Spotify's first hardware device, the "Car Thing," is now available to purchase in the United States for $89.99.
Announced in April last year, the Car Thing is an in-car dash-mounted music and podcast player designed to provide a more seamless and personalized listening experience, especially in the large number of cars that do not support modern in-car infotainment systems or Apple CarPlay.
The Car Thing is aimed at Spotify Premium subscribers with these needs and features a touchscreen, a knob for navigation, voice control features, and four user-configurable buttons for fast access to areas such as favorite music, podcasts, or playlists.
The user interface takes cues from the Spotify mobile app so that it is familiar to users, and there is the choice of touch controls, "Hey Spotify" voice commands, or physical navigation via the knob. The Car Thing works over Bluetooth, or via an AUX or USB cable, and it comes with three different dash and vent mounts to ensure that it fits to the dashboard securely, as well as a car charger and a USB-C cable.
The Car Thing is compatible with iOS and Android devices, and connects to a user's smartphone for data and linking to the Spotify app. The Car Thing was initially only available to selected users who requested an invite during the device's testing period, but now the device is now publicly available in the United States for $89.99 including shipping.
I couldn't wait to get rid of this thing when I used to have Sirius for the car. This connects to the phone for data anyway, why not just use the phone instead?
I saw a post where someone used this on their desk beneath their monitor a while back. Knowing how cluttered a digital workspace can get and how people often prefer to add physical hardware to simplify this (think of multiple monitors), it actually made a lot of sense. I’ll edit in the post if I can find it.
Honestly wouldn't mind something similar to this but to enable CarPlay functionality. My vehicle is just shy of the model year where CarPlay became a standard option, and the after market devices are just ludicrously expensive for what is, essentially, a vanity.
Kevin Lynch, who is well known at Apple for overseeing work on the Apple Watch, is set to take on a role leading the development of the Apple Car, reports Business Insider.
Several sources within Apple told Business Insider that Apple has been called on to help lead the Apple Car project, which has undergone several shifts in leadership over the years.
Right now, Apple Car development is...
A Tesla Model 3 owner has resorted to a workaround to implement Apple CarPlay in his vehicle, amid no sign of official support from Tesla (via Tesla North).
Apple CarPlay and Apple Music support are among the most-requested Tesla features, but with no indication that Tesla is willing to implement Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Polish developer Michał Gapiński took matters into his own...
Monday November 22, 2021 10:39 am PST by Sami Fathi
Spotify users are growing impatient with the music streaming giant over its lack of HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.
More than a year ago, at the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it would be adding third-party music service support to HomePod. A ...
Wednesday December 8, 2021 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
As Apple gears up to release a fully autonomous vehicle, it is continuing to lose key people who are working on the project, reports Bloomberg. Over the last several weeks, three engineers have departed the company.
Apple's chief engineer for radar systems, Eric Rogers, left for Joby Aviation, a company working on electric aerial ridesharing. Alex Clarabut, an engineering manager for the...
Spotify has today announced its first hardware device, the "Car Thing," which is an in-car dash-mounted music and podcast player (via TechCrunch).
Spotify is looking to provide a product for customers who want a "more seamless" and personalized in-car listening experience, especially in the large number of cars that do not support modern in-car infotainment systems.
The Car Thing is aimed ...
Apple suppliers are positioning to manufacture and assemble the company's long-rumored electric vehicle (EV), according to a report from DigiTimes.
Apple Car concept render by Vanarama based on patents filed by Apple The report claims that Foxconn, the colossal manufacturer behind most iPhone models, and Luxshare Precision, the assembler behind Apple devices such as AirPods, are angling to...
Thursday October 7, 2021 4:28 am PDT by Sami Fathi
Apple is looking to expand CarPlay's functionality to include controls for core car functions such as the air conditioning system, radio, speedometer, seats, and more, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
The project, internally codenamed "IronHeart," is still in its early stages but would include Apple working with carmakers to expand CarPlay's functionality to control core car...
Wednesday December 1, 2021 2:31 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple's Car project recently lost one of its engineering directors, with Michael Schwekutsch departing the company to join air taxi startup Archer Aviation.
As discovered by CNBC, Schwekutsch updated his LinkedIn profile to note that he has taken on a role of senior vice president of engineering at Archer. Archer is an aerospace company that is developing an all-electric aircraft that...
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping rush is drawing to a close, but there are still some good deals to be had out there. For Apple products, many of the deals you've seen since last week are still available, though some have expired. So for anyone who missed out on Black Friday deals, there's still an opportunity to get some of the year's best prices on many Apple devices.
Note: ...
Monday November 28, 2022 11:00 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 models will be equipped with Sony's newest "state of the art" image sensors, according to a report from Nikkei.
Compared to standard sensors, Sony's image sensor doubles the saturation signal in each pixel, allowing it to capture more light to cut down on underexposure and overexposure. Nikkei says that it is able to better photograph a person's face even with...
Monday November 28, 2022 6:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that the Oceanic+ app is available for the Apple Watch Ultra starting today. Designed by Huish Outdoors in collaboration with Apple, the app serves as a dive computer for recreational scuba diving at depths up to 40 meters/130 feet.
Apple already offers a basic Depth app on the Apple Watch Ultra for viewing your current depth, maximum depth reached, water temperature,...
Apple today announced its 2022 App Store Award winners, highlighting the 16 best apps and games selected by Apple's global App Store editorial team.
The top apps were chosen by Apple for their quality, innovative technology, creative design, positive cultural impact, and ability to deliver "exceptional experiences." Apple CEO Tim Cook said:
This year's App Store Award winners reimagined...
Monday November 28, 2022 10:16 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released a Rapid Security Response update that is available for those running the iOS 16.2 beta, marking the launch of the second RSR update since the feature was released in iOS 16.
The Rapid Security Response Update is designed to provide iOS 16.2 beta users with bug fixes without the need to install a full update. The initial RSR release for iOS 16.2 beta users was a test with ...
Monday November 28, 2022 10:42 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple has cut back on its Twitter advertising, according to Twitter CEO Elon Musk. In a tweet, Musk said that Apple has "mostly stopped" its Twitter ads, asking if Apple hates "free speech."
Musk went on to publish a poll asking if Apple should "publish all censorship actions" taken that impact customers and he began retweeting content from companies that Apple has had moderation discussions ...
Elon Musk has pledged to offer an "alternative phone" if Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores, adding to long-standing rumors about an iPhone rival from Tesla.
Modified iPhone 11 Pro in the style of the Tesla Cybertruck, by Caviar. Musk's remark came after being asked about the potential scenario of Twitter being removed from app stores, which could conceivably happen if the...
Although Black Friday is now technically over, many Apple products are still seeing major discounts through the weekend as we head into Cyber Monday. In this article, you'll find every Apple device with a notable Black Friday sale that's still available. We'll be updating as prices change and new deals arrive, so be sure to keep an eye out if you don't see the sale you're looking for yet.
Note:...
Top Rated Comments
EDIT: [MEDIA=reddit]MechanicalKeyboards/comments/r2vyf1[/MEDIA]