Spotify’s Car Thing, a limited hardware “test” is about to bite the dust. The company wrote on Thursday that the device, which brought Spotify to automobiles without Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, will “no longer be operational” as of December 9.
Car Thing was aimed at drivers who want to listen to Spotify in their cars but don’t have modern systems with built-in streaming apps. The $90 device let you control the service with voice recognition and preset buttons, and it had a four-inch color touchscreen. However, Spotify had already discontinued it by mid-2022.
Spotify’s official explanation for ditching its first hardware product is that it’s “part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings” (read: save money) and that it lets the streaming service “focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.”
Those new features and enhancements are anyone’s guess because the company adds that it doesn’t plan on launching a replacement product or a new version of Car Thing. Of course, you can listen to Spotify in your car with your phone connected through Bluetooth or a cable, and many drivers now have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which provide access to much more than a single music app.
Spotify recommends factory resetting the Car Thing and disposing of it after it kicks the bucket in December. The company isn’t offering any refunds or trade-in options — something to keep in mind if it ever rolls out more limited hardware experiments.
