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Users are reacting to Spotify’s decision to deactivate its ‘Car Thing’ device.

Posted on by darion

Spotify has announced that it will discontinue its “Car Thing” smart device by the end of the year, much to the displeasure of users.

NME on Sunday (May 26) reported that the streaming platform had released a statement on its official website regarding the device, saying it would be discontinued and “will no longer work.” “This decision was not made lightly, and we want to assure you that our commitment to providing a great listening experience remains unchanged,” the statement read.

In the Q&A section, Spotify confirms that the device will be unusable from December 9 – we encourage owners to reset it to factory settings before disposing of it in line with local e-waste guidelines. Spotify will also not offer any refund or exchange options.

The announcement was met with a largely negative public reaction. On Twitter/X, user @TheBrianMcManus called the decision “disrespectful and wasteful” and “should be illegal.” Content creator Frank Passalacqua, who runs the technology review channel randomfrankp on YouTube, was similarly furious.

“Of course, you will stop producing it, but for us, consumers, stopping it makes no sense,” he wrote on Twitter. “This has been one of my favorite gadgets since its release. Having a dedicated Spotify player running 24/7 was great. There is absolutely no reason to make it a paperweight now. “

Lawyer Rob Freund also tweeted that three people filed a class action lawsuit yesterday (May 29) in response to Spotify’s decision to drop “Car Thing.” “Plaintiffs and class members are left with no choice but to use a paperweight costing between $50 and $100,” reads a screenshot of the document.

“The goal of our exploration of ‘Car Thing’ in the U.S. was to learn more about how people listen in the car,” a Spotify spokesperson said, as reported by the website Billboard. After launching the device in February 2022, Spotify discontinued “Car Thing” just five months later in July. “Now it’s time to say goodbye to devices completely,” the spokesman said.

Spotify recently saw record profits of over €1 billion in April this year, with 615 million users worldwide since it first launched in 2006. However, the earnings reports follow news of brand cost cuts and employee layoffs.

Late last year, Spotify announced it was laying off 17 percent of its workforce to save costs. This comes after an earlier decision to lay off a further 6 per cent of staff in early 2023 in a move that was then intended to promote “speed”.

The platform also announced that it would officially demonetize all songs on the platform that had less than 1,000 plays in April this year. This comes after the streaming giant published its “Modernizing our royalties system” report last year, which first revealed the decision. The platform has been planning this move for some time.