Spotify’s Automobile Factor, a restricted {hardware} “test” the corporate started delivery solely three years in the past, is about to chunk the mud. The corporate wrote on Thursday that the system, which introduced Spotify to cars with out Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, will “no longer be operational” as of December 9.
Automobile Factor was geared toward drivers who wish to hearken to Spotify of their vehicles however don’t have fashionable techniques with built-in streaming apps. The $90 system allow you to management the service with voice recognition and preset buttons, and it had a four-inch colour touchscreen. Nonetheless, Spotify had already discontinued it by mid-2022.
In our 2021 preview, Engadget’s Billy Steele wrote that the gadget appeared pointless at first however proved helpful after two weeks of use. “While it seems only Spotify die-hards would be interested in something like this, it does offer an upgrade for older cars,” our audio gear knowledgeable wrote. “I’m never getting built-in voice control in [the 2006 Honda] Element, and the ability to keep Waze on my phone and Spotify on another display definitely reduced the need to fiddle with either while driving.”
Spotify’s official clarification for ditching its first {hardware} product is that it’s “part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings” (learn: lower your expenses) and that it lets the streaming service “focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.”
These new options and enhancements are anybody’s guess as a result of the corporate provides that it doesn’t plan on launching a alternative product or a brand new model of Automobile Factor. In fact, you’ll be able to hearken to Spotify in your automotive along with your telephone related via Bluetooth or a cable, and lots of drivers now have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which give entry to way more than a single music app.
Spotify recommends manufacturing facility resetting the Automobile Factor and disposing of it after it kicks the bucket in December. The corporate isn’t providing any refunds or trade-in choices — one thing to bear in mind if it ever rolls out extra restricted {hardware} experiments.