"Our focus remains on becoming the world’s number one audio platform - not on creating hardware - but we developed Car Thing because we saw a need from our users, many of whom were missing out on a seamless and personalized in-car listening experience. It’s no surprise, then, that there are over 70 million user-generated driving-related playlists on Spotify." And because the United States are an ideal playground to experiment with voice control, Spotify also decided to launch a limited release of Car Thing exclusive to eligible users in the US. "Americans spend countless hours on the road.
The rationale for the design is described by Spotify as a direct attempt to replace traditional radio in the car. In terms of service, Car Thing connects to the Spotify app on a smartphone and uses the mobile data or Wi-Fi connection from the smartphone to work - no direct connectivity.
#Car thing android#
Nevertheless, the system is able to interact with current smartphones, USB and Bluetooth protocols, and work with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Even though Spotify doesn't say, we are quite certain that Car Thing is a Linux-based embedded hardware implementation, but nothing is said in terms of hardware (we don't believe Spotify would be stupid enough to use a fully featured Android distribution). Its adaptive interference cancellation technology means it’s always working to prioritize the user's voice over all other sounds - including music. Under the hood, Car Thing is equipped with four near-field and mid-field microphones, coupled with advanced audio processing to optimize voice recognition with noise suppression capability to tune out sounds from the road.
#Car thing plus#
The display supports tactile navigational controls plus buttons on top, a side dial, and a back button. In terms of hardware, Car Thing is a simple but not minimalistic device, built with a sturdy unibody design for durability, and finished in matte-textured rubber for better handling. At the same time, the proof-of-concept also sends a clear message to automotive manufacturers that they should actively consider talking to Spotify.įor placement inside the car, Car Thing comes with three different mounts using a magnet. For some reason, Spotify just thinks that users don't want to touch their smartphones as much in the car, and that the Cat Thing will offer a better voice front-end for voice commands. No new technologies, nothing revolutionary here. Users just need to have a Spotify Premium account to use Car Thing, connect the Thing to a 12V power outlet, connect a smartphone to Car Thing via Bluetooth, and connect the phone to the car audio system also via Bluetooth, analog AUX connection or USB cable.
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