Spotify’s long rumored Car Thing device has reappeared – this time in an iOS code.
Spotify first announced that in 2019 it tested a ‘voice-controlled music and podcast device’ called Car Thing. Spotify was pretty specific at the time that it ‘remains focused on becoming the world’s number one audio platform – not on making hardware’. FCC Submission from earlier this year, it apparently indicated that Spotify had at least cut back on the design of the device, as the one in its 2019 mockup looked different from what is depicted in the FCC submission of images.
In addition, the language submitted in a certificate of confidentiality states that the company ” has made a great effort to develop this product and that it is one of the first of its kind in the industry. If you have the topic information readily available for ‘competition’, it may negate the benefit they have gained by developing this product. Failure to protect the details of the design will result in financial hardship. Although it is merely a formality, the request certainly states that the company has indeed invested heavily in the development of Car Thing.
There are pictures depicting Car Thing shared by Steve Moser Twitter and reported by MacRumors apparently came up in the Spotify app’s iOS code. These images show a horizontally oriented screen with a button and buttons. It looks a lot like an image in the FCC filing. It is expected to connect via Bluetooth.
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Originally, Car Thing was available as a limited test with a small group of premium Spotify users invited to participate. The company said in 2019 that it was developed “to help us learn more about how people listen to music and podcasts”, but also noted that other products such as a ‘Voice Thing’ or ‘Home Thing’ are also being developed can be to understand how subscribers use its platform.
Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the recent images and its plans for Car Thing, but we will let you know when we hear about it.