Huang takes Trump's call, but the phone in his hand steals attention

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang drew widespread attention on Monday at the All-In conference in Los Angeles when President Donald Trump called him live on stage. But another detail caught the eye of some observers: the phone handed to Huang to take the call was Apple's new foldable device, which isn't yet available in stores and won't launch for roughly five months from time of writing.

Once Trump was on speakerphone, the conversation shifted to concerns about AI safety. The two men appeared to agree that growing fears about AI amounted to what Trump called a "hoax." The president argued that the true beneficiaries of AI panic are China and "political people," and that the technology is too significant — "bigger than the internet," in his words — to slow down over. During the exchange, Huang told Trump that the audience was applauding the remarks.

Whether Huang genuinely shares that view, or simply isn't positioned to say otherwise, remains unclear. Nvidia's business depends heavily on AI labs continuing to buy its chips, making it a logical move for him to downplay existential risk if he's concerned about the company's share price. Nvidia stock is still up 33% over the past year, though it dipped slightly on the day of the appearance.

While most attention went to Trump's surprise call, some noticed the $1,999 phone in Huang's hand. It may have carried its own message — a decade after Apple stopped using Nvidia hardware in its devices, the company now needs Nvidia's technology enough to run part of Apple Intelligence on it.