Spotify’s Car Thing, a device for streaming music in cars, was discontinued last year. Now the last remaining units are starting to shut down.
A Twitter/X user made a post showing the message they received when they turned on their car. It explained, “Car Thing is discontinued and no longer operational… Contact customer service by no later than January 14, 2025 to discuss your refund options.” The Car Thing was introduced in February 2022 to help people control music in cars that didn’t have built-in entertainment systems. It cost $90 but was discontinued less than a year later. We’ve known this has been coming since May, but but it’s still a big loss for anyone who liked it.
The main reasons for Spotify ending the product were that not many people wanted it, and there were problems with getting the parts needed to make it. Spotify did confirm to TechCrunch that the shutdown was real and that all devices would stop working on December 9, 2024. The most users would get a message saying they were out of service and advising users on how to get a refund.
This situation shows the difficulties companies face when developing new products while understanding what customers really want and managing their supply chains. This is something that probably should have been made years ago. While there definitely are cars that need Car Thing, fewer and fewer people would need it because cars are made with phones in mind. So, essentially, the customer base was bound to shrink over time.
The ending of the Car Thing was made worse because users had less than a month to get their refund. You only need to contact customer service with your proof of purchase. After January 14, 2025, users likely cannot get any kind of monetary compensation for their Spotify Car Thing. The company suggests that users reset their devices to factory settings before throwing them away and following local rules for electronic waste, but more information can be found on their website.
Source: TechCrunch
