TL;DR
- Spotify has discontinued its Car Thing gadget, used for listening to and controlling Spotify within the automobile.
- The firm is successfully bricking the machine and has inspired house owners to “safely” eliminate it.
- That looks as if a waste when the corporate may’ve opened up the machine for tinkering.
Spotify first launched its Car Thing gadget again in 2021, and this was a compact Spotify participant with a touchscreen and bodily knob. The product had its followers, however Spotify has now determined to discontinue and successfully brick the gadget.
The firm despatched emails to clients informing them of Car Thing’s discontinuation (h/t: Reddit), however it additionally up to date a help web page to verify extra particulars.
Unfortunately, this discontinuation means Car Thing will now not work. That means a great deal of individuals could have ineffective devices which might be mainly bricked. Spotify even recommends that individuals reset the machine and then “safely” eliminate it. It additionally notes that there received’t be any trade-in schemes, reminiscent of subscription credit score or a refund.
This is a particularly disappointing flip of occasions for Car Thing house owners. The music streaming service may’ve prevented a great deal of these devices from ending up in landfills by opening up the software program. This manner, individuals would have the ability to set up various working techniques/apps to maintain utilizing the machine as an in-car audio participant or for different functions.
Spotify has additionally famous on its help web page that there are not any plans to launch a alternative or a brand new model of the Car Thing. However, this saga reveals that you in all probability shouldn’t purchase any {hardware} from Spotify within the first place, as the corporate clearly has no qualms about bricking its gadgets.
We’ve emailed Spotify to ask why it isn’t opening up the Car Thing’s software program for tinkering. We’ll replace the article if/when the corporate will get again to us.