"Hey Spotify, play my favorites."
Starting Tuesday any Spotify Premium user can buy the streaming service's first piece of hardware. Car Thing, as the device is descriptively named, is made for listening to audio in the car in that it's hands-free and voice-controlled, which hopefully means no more scrolling and clicking through the Spotify app on your phone while driving.
It looks like a small tablet screen with Spotify's interface, and it can be mounted in the front console area of most cars.
Car Thing was officially announced in April and was available to only select Premium users in October. Now anyone who pays for the Spotify can buy the device for $89.99. It's just a one-time fee to own the device that connects your paid music subscription to the car.
It requires your phone and a data plan to work, so it's not a true standalone product. It plugs into your 12-volt power outlet (a.k.a. the cigarette lighter) and syncs with your phone to play through your car's stereo system.
You just need to say "Hey Spotify" to find whatever song, album, artists, playlist or podcast you want to listen to. There's also a touchscreen and with physical buttons, so you can go hunting for a playlist the old fashioned way if Spotify is having a hard time with your voice commands.
New with the wide release, Spotify added some new features to Car Thing, including night mode. That dims the screen's brightness when it's dark out. Another addition is "add to queue." This voice command, well, queues up whatever you want to listen to next.
The device will be sold through the Spotify website. Now if anyone asks, "What's that thing in your car?" you can accurately respond, "It's a Car Thing."
UPDATE: Apr. 8, 2022, 9:27 a.m. PDT Spotify made some updates to Car Thing, rolling out this week.
The biggest change takes to heart one of my biggest complaints: When someone calls you the call will be available to answer on the Car Thing screen. You can also dismiss a call, which is equally important.
More updates include using Car Thing to control other media without having to switch devices. You can also use voice or the various buttons and touchscreen controls to add a song to the queue.
The improved Car Thing is only available for iOS device users for now.
Topics Music
