Spotify will kill any remaining Car Thing units this year

Spotify has just announced that Car Thing, the parked car display, is dying. As in, the company will kill off any remaining units later this year.

Spotify first It announced Car Thing in early 2021 It opened sales in the United States in early 2022, months after removing “Car View” from its mobile app. Spotify’s driving-friendly UI has since returned, but Spotify ended up pulling the plug on Car Thing in July 2022, just months after launching the $90 device.

In our review of the Car Thing, we found the device to be a good idea and well executed, but it was a tough sell as Android Auto and CarPlay continued to become more widely available.

When it discontinued Car Thing, Spotify cited “product demand and supply chain issues” as the main reasons, but said that “existing devices will work as intended.” This is no longer the case.

In an email to customers, Spotify confirmed its plans to discontinue Car Thing entirely. Any units still in use in the wild will cease operation in December 2024.

Spotify explains:

We’re switching gears. As of December 9, 2024, Car Thing will be discontinued and will cease operation.

on Support pageSpotify repeats the date of December 9, 2024, and also tells users that they should reset and dispose of the device once it stops working.

We recommend Reset your car thing Factory settings and safe disposal of your device by following your local e-waste guidelines. Contact your state or local waste disposal department to determine how to dispose of or recycle your Car Thing in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

It’s a shame to see perfectly working devices being disabled, and it’s almost worse to see users being directly told to get rid of them. but, Some users have found ways To install Android on the Car Thing, so it might be able to continue for anyone willing to take the risk of installing a new operating system on it.

Thank you Ren Hager!

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