Sometimes a company's own shortage tells a story that its marketing never could. ASUS, speaking to investors after its second-quarter results, admitted that the first ProArt P14 and P16 laptops built around NVIDIA's new RTX Spark chip have already run out before a single retail shelf has been stocked. The machines are not due until the fourth quarter of 2026, and the true size of the appetite behind the sellout remains unmeasured, leaving the moment as a hopeful signal rather than a verdict.
ASUS Runs Out of RTX Spark ProArt Laptops for Partners as Demand Outpaces Its Q4 Launch Plans
Running out of stock tells you demand exceeded plan, not by how much.
Mark
So what exactly happened here? ASUS ran out of laptops that haven't even launched?
Mimi
Right. On its Q2 earnings call, ASUS said it has no ProArt P14 or P16 units left to ship to partners, the retailers and distributors handling pre-orders. The official release is planned for Q4 2026.
Mark
Why would partners be so eager?
Mimi
The chip, mostly. RTX Spark pairs ARM CPU cores with a Blackwell RTX GPU and up to 128GB of unified memory, inside slim machines with 4K OLED screens and all-day battery life, according to the coverage.
Luke
Before we get carried away: how many units are we talking about?
Mimi
That's the catch. The call gave no volumes.
Luke
Then "sold out" could mean a small initial allocation vanished. Demand beating ASUS's plan is the only thing actually established.
Mark
Fair. Does the optimism about next year count for anything?
Mimi
ASUS said it's very optimistic about next year's sales, citing high AI computing power for the compact size. That's the company's own view, though.
Luke
And the "all-day" battery claim and the performance praise come from show-floor impressions and spec descriptions, not independent testing in this piece.
Mark
So what do we watch?
Mimi
Whether supply recovers before the Q4 2026 release, and whether ASUS ever puts a number on this.
Il Polso
- ASUS has no ProArt P14 or P16 units left to ship to partners, even though the laptops have not formally launched.
- Pre-order demand has overrun the supply plan, leaving retailers and distributors waiting with empty allocations.
- ASUS is working to rebuild supply in the months before the planned Q4 2026 release, with more units reportedly on the way.
- The company is publicly bullish on next year's sales, betting that RTX Spark's AI power in a compact body will carry the line.
- No sales volumes have been disclosed, so the scale of the demand stays uncertain until supply catches up or the release arrives.
Sometimes a company's own shortage tells a story that its marketing never could. ASUS, speaking to investors after its second-quarter results, admitted that the first ProArt P14 and P16 laptops built around NVIDIA's new RTX Spark chip have already run out before a single retail shelf has been stocked. The machines are not due until the fourth quarter of 2026, and the true size of the appetite behind the sellout remains unmeasured, leaving the moment as a hopeful signal rather than a verdict.
On its second-quarter earnings call, ASUS told investors something unusual for a product still months from launch: it has no ProArt P14 or ProArt P16 laptops left to send to the third-party retailers and distributors who have been taking pre-orders. The shortfall falls on the first ProArt machines built around NVIDIA's RTX Spark chip, and the company says more units are coming before the Q4 2026 release.
The chip was unveiled at Computex in Taipei, where Microsoft joined as launch partner and ASUS showed its ProArt pair beside the Surface Laptop Ultra. Jensen Huang promised a powerful Windows on ARM processor that could run every Windows app ever made. RTX Spark pairs efficient ARM CPU cores with a Blackwell RTX GPU and a unified memory pool of up to 128GB, aiming to challenge Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm inside Windows 11 PCs. The laptops arrive with all-day battery life, slim bodies, and 4K OLED displays.
ASUS offered no sales figures, so the depth of demand remains a question. What it did say is that it expects strong sales next year, crediting the AI performance packed into such a compact machine. Whether supply catches up before release will show how much the early enthusiasm was worth.
On an earnings call for its second quarter, ASUS told investors something that doesn't often happen with a product that hasn't formally launched: it has no ProArt P14 or ProArt P16 laptops left to send to its partners. Those partners are the third-party retailers and distributors who have been taking pre-orders, and the shortfall sits squarely on the first ProArt machines built around NVIDIA's new RTX Spark chip.
The laptops are scheduled for a Q4 2026 release, so ASUS has some runway to rebuild its supply before they reach the broader market. More units are on the way. What the earnings call did not include is any figure for volume, which means the scale of the demand is hard to pin down. Running out of stock tells you demand exceeded plan; it doesn't tell you by how much, or against what baseline.
What ASUS did say is that it is very optimistic about next year's sales. The company pointed to the high AI computing power the RTX Spark laptops deliver relative to their compact size as the reason.
The chip itself was unveiled at Computex this year, where the Windows Central writer covering the story was on the ground in Taipei. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made an early promise for it: a powerful Windows on ARM chip able to run every Windows app ever made. Microsoft is the launch partner, and its Surface Laptop Ultra was among the first RTX Spark machines announced. ASUS was right alongside it with the ProArt P16 and ProArt P14, which the writer saw firsthand at the show and described as sleek, streamlined, and a smash hit on the floor.
RTX Spark is an ARM-based system-on-chip meant to compete directly with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm for a place inside Windows 11 PCs. Rumors about it, under the name N1X, circulated for months before Computex 2026, and the writer says the finished chip appears as powerful and efficient as the pre-announcement estimates suggested.
The design combines efficient ARM CPU cores, similar to those in Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips, with an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU. Both draw on a unified memory pool that can reach 128GB. The payoff, as described, is strong performance on ordinary and AI-related workloads without the need for a bulky discrete GPU.
ASUS has wrapped that silicon in laptops with battery life billed as all-day, a wide selection of ports, very slim bodies, and 4K OLED displays. Taken together, the writer argues, it's easy to see why retail partners are eager.
The open question is how big the appetite really is. Until ASUS shares unit numbers, or until the Q4 2026 release shows whether supply can catch up with pre-orders, the sellout is a signal rather than a measurement. (The report originated via VideoCardz.)
Citazioni salienti
ASUS says it is very optimistic about next year's sales, citing high AI computing power relative to the laptops' compact size.— ASUS, Q2 earnings call
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