Spotify's Failed Hardware | Spotify Car Thing - Lost In Obscurity

[@Bearman3600]

Today, May 23rd, 2024, Spotify announced that support for the Spotify Car Thing will end December 9th, 2024. If you have a Car Thing, it's value is gonna DROP at the end of this year, along with becoming a paperweight. Rest in piss ✌Long Live Car Thing

[@m4ciejmoskala]

welp

[@KoopaKid660]

This video probably reminded the Spotify team that this product still existed

[@mackenziemcintyre1378]

Well that's annoying I use the fuck out of it

[@kiranm25x]

Spotify should be sued

[@rartolak]

Get this, you paid $90 + a subscription for however long and it just gets axed. So ends my subscription today. Rossmann says to charge back. Do as you all please.

[@laoo]

i remember i wanted one of these but it was 80 dollars at the time but by the time the price dropped i didn't want one anymore

[@RM-um9xx]

Same! $80 is absolutely ridiculous considering you could just buy a $10 phone stand and open the app in car mode... even with coupons, not worth it.

[@nutellasnowflake2834]

same! I always wanted it bc it looked elegant and i also rly like the idea of a dial for volume and for ui control generally, but $80 was crazy! bummed I missed it when it was 30 :(

[@kevinwong_2016]

​@@RM-um9xx fr💀

[@rawpie2]

Genuinely same. Rip. L Spotify Rip money

[@IPODsify]

Deadass didn't even know about the price drop, I saw "free for premium users" then "80 dollars" then I thought, aight fuck you, and never looked again

[@FunkyStudios]

Like the legend Dankpods would say, "Can you believe no one bought this thing?"

[@faujisimp7090]

tbh i thought this was a refrance to dankpods lol

[@ChuyArambulaThePenguinGamer]

I bought one!

[@averysmith2002]

​@@ChuyArambulaThePenguinGamer same I love the final release model it's great for my old ass cars

[@Donyourmom]

“What were they thinking?”

[@EpicYoutubeHandle]

“Arming the nugget”

[@hyoink]

The best thing about the Car Thing is that I've been using it on my desk setup at home. Being able to switch through songs while working without having to pull out my phone or use the computer app is really nice.

[@MeroFuruyaSankarea]

You might actually be a genius wtf that's so smart

[@cataclysm17]

Same here! As a med student with ADHD, it's really helpful during long study sessions to be able to switch music without having to pull out my phone and inevitably get distracted.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

​@@MeroFuruyaSankareaDid you watch the video? It was literally brought up. It's not some groundbreaking idea.

[@alfos.192]

I don't know why you would pay for a separate device when you could just use your computer which does a better job anyway. It seems kind of dumb. It's like buying a separate device to use AI instead of using your phone that does a better job. EDIT: I just saw on Reddit today that they discontinued the Car Thing. It's bricked. I always thought it was a dumb idea to buy a special device just to do something that your phone or computer could already do a better job of but I didn't expect it to go this way w/ Car Thing. Spotify has always been doing stupid things, I could list many problems: refusing to add 2FA, their software being the most buggy pieces of crap even when FOSS like VLC does the same thing better, making unnecessary changes instead of fixing issues like any other company but I never expected them to go this low. To reiterate: People bought a device that promised them to make playing music in their car easier (even though you can buy a phone stand and an adapter to do the same job) and then not even 3 years later or so, it doesn't work, it just doesn't. It's the same thing as buying a car and then all of the sudden the company disables it permanently.

[@undefinedCat]

@@alfos.192 bro you literally described rabbit r1

[@ShinShirt]

lovely song choices on your spotify car thing

[@faizi4369]

and questionable ones

[@debtinatorthesecond]

better than my playlist.

[@lurientheenjoyer6711]

The fact that it was actually called "car thing" is astonishing to this day

[@nick_nt7574]

The biggest thing that was missing when they advertised for "older cars" was lacking an FM transmitter. Sure, you had to connect your phone to the thing via Bluetooth. Not that it would matter much, but it would have made a difference if you wanted to install the thing and just go. That's my onion about it.

