Spotify has officially rolled out its Car Thing auto media player to US customers.
The Spotify Car Thing was announced in April of 2021, but it only gained limited availability via a waiting list system in October. Now, however, the streaming giant has made its Car Thing “Officially Available in the U.S.”, meaning any American customer can buy one for $89.99.
The device is essentially a display that can be fitted to any car, providing voice control and media playback via a Bluetooth link to your smartphone. You can also use a good old fashioned 3.5mm cable, if you have the means to connect such a thing to your phone.
It’s essentially aimed at those older cars that don’t have fancy in-built Bluetooth media systems.
Besides using “Hey Spotify” vocal commands, the Spotify Car Thing features a multi-purpose oversized dial that can handle navigation and volume control.
Naturally, you’ll need a Spotify Premium subscription plan to make use of the Car Thing, and it makes use of your mobile data connection.
Spotify has also revealed that it is working on some new features for its new media player based on the initial test phase. That includes Night Mode, which will dim the screen brightness come evening time, and an Add to Queue vocal command that lets you queue up music and podcasts.
There’s no news on a wider rollout for the Spotify Car Thing as yet, which is a little irritating given the company’s European base. We’ll let you know just as soon as that changes.
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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.
