Spotify’s brief attempt to become a hardware company wasn’t much of a success: The company stopped making its “Car Thing” dashboard accessory less than a year after it was available to the public. And now, two years later, the device is on the verge of becoming completely inoperable. Customers who bought Car Thing are receiving emails warning them that it will stop working completely on December 9th.
Unfortunately, Spotify does not offer any kind of subscription credits or automatic refunds to device owners, nor is it open sourced. Rather, Spotify is simply canceling the project and telling people to (responsibly) dispose of Car Thing.
“We’ll be retiring Car Thing as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offering,” Spotify wrote in a FAQ on its website. “We know this may be disappointing, but this decision allows us to focus on developing new features and enhancements that ultimately provide a better experience for all Spotify users.”
The company recommends customers factory reset their products and find some way to recycle their hardware responsibly. Spotify candidly admits there’s little reason to expect a sequel. “At this time, we have no plans to release an alternative or new version of Car Thing,” he wrote in the FAQ.
While the Car Thing’s hardware was impressive considering it was Spotify’s first attempt, the product was more of a Spotify remote control on your phone than a standalone player. While the device still found a niche community, its appeal was limited.