[@Bearman3600]

I kinda feel like the ac adapter that came with it should have doubled as an fm transmitter given the other things packaged with it that catered to older cars like the CD mount and the aux cord. It's a shame they didn't go one step further

[@as7roh]

@@Bearman3600it would’ve also somewhat justified the 80 dollar price tag

[@elcocho1568]

It’s funny how the thing needs a phone to even work. At that point, get a phone mount. I can see it being useful at like a social gathering and having it out so people can queue up songs.

[@cwookdev]

Spotify has a "jam" feature where people can collaborate on a music queue using their phones over WiFi or bluetooth

[@elcocho1568]

@@cwookdev definitely a great feature but not everyone has Spotify

[@kvstxr]

@@cwookdevYeah i have used it and its quite cool (+) you don't need any kind of pairing for that both phone need spotify app Bluetooth and internet and then you can just host and join jam i think its cool. and thumbps up for spotify for not putting it behind a paywall

[@NoReply28]

It helpful if you want your phone to use a different app without having to constantly switch to spotify...

[@kbhasi]

I agree. My sister does listen to Spotify in her old 2007 car, but uses a windshield mount to hold up her phone. She doesn't even use the car's radio (it was a base trim Toyota Camry so it just had a basic radio with CD player), hence the lack of an FM transmitter or aftermarket infotainment system, but she seemed fine with that.

[@urev7578]

This bearman3600 post distracted me enough for the Denny’s cook I was holding at gunpoint to escape under the stove Thanks beer male

[@Bearman3600]

No problem 🙌 God bless Denny's and God bless america

[@hgmd3284]

oh god, that first model has that screen design because back then, circular smartwatch displays were not curcular, they had to cover up the ribbon cable at the bottom of the screen, so they had to make the screen not currcular, just sunset-ish. nowadays you wont find mishapen bezels on smartwatches anymore

[@ayyndrew]

Moto 360 vibes

[@hgmd3284]

@@ayyndrew yes exactly

[@Writing_Gamer_513]

This made me laugh a lot by looking at the songs he used throughout the video.

[@browsingdata]

I still use my car thing every single day and have for years now. Sometimes I get graphical glitches and I just have to turn it off and back on again. Sometimes it acts like I'm using it for the first time and tells me how to use the device (this sucks but it's rare). But it's held up being parked outside in the Florida heat for years now and I have no plans to stop using it ever. The failure of this product is truly a loss for people who drive cars that were made in the time that Bluetooth was common but Infotainment screens were not. Being able to have maps open on my phone while I handle my music with the car thing is actually a game changer for road trips. Pair that with the new Jams feature now and you can actually have everyone in the car contribute to the music for the drive. 10/10 goated with the sauce.

[@sparklingmariokart]

same here! i don't know why but even if i know what song im listening to i like to be able to see it on the car thing. it's also really useful for listening to new artists/songs while i'm driving bc if i want to save the song i can just tell it to save it instead of having to get on my phone and add it to my liked songs playlist. also, not really anything important but i like that it still has a heart instead of the plus sign :)

[@browsingdata]

@@sparklingmariokart Them taking the heart from us was sacrilege

[@Adudenameddevon]

My exact experiences, but Texas heat. Great product. Not perfect, voice commands are kinda ass sometimes but it does its job 90% of the time. 9/10

[@CapTheNPC2]

I think it's really funny that I watched this video last week and now just today I got an email from Spotify saying they're completely discontinuing it. LOL

[@JoshShaske]

Yeah, it’s bullshit. I use mine daily. Fuck Spotify.

[@heythatsprettygood6492]

Well the coffin was just sealed on it, and all of the units will no longer work.

[@jish8681]

random thing but i think your car does have an aux port, there is an aux button next to the clock part of the display, the port for it is probably just buried in your center console or glove box

[@jaxfarias973]

yes & no ford / lincoln / mercury radios of that time had the button for auxiliary but unless you had a 2007 or later with sync audio, 99% chance there’s no port. source: own a 2006 fusion with a aux button with no port 😔

[@HenryB6568]

@@jaxfarias973 it prob is under a cover if it lets u choose it and it actually switches to it

[@jaxfarias973]

@@HenryB6568 i thought the same, but my aux button seems to do nothing.

