Spotify has launched ‘Car Thing’ — a companion device for the music streaming service meant to go on your dashboard and the company’s first hardware offering, in the U.S.
Car Thing enables listeners to play their favourite music and podcasts quickly using “Hey Spotify” voice commands, as well as simple taps, turns, and swipes—allowing listeners to start playing that hit song or the latest podcast episode before they pull out of the driveway.
Car Thing features a 4-inch touchscreen, a large navigation knob on the front with a smaller ‘Back’ button underneath it, as well as four programmable buttons for pre-sets and one ‘Menu’ button along the top.
The device comes equipped with a USB-C port for hardwired connectivity, and is compatible with a number of mounting solutions.
We developed Car Thing because we saw that our users desired a more seamless and personalized in-car listening experience, no matter the year or model of their vehicle.
With Car Thing, even more audio fans can access Spotify’s entire catalogue of music and podcasts across an even wider range of vehicles.
Spotify says it is working on some highly-requested features for Car Thing, including Night Mode for a dimmer screen in the evening and an Add to Queue option for users to queue up the songs they want to listen to.
Car Thing is now available to purchase for $89.99 and requires a Spotify Premium subscription plan along with a phone with a mobile data connection.
