Spotify’s dashboard-mounted music player for cars was called Car Thing.
Spotify introduced Car Thing as its first hardware product, designed for drivers whose vehicles lacked Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. It connected to a smartphone and played music through the car using USB, an auxiliary cable, or Bluetooth. A Spotify Premium subscription was required.
The device combined a small touchscreen with a physical rotary knob, preset buttons, and “Hey Spotify” voice controls. Spotify first announced the concept in 2019, offered a limited release in 2021, and made it broadly available to Premium subscribers in February 2022.
A common mix-up is confusing Car Thing with a built-in dashboard system or a generic Spotify feature. It was a separate accessory that could be attached to a dashboard, CD slot, or air vent. Spotify ended production in July 2022 and discontinued its functionality on December 9, 2024, making it a short-lived experiment in connected-car hardware.