenty of folks out there would be.
Even if you ignore all of the other excellent reasons for Nvidia to give handhelds some love, it would at the very least help improve the perception that Team Green is turning its back on gamers in favor of its AI focus — a notion that Huang’s comments don’t do much to dismiss.
Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for Tech Radar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
1 Gemini can turn your rough Google Docs notes into a polished report in seconds
2 Meta AI's recent hack is a wake-up call for anyone who puts their trust in AI systems
3NSA warns that cybercriminals are targeting this one critical component that the energy, chemical, food, agriculture, and transportation sectors rely on - here's what we know
4 Belkin's new Nintendo Switch 2 Grip could solve my biggest problem with handheld mode
5I used Chat GPT in Slack to turn team chats into weekly status reports
Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
Key Takeaways
- News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
- Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
- Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
- Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
- Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards
