Computex kicked off in Taipei this week, and we’ve seen some pretty big announcements across the PC industry.
While CES gets most of the attention at the start of every year, Computex is where computing lets loose every year in Taipei. For Computex 2026, which started on June 2, we’ve seen some big announcements from Intel, Nvidia, Acer, Samsung and Microsoft. Many of the big reveals even happened before the event officially started.
While there’s a lot of news around chips at Computex, we’re focusing on the devices that use them. PC makers have fresh competition in the affordable computing space in Apple‘s relatively new MacBook Neo, and the ridiculously high price of RAM is squeezing the whole industry. Expect plenty of devices focused on the budget segment, along with some focused on the growing handheld PC space. Like all tech events these days, there’s an emphasis on AI — especially because this year’s event theme is “AI together.”
Acer Aspire Go 15: A $300 laptop powered by Qualcomm?
As we said, budget computers are going to get a lot of attention because of the current state of the tech industry, and Acer’s new Aspire Go 15 is aimed squarely at affordability in a 15.6-inch package. It’s a budget laptop that delivers the basics with, Acer claims, smooth performance. That’s because it’s powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon C platform, which is focused on delivering long battery life and responsive performance for entry-level PCs.
Don’t expect the Aspire Go 15 to take on heavy computing tasks like gaming, but it should be a fine companion for web browsing, streaming and productivity workloads. Acer claims the laptop will feature all-day battery life and will stay cool and quiet throughout the day with up to 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. We’ll have to wait until it’s actually available to test those claims, but any performance gains at the entry-level segment will be welcome.
It’s unclear what the final price will be for the Aspire Go 15 right now, but Qualcomm says PCs using the Snapdragon C are “targeting $300 and up.” If Acer hits that $300 price point, it could be a solid pickup for those looking to save some cash. Unfortunately, there’s no launch date for the Aspire Go 15 just yet, so we’ll have to wait to see what it’s final price will be.
Acer Swift Air 14 and Acer Swift Spin 14 AI take aim at the MacBook Neo
Keeping with Computex’s AI theme, Acer also introduced the new Swift Air 14 and Swift Spin 14 AI, both of which feature dedicated neural processing units (NPUs) to boost AI performance. The Swift Air 14 is pretty clearly a response to the MacBook Neo, featuring an all-metal design, four unique colors (sage green, frost blue, blossom pink or lilac purple) and a slightly higher $699 starting price. It’s also powered by Intel’s new Core Series 3 processors (though you can select higher-end chips) and features some more premium touches, like an IR camera for Windows Hello, up to 19 hours of battery life, and up to 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
The Swift Spin 14 AI is the first laptop in the Spin range to feature a convertible display, so you can rotate it to operate in tent and tablet modes on the fly. Acer is targeting this one to be a little more premium with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 386H, which should provide plenty of power on the go. You can also customize it with up to 1TB of storage and 32GB of RAM, and it comes with an IR camera and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Combined with a dedicated NPU and up to 26 hours of battery life, the Spin 14 AI could be a pretty capable workhorse — but there’s no word on pricing for now.
Both Spin laptops are expected to launch in August. Notably, the Swift Spin 14 AI will also be available with Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Plus processors.
Handheld gaming PCs powered by Intel’s new Arc G chip
One of the most interesting segments to watch over the last few years has been handheld gaming PCs. Early on, most relied on chips from AMD, but Intel hasn’t been resting on its laurels. Team Blue just introduced its new Intel Arc G-Series processors aimed at the handheld market, starting with the Arc G3 and G3 Extreme, and we’re already seeing the first devices using them.
Acer is first up with its new Predator Atlas 8 handheld, which you’ll be able to get with either the Arc G3 or Arc G3 Extreme. The device features full Windows 11 with handheld-tuned graphics performance with Intel’s upscaling tech and support for ray tracing. It packs an 8-inch screen, a dual-cooling system and a 120Hz screen that can hit up to 500 nits of peak brightness.
The Predator Atlas 8 comes with up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, along with two Thunderbolt 4 ports for a solid docking experience when connected to a monitor. The design looks a bit chunky, but Acer says it’s “built around customization and ergonomics for extended sessions.” There’s no pricing information available yet, but it’s expected to launch in October.
Also new is the MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus (man, that’s a mouthful). As noted by The Verge, this updated Claw 8 replaces the prior model’s Intel Lunar Lake chip for the new Arc G3 Extreme. You’ll also get up to 32GB of RAM and a single SSD slot with an eight-inch, 120Hz screen. The design has also been updated for better ergonomics. There’s no word on pricing a launch date here, but as The Verge notes, the prior Claw launched at $1,000. It’s unlikely we’ll see that lowered, considering the current state of inflated RAM prices.
Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip marks the start of ‘a new era of PC’
Nvidia has long been rumored to be working on a new CPU for PCs, and it finally debuted during the company’s keynote at Computex 2026. It’s not just a CPU, though — it’s a platform much like Apple’s M-Series chips, integrating the CPU with RAM and graphics horsepower on one chip. The result is RTX Spark, a chip that is headed to laptops later this year that Microsoft and Nvidia have billed as “a new era of PC.”
Because Nvidia is all-in on AI these days, it’s not surprising that the company is pitching RTX Spark as “a new superchip that reinvents Windows PCs for the era of personal AI agents.” It’s built to run AI agents and LLMs locally, relying on up to 128GB of unified memory that Windows can allocate to CPU or GPU tasks on the fly as needed. However, since it integrates a full stack of Nvidia technologies, it’s also set up to be a powerful platform for everything from gaming to creative and workstation tasks.
You can expect Nvidia’s full suite of technologies to be on board with laptops running on RTX Spark. That includes Nvidia CUDA, RTX, DLSS, FP4, TensorRT, OptiX, Reflex and G-Sync. If you’re unfamiliar with those acronyms, don’t worry — all that matters is that RTX Spark has some serious tech behind it that should lead to better and more efficient performance for AI, gaming, image and video editing, and more. Plus, Nvidia is promising “all-day battery life.”
We’ll have to wait to see how the chip stacks up when it starts shipping in laptops later this year. And there should be plenty of them: Nvidia says you can expect models from Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft Surface and MSI starting this fall. Acer and Gigabyte models are expected to land later. As for the future? Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says they’re already working on the next couple of chips in the RTX Spark line.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra and RTX Spark take on the MacBook Pro
Surface fans have been clamoring for a truly high-end Surface Laptop for years, and it looks like they’re finally getting it. Alongside Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra, a super-premium workhorse of a PC that’s set to bring some serious competition to the MacBook Pro. Microsoft was fairly light on concrete details since it isn’t set to arrive until this fall, but we did get a peek at what to expect.
The Surface Laptop Ultra will run on the RTX Spark chip and is built to deliver on high-performance tasks from AI to 3D modeling, creative workloads and, potentially, gaming. It’ll sport a 15-inch mini-LED screen that can hit up to 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness, and Microsoft says the haptic touchpad is the largest it’s ever put on a Surface. It also doesn’t skimp on ports, with everything you’ll need represented: HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, SD card and a headphone jack.
There’s no word on how much the Surface Laptop Ultra will cost, but expect it to be pricey — especially with the absurd cost of memory these days. However, Microsoft says it plans to launch this Surface later this year, so we won’t have long to wait.
Dell’s new XPS 13 is ready to take on the MacBook Neo
Once the $599 MacBook Neo hit stores earlier this year, it was clear PC makers were going to have to turn their attention to the budget segment and deliver value. Dell brought its answer to Computex, showing off the new XPS 13. It’s a $699 laptop ($599 for students) that brings a premium feel with some more capable internals that make it an interesting competitor on the Windows side of things.
With the default model, you get 8GB of RAM, an Intel Core Series 3 processor and a 2.5K touch display. Those internals can be upgraded, though, if you need a little more oomph. The real draw here is that the XPS 13 is thinner and lighter than the MacBook Neo, and that’s with a quad-speaker setup and backlit keyboard.
For those who want to stick with Windows, the XPS 13 is likely to be a great alternative to Apple’s offering. However, for anyone already using an iPhone or iPad, the draw of Apple’s ecosystem could be enough to sway them the other way. There’s no downside to having more value and competition in the budget space, though, so it’s a win for everyone.
Samsung introduces the world’s first 32-inch 4K 360Hz OLED monitor
If you’re a PC gamer, you know that there’s a constant tension between how fast your monitor is and its resolution. Samsung made a splash at Computex this week by breaking a speed barrier for 4K OLED monitors by introducing the world’s first with a 360Hz refresh rate. That means all the benefits of a faster refresh rate for twitchy games, with a crispy resolution and vivid colors provided by OLED display tech.
For the uninitiated, that means the monitor can refresh the screen up to 360 times per second at a 4K resolution. That’s a first for OLED monitors, which have typically been limited to 240Hz at this resolution. Solutions in the past to get higher refresh rates have involved dropping the resolution to something lower, like 1440p or 1080p to hit faster refresh rates.
That said, there’s no word on how much Samsung will be charging for this 32-inch monitor, but it’s sure to cost a pretty penny. The company says it will begin mass production on the monitor in the second half of 2026.
https://tech.yahoo.com/computing/article/computex-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-from-nvidia-microsoft-intel-and-more-in-taipei-175924609.html?shem=rimspwouoe,
