summary
- Spotify has stopped making its Car Thing gadget, which you use to listen to and control Spotify in your car.
- The company has effectively scrapped the devices and is urging owners to dispose of them “safely.”
- It seems like a waste, as the company could have opened up the device for modification.
Spotify first launched its Car Thing gadget in 2021, which was a compact Spotify player with a touchscreen and a physical knob. The product had its fans, but Spotify has now decided to stop manufacturing the gadget, effectively making it unusable.
The company sent out emails to customers informing them of Car Thing’s discontinuation (h/t: Reddit), but also updated its support page with more details.
Unfortunately, this discontinuation means that Car Thing will no longer function, meaning many people are left with a useless gadget that basically no longer works. Spotify recommends resetting the device before disposing of it “safely,” and says there are no trade-in options for subscription credits or refunds.
This is a very unfortunate development for Car Thing owners: music streaming services could have prevented many of these gadgets from ending up in landfills by opening up their software, allowing people to install alternative operating systems and apps to continue using the device as an in-car audio player or for other purposes.
Spotify also says on its support page that it has no plans to release a replacement or new version of Car Thing, but this whole affair shows that Spotify has no qualms about damaging devices, and therefore suggests that you shouldn’t buy hardware from them in the first place.
We emailed Spotify to ask why it doesn’t make Car Thing’s software available for improvement, and will update this article if the company responds.