Spotify will release its long-rumoured in-car music player later this year, it has been reported.
This is far from the first time we’ve heard about such a device. We had been expecting it to launch at an event back in April 2018 but it failed to show. Now, The Financial Times is reporting (via The Verge) that it will instead come out at some point in 2019.
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The report claims that the device will cost around $100 (~£77), and will connect to car stereo systems via Bluetooth.
Details are currently thin on the ground, but it appears you’ll be able to control playback through physical buttons and voice commands.
Last year, Reddit users claimed to have received offers for such a device within the Spotify app, with the ad above promising the device as part of a $12.99 a month subscription tier (or $155 for a year up front).
The device was advertised as a voice-controlled puck that sits on the dashboard. The image shows track control buttons, a screen displaying currently-playing media and an LED presumably to acknowledge the user’s voice.
Other Reddit posters claimed they were told of built-in 4G and Amazon Alexa support in the pre-order ads, which were appearing as far back as February.
There’s also plenty of speculation about a Spotify-built voice assistant.
Back in March 2018, the company started testing its own voice search software with a small number of users.
The system showed up as a small mic icon on the bottom right of the search section of the app. After tapping it, you could use your voice to search for music by artist, genre, or album names, or to control playback by skipping and pausing tracks.
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Naturally, Spotify continues to work with existing voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, but having its own voice assistant could allow for more nuanced control such as saving items, or tapping directly into your daily mixes.
What are you hoping to see from Spotify? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.