Too few people have found interest in Car Thing, the box dedicated to managing their Spotify music stream designed for the car. It must be said that the product left with a big handicap…
With 433 million users worldwide and 188 million subscribers to its commercial offers, Spotify confirms its status as music streaming champion. The Swedish company therefore continues to grow and exceeds analysts’ expectations, despite a last quarter marked by 125 million euros in losses (out of 2.9 billion euros in revenue). However, not everything is successful for Spotify, such as its adventure in hardware launched with the car accessory Car Thing, which is a real failure.
Marketed last February in the United States for the sum of $90, this box with navigation wheel, voice commands and touch screen designed to provide a “new” interface for listening to music while driving has not met his audience. It must be said that, as our tone revealed during the presentation of this product, we did not really understand where Spotify was coming from in a market where many vehicles have integrated infotainment systems, knowing that support for smartphone and the Spotify application do the trick otherwise. Especially since Car Thing is not a standalone device and needs a smartphone to work…
“The goal of Spotify’s exploration of Car Thing was to better understand in-car listening and bring audio within reach of more users and vehicles. Due to several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop production of Car Thing units.”explained Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify.
In short, Spotify should perhaps have listened to the many voices that were raised at the time to denounce the uselessness of such an accessory before releasing it. This could cut the company’s desire to repeat an incursion into the world of hardware.