However, if you do own a car in this range, listen almost exclusively to Spotify and wouldn’t mind slapping on a 5-inch by 3-inch screen to your dash, the Car Thing is demonstrably a fun little device - specifically because it’s so much more than just a touchscreen.

As of Tuesday, the device is now available to purchase for $89.99, but I got my hands on one that I’ve been testing out for a week. I’ve been champing at the bit to test out Car Thing for myself since Spotify first released its first foray into hardware last year - initially for free to a small percentage of the millions of people who signed up for a waitlist. In essence, it’s a beautiful remote control you attach to your dashboard that will supposedly create a better audio experience for those without the benefit of modern interfaces like Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. At least, it’s one part of a smart audio experience - you’ll need a smartphone with a mobile data connection and a Spotify Premium account to play music or podcasts as it’s not a standalone device. Yes, that’s the actual name, Car Thing, a moniker the company told me started as a placeholder but was eventually adopted as the real title for the streaming company’s first physical device.Īs the name implies, Car Thing is a smart audio player for your automobile.

This week, Spotify made its Car Thing available to the public. Nota bene: If you buy through the links in this article, InsideHook may earn a small share of the profits.

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