Spotify Premium subscribers with a smartphone on an invite-only basis via. Longer-term, it’s not clear it makes much sense to develop a Car Thing product line as cars get smarter every year and infotainment systems become more standard.Ĭar Thing will only be offered to U.S. If anything, it’s seems more likely that Spotify is toying with the idea of becoming the next SiriusXM by way of a specialized in-car experience - although one that’s even more of an add-on than SiriusXM, as you physically have to attach the thing - the Car Thing - to your dash. But it can roll out updates to its software so at least the device won’t be immediately obsolete, if Spotify decides to go in a different direction one day.ĭespite Spotify’s exploration into hardware, the company stressed it doesn’t aim to be a hardware company. It doesn’t know if or when it will begin to retail the device, however. Spotify says the current retail price for the device is $80. That means there are still a large number of cars on the road that don’t support modern, in-car infotainment systems.Ĭar Thing is being introduced to serve this market - and likely, to give Spotify the opportunity to explore future business models where it has a more direct relationship with customers inside the vehicle, though the company isn’t speaking to its longer-term ambitions at this time. is actually 11 years old and the average lifetime of cars is 18 years.

Although many cars today support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, Spotify points out that the average age of a car in the U.S. The company explained its interest in Car Thing is about solving a need for customers who want a “more seamless” and personalized in-car listening experience. This upgraded model has a touchscreen, a big, grippable knob for navigation, voice control features and four preset buttons at the top for favorite music, podcasts or playlists, similar to Spotify on mobile devices. The new device - which Spotify is surprisingly offering for free plus shipping - has evolved substantially from the version that first began testing in 2019. release of its first hardware device, the oddly named Car Thing, aimed at Spotify Premium subscribers.

Spotify this morning officially announced the limited U.S.

Spotify car player