[@HenryB6568]

@@jaxfarias973 wow fast reply, question tho, does it move down or is just a fake button

[@jaxfarias973]

@@HenryB6568 Haha was at work and saw the notification on my lunch. The button bottoms out just like the mute button above it. Just doesn’t do anything when i press it. Music doesn’t cut, or station doesn’t change. Just does nothing.

[@marv1ne]

my friend uses thar

[@maximiIiaan]

i still want it

[@sharheilo]

@@maximiIiaan yeah seems cool

[@ioncekilledamanwithmyshoe]

@@maximiIiaanwhy in the flying fuck would you want one of these?

[@QuantumPurple]

Why was this pinned an hour ago?? 😭

[@ۥۥ0ۥۥ]

@@QuantumPurple Yeah, I think KZbin has finally decided to recommend this video. Crazy because I was looking for a video exactly like this around 7 months ago and didn't find it.

[@georgejpg]

you got some real bangers in those playlists

[@Sonic6293]

I have two Car Things. I have it in my 2015 Honda Fit, because Honda decided in their infinite wisdom to NOT HAVE A VOLUME KNOB ON THE DAMN RADIO. Car Thing fills that need perfectly.

[@liquidddingle]

Honestly i kinda want one now but ive used Spotify for a few years and have only seen this as an option in the settings. I was so surprised knowing they existed literally just over a year ago

[@KarlD1210]

This aged well

[@chenyaoxue7594]

I have one for my older car with no Carplay. I love it, didn't really know people disliked it so much that it classify as "Failed"

[@Fopera]

I have one and the only thing I hate about it is that there's no clock because it covers the one in my car lol

[@iMac9991]

lmfao same

[@mand_oh]

Great video! I was always curious about the car thing but I’ve never seen anyone talk about it and I don’t use Spotify so I only heard about it in passing

[@connorwhite9716]

still use mine every single day in my car, it glitches every now and then and the voice feature works worse than when it came out, but being able to control my music while having directions on my phone is awesome, and it saves my passengers from having to ask me what a song is so they can add it to their playlists, i just get the joy of seeing them do it discreetly out of the corner of my eye

[@bruh-sl2gc]

awesome video, always wondered what the hell a "car thing" was in spotify settings

[@blakethomas1013]

I signed up for it, being a premium user for years and then they never sent me one, and sent me an offer to buy one half off. I was quite tickled 😂

[@NyrixDerg]

It was never guaranteed. Just the chance they'd send one for free for early testers

[@Bearman3600]

Like and Subscribe if you when you are and when

[@WA_Stokins]

no

[@Suukiro]

Your song choices kept me laughing and I really couldn't pay attention to the review LOL insane

[@willfarmer7351]

This device is the perfect example of great engineering and poor marketing. I think the hardware was very underrated for the price. This thing baked in the sun, froze in the cold, yet shows no signs of wear. I never got a heat warning, even when my car was 100 degrees. The display was still bright with sunglasses on in the daytime, but still got dark enough in the night time. Unfourtuneatly I had to stop using it due to lack of software updates. No "Smart Shuffle" support really sucks, id never know what mode I was really in, among other minor bugs. If they could sell the carplay hardware for ~50 dollars with custom firmware, Id re-buy it just to play around. Like you mentioned aswell "Car Thing" was a bit too niche for everything it could have been used for.

[@tibbyy]

I had never heard of the Car Thing before this vid great content as always keep up the great work

[@ventioculus]

i had no idea what Car Thing even was until they announced that they would discontinue support this year. it would’ve been so sick to have had one because these seem actually quite useful

[@yeety.]

I actually use one on the daily and it's actually super important and useful for me to use since a new law has banned touching your phone at all or having it in your lap while driving.

[@lburger404]

"music TV in your whip" sums it up well

[@Kiralmao]

i didn't even know the Car Thing existed before this video

[@sneakybeaky9788]

I have one of these and I think it was a good buy for me personally. I have a 1991 Volvo and it added a new way to enjoy my music personally. I like the hands free control and being able to see the album art with a big sell for me

[@GameboyJones]

"im bearman and ive been wasting your time" Thats an elite sign off lol

[@serna8815]

i love the AVGN vibes you're giving

[@bodl3]

I got one of these for free from the initial launch. I sold it a year ago on ebay for $100. I could not tell you anything else about this thing and I used it daily for 2 years.

