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Spotify iOS App Reveals Hints of 'Car Thing,' Podcast Paid Subscriptions and Comments

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Since 2019, Spotify has been working on "Car Thing," a voice-controlled music and podcast assistant. After Spotify announced Car Thing, little else was said about it, but it appears the company is gearing up for some kind of launch.

spotify-car-thing.jpg

Back in January, Car Thing showed up in FCC filings, and now, images of Car Thing have been located in the Spotify app code. MacRumors contributor Steve Moser found several pictures of the Car Thing, giving us a clear look at the new device.

Spotify's original Car Thing had a small circular screen with several controls available on a side panel, but the new version features a much larger rectangular display that's closer in design to a smartphone, along with a large control knob and a smaller button.

We don't know what the control knob or the smaller button do, but Spotify's FCC filing described Car Thing as a "voice controlled accessory for phone/Spotify App with supporting display and buttons." It is Bluetooth-enabled and able to communicate with in-car head units, and it is powered from a 12V outlet.

spotify-car-thing-2.jpg

Photos of various mounts are also included in Spotify's app, indicating that Car Thing will be able to be attached to a dash or mounted to a vent in the car, and it will perhaps be sold with these mounting options. There are indications that directions will be supported in some capacity, perhaps through the Waze/Spotify partnership.

spotify-car-thing-3.jpg

When Car Thing was announced, Spotify said it was a test device developed to help the company understand more about how people listen to music and podcasts, and that there were no plans to make the device available to consumers. Spotify has, however, continued work on this device for the last two years and has changed its design significantly, which suggests it could eventually see a launch.

The Spotify app also has code for paid subscriptions for podcasts as the company gears up to launch its Anchor podcast creation tool. Spotify will eventually launch a paid podcast subscription feature, but there is some groundwork that needs to be established first. Spotify's paid podcasts will let Anchor creators that sign up offer paid podcast subscriptions that their listeners can subscribe to.

There's one other unreleased feature for Podcasts that's worth noting - comments. In the Spotify app, there's code for leaving comments on podcasts, something that's not currently available. Spotify users will be able to comment on podcast episodes, and creators will be able to respond.

Article Link: Spotify iOS App Reveals Hints of 'Car Thing,' Podcast Paid Subscriptions and Comments
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/04/02/spotify-ios-app-car-thing-images/
I love the idea of a Spotify player with a dedicated physical control like this -- but I'm already working with a vent-mounted iPhone for navigation so the prospect of finding another spot for this doesn't particularly appeal.

I imagine my next car will have CarPlay so all of this will be less of an issue. But for now, it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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It would be stupid for them to launch a device for your car. Most cars these days come with CarPlay and AndroidAuto. You can get plenty of aftermarket options as well.
There is no need for anyone to buy a Spotify only device, especially when you could even just mount your phone as well.
 
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bigchrisfgb said:
It would be stupid for them to launch a device for your car. Most cars these days come with CarPlay and AndroidAuto. You can get plenty of aftermarket options as well.
There is no need for anyone to buy a Spotify only device, especially when you could even just mount your phone as well.
Click to expand...
I’ll be interested to see what happens. This would have been potentially useful a couple of years ago when CarPlay aftermarket head-units were still rather expensive. But now you can get one for $200
 
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bigchrisfgb said:
It would be stupid for them to launch a device for your car. Most cars these days come with CarPlay and AndroidAuto. You can get plenty of aftermarket options as well.
There is no need for anyone to buy a Spotify only device, especially when you could even just mount your phone as well.
Click to expand...
I would buy one at launch, I hate the portrait mode only car UI and use my phone in landscape for Maps, have a dedicated box like a XM Roady would be perfect for me.
 
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AngerDanger said:
Pretty cool. Gonna probably stick with my vastly superior DIY project…

View attachment 1752702
Click to expand...
Excellent attention to detail. I particularly like the way the front surface is lovingly crafted to look like Duct tape. And those flourishes on the top - pure class. Johnny could learn a thing or two from this.

Where can I buy one. Take my money.
 
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bigchrisfgb said:
It would be stupid for them to launch a device for your car. Most cars these days come with CarPlay and AndroidAuto. You can get plenty of aftermarket options as well.
There is no need for anyone to buy a Spotify only device, especially when you could even just mount your phone as well.
Click to expand...
I would love to have a device like this but with Apple CarPlay -- I am unable to change my factory headunit.
 
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bigchrisfgb said:
It would be stupid for them to launch a device for your car. Most cars these days come with CarPlay and AndroidAuto. You can get plenty of aftermarket options as well.
There is no need for anyone to buy a Spotify only device, especially when you could even just mount your phone as well.
Click to expand...
Unless you can take it other places and use it...
 
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Will Co said:
Excellent attention to detail. I particularly like the way the front surface is lovingly crafted to look like Duct tape. And those flourishes on the top - pure class. Johnny could learn a thing or two from this.

Where can I buy one. Take my money.
Click to expand...
Everything you need at Dollar Tree.

$3 for Duct Tape, Scissors, and a bottle of Goo Gone.

A ruler is clearly optional.
 
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Like others have said, in a world with AndroidAuto and Carplay, I don’t know how popular a single-app device would be. And when you’re not in your car, you likely have your phone with you with all the apps you want... it’s similar to how most people don’t find a use for a dedicated camera when they have a good enough camera in their phone.
 
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This reminds me when I had the early XM radio standalone unit that looked like this. Then you could take it from car to inside, dock it, and listen at home. In other words: we are getting well past standalone units like this for GPS, so, of course we are for MUSIC.
 
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Back in 2007 a friend of mine held up his iPhone and said, "Do you know what this is? It's the death of every mobile electronic device that only performs one primary purpose."

That was true in 2007, and it's certainly true now. This Spotify device is going to flop.
 
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I think they missed their window of opportunity on this a few years back. As others have stated, with CarPlay and even simply vent-mounted iPhones, the market for this is likely pretty small.

But I do love that huge knob, and would love to see more aftermarket CarPlay units (and manufacturer-supplied CarPlay units) that offered some large knobs and buttons, and with Apple encouraging it by making it easy for developers to take advantage of those input methods. It's my understanding that some carmaker CarPlay units *DO* have some of these things, so maybe Apple's support for this is already there?
 
My car is a very low mileage 2015 that I have no plans on replacing anytime soon (too much fun to drive) I would welcome something that let me control Spotify. I can definitely see a use for this as long as it is priced right.
 
Spotify face an uphill battle getting people to pay to access something people do as a hobby that has been free for the last 15 years.
 
mtneer said:
This is great for folks who do not have a late model car with either AndroidAuto or Carplay available.
Click to expand...
Can't all those people simply use their existing iPhone or Android and open up the Spotify app? And simply buy a cheap mount like the one pictured with this device? And if the person doesn't have a phone then they probably aren't a Spotify user. So hard to imagine what niche market this could cater to.
 
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