Wireless CarPlay Expands to More New Vehicles Amid Rumors of Portless iPhone Next Year

Hyundai continues to expand wireless CarPlay and Android Auto to more of its vehicle models, including the 2021 Elantra, which began arriving to dealerships in the United States and Canada earlier this month. The new Elantra is available with up to two 10.25-inch displays — one for the digital cluster and one for infotainment options like wireless CarPlay.

hyundai elantra wireless carplay

2021 Elantra is available with up to two 10.25-inch displays

Hyundai is also offering wireless CarPlay in 2021 models of the Tucson, Santa Fe, Venue, and Palisade, while Cadillac has introduced wireless CarPlay across virtually its entire 2021 vehicle lineup, as noted by Cadillac Society.

Wireless CarPlay works over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for the iPhone to be connected to the infotainment system with a Lightning cable. The wireless connectivity will soon become more important, as reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously claimed that Apple will introduce at least one high-end iPhone without a Lightning connector in 2021, resulting in the device being completely portless.

Apple has already started transitioning to a wireless ecosystem by removing the headphone jack on iPhones and subsequently releasing AirPods, introducing MagSafe wireless charging and accessories on iPhone 12 models, and so forth.

At this point, it's still unclear if or how a portless iPhone would work with vehicles that use wired CarPlay, beyond the use of aftermarket adapters that seem somewhat hacky and don't work in all vehicles. Apple may offer a solution when a portless iPhone becomes official, or it might come down to waiting for more automakers to adopt wireless CarPlay.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

superlawyer15 Avatar
48 months ago
A portless iphone is a dumb idea. Folks aren't going to go buy a new car just because the new iphone has no ports. What's going to happen is that people will pass on the new phone.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
48 months ago
A portless iPhone would be a negative thing for some iPhone users. I can't speak on percentages, but I'm sure more than a few people sync things manually from their Mac. It would take a really long time to sync vast amounts of of data wirelessly.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RoadWarrior56 Avatar
48 months ago
A portless iPhone would be a deal breaker for me. Please Apple, no more courage!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rosalindavenue Avatar
48 months ago
Portless iPhone is a terrible idea, especially now that the magsafe charging is revealed as slow. This would be the bst way to guarantee that poeple who charge their phones and CarPlay users hold on to their current iPhone for 4 or 5 years instead of upgrading.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rosalindavenue Avatar
48 months ago

Or I don't know... Maybe buy a Wireless QI charger for the car? I've been using one since the first iPhone that supported Qi came out.
Unless there is some new tech, a charger isn't going to do anything to connect to wired CarPlay.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) Avatar
48 months ago
CarPlay Wireless is nice but it does eat battery. Need to have it on the charger if you don't want to be significantly drained by the time you get to your destination.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)