[@handanarts]

I used this for a while in my car and liked it for what it did but found myself gravitating towards my phone more

[@Westopia]

it absolutely did not flop for me, I use it in my car every single day

[@mysterioushazel]

:(

[@kaansrc]

Honestly, great video! I think Spotify had a great opportunity at that time and STILL does as of today. There are a lot of car owners who don't have infotainment systems such as this one and there's already a market for these add on car screens, but most of them are unknown chinese brands. I think if Spotify made people able to use it for other things, such as Google Maps or dashcams, made the car thing connect to the car directly via Bluetooth or AUX and selling it to non premium users with a price between 30 - 100 dollars, it could have been a great success.

[@MotorVelocity]

I love this guy, your so underrated af!

[@5-pointsecurity]

You said that the people who never cared abut it never will, but now that I've seen what it actually is, i want one now. Imo Spotify did a terrible job advertising exactly who this was for. Its for people with older cars that need an easier music system that wont break the bank and integrates the Spotify premium account you (would likely) already have. When they were advertising this I assumed it was somewhat pointless since I already have a bt transmitter.

[@nighttrash4890]

Got one of these for my car when I first got it almost 2 years ago (like $60-70 off Mercari) and for me I absolutely love it. I drive a Mini Cooper and while I can control volume, I can’t skip or go back to a song (it only works for CD’s which I can’t use cuz it’s where my phone mount is) I could just use my phone to skip/previous a song but if I have navigation up, it also easier for me to move my hand to the CarPlay than fiddle with the iPhone control center to skip a song. I feel like Im in a niche of ppl who actually use it in their car but I love it

[@Ben-zl8lx]

Thanks for making this video bearman, very few know about the car thing. I own a car thing (pink box, bought for 70-80$) and here's why: I own a 2010 car, and I use aux for music. At the time of purchase, I had an iphone X, and I thought the car thing was a good way to have a constant display of music that's easier to use while driving, especially with voice controls. I had a phone charger in my car but not a dongle adaptor so I it was useful when I had a few percent, to save battery by changing music without using the phone, but many times I had to swap between music and charging. And most of all, I was planning a cross country road trip and wanted to see music and maps at the same time. Eventually I got a magsafe charger to fix the battery problem, I got an iPhone 14 with always on display to see the music i'm playing, and now it's just slightly easier to control music compared to my phone. The device is very laggy, the screen update sucks, the voice recognition is awful (queue = chew) especially cause I use vent mount. In between 80$ car thing, 20$ first phone mount, 35$ magsafe phone mount, 20$ phone charger cigarette lighter adapter totally 155$, it would have been worth it to spring for a 300$ car play head unit in retrospect. All of that aside, it's pretty neat. A conversation starter for those in the know. A failed product for sure.

[@willfarmer7351]

I feel the exact same way. (Especially with the phone mount etc. - lol) I finally upgraded to one of those apple carplay screens that sit on your dashboard and not in your head unit.

[@Ghost_-ze3ip]

Hey man just wanted to say good video! I’m always looking to learn about niche topics or just have a KZbin video in the background while I do some work. Your video taught me more about something I had completely forgotten about which I think is cool! Anyways have a good one I’m going to check out more of your videos now! :)

[@SkyHighSkylar]

The unreleased Avicii song in local files 🥲❤

[@domoforsale]

Your videos got that mix of the clever humor from S tier content creators from the early age of youtube like James Rolfe along with the research and effort that modern youtubers employs. I wanna see more videos on hardware like this one, this is a good one for sure and I don’t even use Spotify.

[@boss862]

My wife has an older car and the Spotify Car Thing has been a huge improvement for her. She loves it!

[@buggas2002]

I got one of the free ones when they were offering them to Spotify premium users. I originally used it in my 2007 Nissan Altima but I’ve since upgraded and still use it everyday. My car doesn’t have CarPlay so it’s nice to be able to use voice commands and see the album artwork

[@Kindhamster]

The thing that kept me from wanting one is the fact that it's literally just a remote. Why not add a 3.5mm jack to it? Plugging my phone into a cable and tossing it in my glove box so I can have music isn't really any less work than plugging it in and attaching it to a mount, so I'd rather just do that.

