SWEDISH streaming service Spotify has terminated its Car Thing dashboard accessory, with Car Thing customers receiving emails warning them that their devices will stop working by Dec 9.
Additionally, Spotify is also not offering any subscription credit, refunds or trade-ins for customers. The company will not be making it open source either. The project is being completely axed and Spotify is expecting its customers to find a way to safely and responsibly dispose of their devices by themselves.
On the streaming platform’s FAQ section, Spotify makes it clear that there will be no follow-up or new iteration to the Car Thing.
“We’re discontinuing Car Thing as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings,” Spotify wrote in an FAQ on its website.
“We understand it may be disappointing, but this decision allows us to focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.”
After being announced in 2019, Spotify made Car Thing available on an invite-only opt-in decision for interested customers in 2021. In February 2022, the dashboard accessory was priced at US$90 (RM400) for the general public.
Due to its price point and relatively basic utility, it was a niche device, but the community that bought into Car Thing’s sales pitch are up in arms over Spotify abruptly pulling support and killing the device.
