Image Credit: Spotify

RIP Car Thing. Spotify has stopped production of its in-car hardware device, quietly announcing it will no longer be making the dashboard Bluetooth accessory.

News of the axing of the Spotify Car Thing Bluetooth player came as part of Spotify’s quarterly earnings report. It’s been a long road to a dead end for the now-written off podcast and music hands-free device.

The hardware device had an initial invite-only release in April 2021, followed by an eventual US rollout this February that saw the car music player retailing for $89.99. Updates were still rolling out as recently as April this year.

So why is Car Thing being discontinued? According to TechCrunch, Spotify said in a statement: “Based on several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop further production of Car Thing units.”

“Existing devices will perform as intended. This initiative has unlocked helpful learnings, and we remain focused on the car as an important place for audio.”

Car Thing is still available – on sale at a reduced price of $29.99, presumably until stocks run out, at which point it will be dead forever. According to Android Police you can also get a discount on the device for a limited time only. How long support for the device will continue hasn’t been announced.

When so many vehicles have entertainment systems built in that easily connect to multiple platforms, Spotify’s device, locked to their platform alone, was always going to be a hard-sell.

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