[@petersavrides4664]

Loved your (non meme) song choices and great video

[@edward8922]

I have one I love it to pieces. Way less distracting than a phone mount

[@Julius3774]

This video gave me so many avgn vibes in the best way possible

[@TheShadow49085]

One of the best reviews I’ve ever seen! Good shit!

[@jdog023]

I really enjoy your style. I just watched this video and liked it, and I hope you keep making stuff. Thanks

[@desmo_12]

For anyone wanting to get this please don’t, Spotify is discontinuing support for it Dec 9th so it will be useless unfortunately

[@MaxH0ward]

I love how your music taste is the beatles and meme music

[@love_a_hater]

Great video, didn't know they fuckin only gave it to premium members. Also the hacking looks cool as hell

[@ElijahAnderson1112]

I used this for about a year and then finally replaced my head unit. Now my Car Thing lives on my office desk.

[@alen7391]

here after watching louis rossman's rant :P

[@gothicboulder]

I love this little thing and use it almost daily, I might’ve been one of the 10 target customers with a dumb car who uses exclusively Spotify for it.

[@NolanECunningham]

I bought one and someone stole it out of my car when I saw Dr Strange 2

[@NolanECunningham]

They left the cash and gps I had sitting there and only took the car thing.

[@itssk5408]

Thank you for your knowledge and insight into this device. I saw an ad on Spotify and was intrigued in getting it for my 2005 Ford Ranger but time passed by and found this device wasn't available for purchase. Currently looking for a similar device for my office, a stand alone player without the extra stuff. Looking forward to more great videos like this!

[@pillow.98]

thank u for shedding light on one of my favorite little useless gizmos

[@iamarchibald]

Uh oh

[@SolidIncMedia]

Not gonna lie, it looks awesome as hell in terms of design. I could see it being repurposed into something like a wall mounted home automation control panel or something, as it's got a wheel for dialing in something like a temperature, light colour or volume, plus a touch screen for controlling binary things like lights on and off / curtains up and down / TV and movie mode on and off. I might have to suss one out, especially if Home Assistant's voice assistant project really takes off, because it'd be the perfect little desktop for device for saying "OK Nabu, turn off my lights" or "OK Nabu, play my working playlist" or something.

[@RBtheMad]

the casual profanity is giving me some major old school James Rolfe vibes

[@logantripp]

I was one of the early adoptors of the car thing. I got it for 7 bucks with shipping. I still use it to this day as I drive a 2002 sentra. It works great as I have it mounted for music and then my phone is mounted next to it for maps. I probably wouldn't have bought it for 80$ but for what it is I do find it still useful in a car without carplay.

[@iFish12]

I as aways fascinated with the Car Thing

[@iFish12]

They wouldn’t sell it to you in Canada

[@TheSteve94]

im so glad you documented this thing, i have one and i love it! But in a time where carplay and android auto already exist, the marketing did an absolute bellyflop. Not that im complaining, it was the best $30 i spent for my car.

[@skybaytr4375]

the legendary car thing

[@ewanmcdonagh2827]

If my car didn't have CarPlay, I'd definitely have picked one up

[@thatdude285]

I have one of these and used it daily! I love it

[@ianrobinson1514]

Probably the most unhinged collection of music I’ve ever seen-

[@dr.haroldweinstein5157]

I love that you got gradually more angry and aggressive as the video went on 😂

[@jacobdowns776]

I love how honest this guy is.

[@sai_co5337]

It may have failed but i love it in my 2010 S4. its the exact little thing the car needs

[@SavageSenzu]

I love my car thing. For someone who doesn’t have a car with an entertainment system or car play it’s convenient for me.

[@kokolayfx]

u have such a way of saying things i love it

[@ChuyArambulaThePenguinGamer]

I own one, I use it every day. I love my car thing. Sometimes the screen bugs out and it looks like the overscan on an old CRT TV.

