Spotify has announced its decision to discontinue the Car Thing, just three years after its initial release.
The Car Thing, an accessory introduced by Spotify in 2021, allowed users to control Spotify through their car speakers when connected to a phone, utilizing voice recognition and preset buttons.
In a 2022 earnings report, Spotify had already revealed that it had stopped manufacturing the product. Now, the company has confirmed that the Car Thing will be completely phased out, stating that it will "no longer be operational" after December 9, 2024.
"We're discontinuing Car Thing as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings," Spotify wrote on their 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 for all Spotify users."
The company has indicated that it will not offer trade-in options. Instead, they are advising users to reset the Car Thing to factory settings and dispose of the device according to local electronic waste guidelines.
Spotify recently reported record profits of over €1 billion in April this year, with 615 million users worldwide since its launch in 2006.
However, these profit reports come amid cost-cutting measures and staff layoffs. Late last year, Spotify announced a 17 percent reduction in its workforce to save costs, following an earlier cut of 6 percent of its staff at the beginning of 2023, which the company said was to promote "speed."
Additionally, the platform announced in April that it would be demonetizing all songs on the platform with less than 1,000 streams. This move follows their report from last year, "Modernising Our Royalty System," where the decision was first mentioned. The platform had been planning this change for some time.
In other news, Spotify has announced new features allowing users to slow down, speed up, and remix songs, aiming to generate new revenue streams for artists.
