Spotify's weird Car Thing is dead

Remember Spotify's Car Thing, the somewhat odd device that plays music in your car but only works with Spotify and requires a phone connection? Yeah, we barely do, too.

In any case, Spotify's Car Thing is now officially dead, as the company has decided to stop production of this gadget.

A Spotify spokesperson confirmed the news to TechCrunch after the company's earnings report said its margins were "negatively impacted by our decision to stop manufacturing Car Thing.”

“The goal of Spotify’s Car Thing exploration was to better understand in-car listening, and bring audio to a wider range of users and vehicles. Based on several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop further production of Car Thing units." the spokesperson said, while noting that Spotify remains focused on the car as an "important place for audio."

If you could order a Spotify Car Thing, you'd get all of this in the box. But you can't. Credit: Spotify

Poor demand is no surprise, given how niche the Car Thing was in today's world of connected cars. In our review, we noted that it was easy to set up and of high quality, but the downsides were that it was pricey, mostly pointless, and required on a Spotify Premium subscription, among other issues.

Car Thing originally launched in April 2021 as a very limited release and a price tag of $90. Spotify started offering it to all of its Premium users in February 2022. The company said that current devices will continue to perform as intended.