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 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

superlawyer15 Avatar
60 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
60 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
60 months ago
A portless iPhone would be a deal breaker for me. Please Apple, no more courage!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rosalindavenue Avatar
60 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
60 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
60 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)