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...
Wednesday August 10, 2022 11:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Earlier today, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed iPhone 14 Pro models will be more expensive than iPhone 13 Pro models. Kuo did not reveal exact pricing, but he said that the average selling price of all four iPhone 14 models will increase by about 15% overall.
While higher prices would be disappointing for customers, it is possible the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will offer increased...
Wednesday August 10, 2022 8:22 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to increase the prices of iPhone 14 Pro models compared to iPhone 13 Pro models, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo did not reveal exact pricing for the iPhone 14 Pro models. However, in a tweet today, he estimated that the average selling price of the iPhone 14 lineup as a whole will increase by about 15% compared to the iPhone 13 lineup.
In the United States, the iPhone...
Wednesday August 10, 2022 4:08 am PDT by Sami Fathi
The launch of the new iPhone 14 is just a few weeks away, meaning millions of iPhone customers will soon upgrade their existing iPhone or perhaps get an iPhone for the first time. Exclusive MacRumors iPhone 14 Pro renders by graphic designer Ian Zelbo Whether upgrading from an older model or this is your first iPhone, we've rounded up a few tips to help you prepare for the next flagship...
Wednesday August 10, 2022 4:34 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
In the latest iOS 16 beta, Apple has updated the status bar battery icon on iPhones with Face ID to display the exact percentage remaining rather than just a visual representation of battery level, and while the change has been largely welcomed, some users are unhappy with the way it has been implemented.
In iOS 15 and earlier, battery percent has not been present on iPhones that have...
Apple has been granted a patent for a temperature sensor suitable for the Apple Watch, just weeks before the company is expected to unveil the Apple Watch Series 8 with body temperature sensing capabilities.
The newly granted patent, spotted by MyHealthyApple, was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is titled "Temperature gradient sensing in electronic devices."...
Top Rated Comments
EDIT: [MEDIA=reddit]MechanicalKeyboards/comments/r2vyf1[/MEDIA]