[@ChrisStoneinator]

A handful of CDs in the centre console or glove box is STILL the greatest balance of convenience, safety, cost, reliability and sound quality when it comes to putting on some music in the car.

[@harrisonk8561]

Incorrect. CD quality is much lower quality than anything that you can get on Spotify

[@ChrisStoneinator]

@@harrisonk8561 lol? Spotify is literally lossy compression of CD-quality masters. Are you thick?

[@tezcanaslan2877]

⁠@@harrisonk8561 128 (256 for premium) kbit MP3’s are better than CD? You might need to get your ears checked. As for your comment, you are very right. CD’s are an extremely good and cheap medium. You can buy originals or if you don’t want to get them scratched, you can always burn a few CD-R with flac files. It’s a shame SACD didn’t caught on. A USB loaded with flac’s will also deliver the same experience albeit with a higher cost of entry and requiring a newer car.

[@pyronic120120]

I just got an email stating that the car thing will stop working as of december 2024. I loved the little thing.

[@argotheinformant]

ngl i love the car thing ive been using it for 2 years its awesome

[@laminatd8063]

ive been using mine for 2 years and i love it, since my car has no music controls, and the best part is i only got it for 30 dollars right before they discontinued it

[@OpieDope]

I love my car thing. Picked it up just so I could like songs while driving without getting my phone up. Wish I had bought more than one before they were discontinued.

[@jayjake]

I really wanted car thing 2 then it came out, i was premium even asked to be notified but it never came, so i bought to my 2009 shitbox carplay radio from china and ain't that bad, works fine for the price and fits the car.

[@PeacefulAutistic]

Already? Whoa whoa whoa. I feel like I JUST heard about this.

[@chiller99]

I’ve had one for over a year and I still use it. But I use it on my desk mostly as a cool looking decoration to visually show the song I’m listening to atm.

[@jimmyk915]

honestly I use it at my desk but it just became so shit. if you use ur phone and do anything where ur phone audio would be on especially for a long time it disconnects and won't reconnect until u open the Spotify app of your phone. I really loved it at 1 point when it was somewhat polished up and didn't have the multi media yet but after that it just killed it for me. I just choose to alt tab now

[@Justsomegamergamingandstuff]

I actually had the second gen a couple years ago in a 2008 F-150, and i thought it was awesome! Like he said, it was so useful in an older car like that with no Bluetooth audio

[@Pingyoping]

I bought one the day they came out and received it in Nov 2021. I still use it to this day. I think it's really nice for the voice control. If I want to play a song, I just have to say it. It's also great if I'm driving with friends and they want to scroll through my playlists and see what I listen to, or queue up their own songs. Every time I have new friends get in, their reaction is, "Oh shit, you have one of those?" I really do think they advertised it poorly. It's a great product, especially for the later price point. I even convinced some friends to get one for themselves. But I love the thing and am sorry it flopped. I'm definitely going to look into hacking it, however. That's right up my ballpark.

[@LazyMoka]

This is the perfect desk accesorie

[@shampoolegs8697]

i bought a few of these, one for my desk, one for my nightstand and one i put in my shower lmao

[@train_guy]

The swearing; oh my lord I love it.

[@kyle207]

i swear that thing just came out i cant believe its been 2 years

[@Booli.]

8:05 you only have to hold the back button down for that, i just leave it plugged into a USB slot on my PC, sometimes i have to factory reset it because it'll freak itself out but its nbd. for $30 its a nice little convenience machine to control songs and volume without having to tab to the spotify desktop app while im doing other stuff

[@Ash_W04]

I have one and LOVE it but I also have problems with it. For one, it only works in English which means trying to ask it to play songs in other languages is near impossible. It also is supposedly the reason they got rid of Hey Spotify which sucks

[@Ash_W04]

Also, I got mine for $30 and it was the last version so it has a screen not just a little circle

[@popupheadlights]

I have one in my 1990 Miata with a cheap Sony radio. And I actually really liked it for what it is, shame they’re killing it completely

[@NoOrganHarvesters]

The car thing is being discontinued permanently in December this year!

[@theviralusername]

"My name is bearman and I've been wasting your time". Ok, but I like deep dives into obscure hardware like this even though it truly was a waste of my time.