Spotify announces Car Thing is not a thing anymore 

Last spring, Spotify announced its Car Thing — an accessory that allows you to interact with your phone’s Spotify app while in a car... and nothing else. Without support for navigation, or any other bells and whistles, you might just be better off sticking with Android Auto (or Apple CarPlay) instead. After pouring approximately USD32 million into Car Thing, the company seems to have realized that the product is quite the nothing burger, and has decided to end manufacturing.

Spotify initially launched the Car Thing as a tester exclusive, and the device went up for public sale in February 2022. This week the company shares its Q2 2022 financials, and in doing so, breaks the news about Car Thing's demise. Unsurprisingly, it's taking a hit on the whole endeavor, and reflects that on its reported gross margin. Speaking with TechCrunch, a Spotify representative clarified that the decision is a result of “several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues.”

The company reflects on Car Thing’s objective of helping it “better understand in-car listening, and bring audio to a wider range of users and vehicles.” Spotify claims to be taking this whole Car Thing experiment in stride while remaining “focused on the car as an important place for audio.”

Although Spotify will not produce any more units, the remaining Car Thing stock is still up for sale on the company’s website. The price has dropped from USD90 to USD50, so grab the deal if you love collecting discontinued or retro tech — although we aren’t sure how this one will age. Spotify assures existing users that their Car Things will continue to function normally, but doesn’t promise for how long.

From the get-go, we found it difficult to identify a clear use case for the Car Thing since you can just use your phone with Bluetooth or access Spotify (and other apps) via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. And being locked to a single service, sure doesn't help, either. On the bright side, Car Thing still stands as testament to Spotify’s ability to design and build unique hardware — should it ever feel that itch again.

( Details and picture courtesy from Source, the content is auto-generated from RSS feed.)

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