It was Spotify’s first foray into the hardware market. The music streaming channel had launched the Car Thing in January 2022, supposed to provide a simple and fun experience for the driver. A simple screen and a navigation wheel allowed in a car to find the ideal song or launch a favorite playlist without going through a phone, explains phonandroid.
This alliance of a touch screen and voice recognition technology had to compete with on-board systems pre-installed on cars, such as Android Auto or Apple Car Play. Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify, has however announced the end of the production of Car Things. A spokesperson quoted by TechCrunch referred to “several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues”. However, he made it clear that the devices already sold would continue to work. Spotify is committed to maintaining necessary system updates.
A significant cost
The latter required a certain financial investment which could also explain the lack of enthusiasm of the users. It was marketed at 90 dollars, or about 88 euros, when it was launched in the United States. But it required the subscription of a premium monthly subscription to Spotify at 12.99 euros, quickly driving up the bill. Additionally, the device was not standalone and required a smartphone to operate.
To facilitate the flow of stocks already manufactured, the latest Car Things will remain on sale with a strong discount; The cessation of production of this model is a blow for the Swedish company which has 433 million users worldwide and 188 million subscribers to its commercial offers.
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