Spotify throws in the towel with its dashboard accessory, Car Thing, which will be obsolete on December 9.
Designed to be a convenient piece of dash-mounted hardware that could act as a remote control for your phone's Spotify, Car Thing never seemed to take off. It went on sale in February 2022, but production stopped five months later. Now, after December 9, Spotify says the device will be discontinued and will stop working (basically, it will become a brick). All customers are asked to perform a factory reset and responsibly dispose of the device.
When it was on sale, Car Thing sold for $90. No refunds or subscription credits will be offered to remaining users. Spotify has also confirmed that there are “no plans to release a replacement or new version of Car Thing” on an FAQ page about the discontinuation.
“We understand it may be disappointing, but this decision allows us to focus on developing new features and improvements that will ultimately provide a better experience for all Spotify users,” the company explained. Read the full statement here.
The announcement of Car Thing's demise comes just months after Spotify announced a new royalty model and its intention to introduce remixing tools directly into the program. Last month, Spotify also announced that it will raise prices again.
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