Spotify is ending support for an app feature that empowers safer driving
Enjoy your last rides with Car View.
Spotify is preparing to end support for the app feature that makes music listening controls easier to access while driving. It's not clear when the change is happening — Car View is still an option in the Spotify app as of this writing, at least for some users — but the company claims to have a replacement for he driver safety feature in the works.
There are still some questions surrounding the "why" and "when" since news of Car View's looming death came from the Spotify community forum rather than a press release. But forum moderators were pretty clear about what's ahead when some people noticed Car View missing from their own Spotify app (h/t Android Police).
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"We can confirm that we're retiring the car view feature," a moderator from Spotify wrote. "This however doesn't mean we don't want to improve on how our users listen to Spotify while driving. On the contrary, we're actively exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience. Think of retiring car-view as something that needs to happen in an effort to make way for new innovations coming down the track."
The post goes on to suggest using Google Assistant for in-car music listening in the interim, especially since its driving mode works with Google Maps. But there's no indication of when the vague promise of a Car View replacement is happening, or why it's necessary in the first place.
Spotify users are understandably frustrated, with the forum thread having amassed more than 100 replies since it was first posted in mid-October. The lack of a replacement feature, or any tangible information on the same, is a real sticking point. Especially in light of the fact that Spotify sells an $80 piece of hardware called Car Thing, which launched in 2021, that serves as a touch-based interface that connects a Spotify-equipped smartphone with a car.
The whole thing feels like a puzzling choice on Spotify's part, especially since Car View is a safety feature more than anything else. To remove it with no preamble, no replacement at the ready, and no explanation for why either of these things happened is surely, and unnecessarily, adding the confusion users must be feeling.
Mashable reached out to Spotify for clarification and we'll update this story when we hear back.
Topics Apps & Software
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
