Spotify kills “Car Thing” in product streamlining; “We understand it may be disappointing.”

28.05.2024 - United States

Spotify’s announced discontinuation of its Car Thing interface, a dedicated device for streaming Spotify in-car, has been met by owners with disappointment, bafflement, requests, and anger. In the company’s official public announcement, Spotify seemed to acknowledge the specialness of the device, even as it presaged its discontinuation: “Car Thing is our first hardware product that allows users to control Spotify through car speakers when connected to a phone by using both voice recognition and preset buttons. The device launched in April 2021, and from the start seemed to us a splendid idea.” But soon enough — 15 months later to be exact — signs emerged that Car Thing would not be a long-term offering; in July 2022 Spotify shut down production of Car Thing, while maintaining service to existing devices. The current announcement which is causing so much upset specifies that Car Thing service — the connection to Spotify — will stop at the end of this year.

(RAIN News) Read more