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About four years ago, Spotify introduced Car Thing, a straightforward device designed to enhance some of your phone’s functions, particularly Spotify playback, for older cars while keeping your phone tucked away.
Car Thing didn’t get a wide release until February 2022, but professional reviews were lukewarm. The consensus was that Spotify’s venture into hardware resulted in a device with little market appeal. Unsurprisingly, Spotify stopped manufacturing Car Thing within months, citing “several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues.”
Given the low adoption rate, it was inevitable that the project would be fully discontinued. On Thursday, Spotify announced that Car Thing would stop working after December 9, 2024. So, if you bought Car Thing for $89.99 at launch, it will become an expensive electronic brick just over two and a half years later. Spotify isn’t offering a trade-in program, instead telling customers to recycle their Car Thing.
The email Spotify sent to Car Thing owners started with, “We’re switching gears,” and continued, “As of December 9th, 2024, Car Thing will be discontinued and will stop operating. While this chapter is closing, we’re working on new, innovative ways to enhance your drives in the future. Thank you for being on this journey with us, safe travels.” The detailed announcement on Spotify’s support website confirmed that neither a trade-in program nor an official recycling program is being offered.
Spotify explained that discontinuing Car Thing is part of their efforts to streamline product offerings and focus on developing new features and enhancements for users. They also noted that the decision “wasn’t made lightly,” but it was inevitable after stopping production of new Car Thing devices months after their release. Moving forward, Spotify suggests using more common methods for streaming music in a car, such as Spotify Connect, Bluetooth, an AUX or USB cable, Android Auto, or Apple CarPlay.
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