Thursday, March 28

Spotify Releases First Hardware With Car Thing

Music streaming service Spotify has released its Car Thing in the United States. The device should make it easier to use Spotify in your car if you are a Premium member.

 

Car Thing is the streaming giant’s first hardware device. It is a music player and smart assistant that you have to mount on your car’s dashboard. After a test period, the device is now widely rolled out in the United States for the first time.

In October, the device was tested to several subscribers, but Spotify now says that Americans can now buy the device for ninety dollars. You will need a Premium subscription to the streaming service to use it. The device also works via a link with your smartphone, which in turn must have access to WiFi or mobile data.

Car Thing basically allows you to listen to Spotify in the car without messing with screens on your smartphone or your dashboard. Instead, you plug the device into your car’s outlet and connect it to your smartphone via Bluetooth. You then operate it mainly via voice commands, such as an intelligent assistant. However, Car Thing also supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Spotify has been working on such a voice assistant for some time. The bot that is now in the hardware was already quietly rolled out in the app for Premium subscribers (again in the US) last year.

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