What makes this worse is the fact that it doesn't rely on servers. It's literally just a remote for the phone app. Hell, it even works offline. So the argument of them needing to pay for servers to keep it running doesn't hold up at all.
@@BBGS11_Lego yeah but U can get a Bluetooth adaptor for like 10 dollars that connects to your phone. It's a cool device but it solves a problem that has already been solved for ages tbh
How so? What are the damages? You can get your money back from them if you ask. You haven't lost anything. Edit. For those saying they aren't offering refunds. Look again. At up to date reporting. They ARE offering refunds.
@@thedrifter5531 lol, wut? The ACTUAL SPOTIFY COMPANY told engadget last Friday that if you contact customer support with proof of purchase, they will offer a refund.
@@thedrifter5531I can guarantee you somewhere in the fine print of the terms and conditions they covered themselves so they can do this legally. Big companies usually arent that stupid
@@brendanbudniak2261what about cars that don’t have displays or advanced consoles, it’s illegal to use your phone while driving in some states, so this is not useless
When Google discontinued stadia, they made it so you could flash the controllers to a firmware that allows you to use it for other stuff. Hopefully Spotify does that for this
What's insane is that I can still buy music on iTunes Store and add it onto my 20 year old iPod shuffle, yet I still can't use an offline media remote without Spotify saying so.
I would highly recommend owning your music whenever you can and switching to an open source version of things like Spotify when you’re not using an iPod
@@UKsystems In other words, you know it's completely unfeasible but still recommend it anyway because you think it makes you look smart. Willing to be you haven't actually set up an RMS from scratch yourself. Your average end user is not going to have the technical knowhow to run and maintain an RMS. God forbid we talk about how this particular device is intended for use IN THE CAR, meaning it can't even make use of a media server in most circumstances. Or about how expensive server hosting gets, even if you run a cheap optiplex as a local-only server tied into your router. Yes, buyiing your music is better, but these streaming services provide a LOT of utility that just isn't accessible to normal people without them.
@@jtnachos16I like how you called him/her out on it. So many love talking about hosting for files/music/movies as if the ordinary folk know how. I’m a senior OT & IT Engineer for Pharma and even I ain’t got time for that ! They just love those. ”well this is possible didn’t you know ? duh“ statements.
The worst part in my opinion is that when they released "The Car Thing" the yanked a their radio integration. So if you have a non Android auto/apple car play radio, that had a Spotify button, that button no longer works. And then they killed the car thing. Meaning the only functional way to use Spotify in your car is Android auto/car play or touching your phone constantly.
@@FriedTendi Surprisingly, it doesn't run Android, but Linux. There are ways to hack it, though, and install another Linux OS to it. Probably already a bunch of people working on building one.
@@beardeddawg8509 Theres a lot of reasons not to touch the factory infotainment system. Almost every reason is specific to every car. Like in a 6th gen civic, the car alarm was run through the radio, which means if you replace the radio you suddenly don't have an alarm system and thieves can clearly see that through the window. In a first and second gen mazda 3, infotainment is responsible for the MPG and DTE gauge in the top screen on the dash. Unless you get a special radio or an extra black box behind the dash to handle that, you lose that functionality. Or in a 1979-1985 mazda RX-7, the radio is an obtuse size and the dash is very brittle, so replacing it is most likely going to mean broken dashboard and parts aren't available for it.
That's grimy. They probably dropped the price to lower the amount of units they had on hand when they discontinued it. Makes it so they have to write off less.
Nah, it's the hyper-controlled digital era. Didn't used to be like this, it's always been super flexible -- and that's still the case if you know what you're doing
@@UKsystems Well I do, but only for the things that make sence to do. Own cloud, shared family cooud folder, streaning music and video (all somehwat legally owned). I wish I can do so for my car. Instead - once the servers are down, I will loose quite many useful functions 😮
@@user-qy2wf2lt6v there were definitely a lot of open soul solutions that can sync to a server when connected to the network and function when it’s disconnected with the locally saved variant
@@brendanbudniak2261 I drive a manual 2012 honda fit, without this I would be way too distracted on the road trying to change music on my phone..For me I also believe it's an amazing little product.
@@emiliopena4404 I think it’s important to know that you should read the terms and conditions to a product when they can do stuff like this and you’ve purchased it
Well I was about to buy one, well technically I had it on order and then I saw the announcement and canceled it right away. Then I was like oh that’s probably why they discounted so heavily😂
@@brendanbudniak2261 Lot's of things are 'useless products' until you happen to need them for a specific use case. Hell even Spotify is a useless product considering you could just buy music. Doesn't justify them intentionally bricking a device that realistically requires near zero support hours from devs.
@@brendanbudniak2261 first of all it does look nice and second of all I drive a old car which doesn’t technically even have a radio. I basically have to use my phone and plug it in to have any music while I’m in the car and sometimes it’s nicer to have something like this instead of having to hold your phone. I also drive stick so you don’t really or you’re not supposed to really have your phone in your hand.
@@brendanbudniak2261 old school I have a 80s civic and a 90s civic too. Having a stereo was an upgrade. Also back then a lot of times they would get stolen or people would steal them.
Actually the Spotify Car Thing is open source and can run custom code. But the CPU is incredibly weak, its Bluetooth is its only source of connectivity, and the ram is so little that the Car Thing really can't do much more than it was intended for, being a remote for your Spotify app on your phone. For less than the same price as a car thing, many could pick up a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3 with a 4 inch screen module that could be used for many more uses. I say that because if you're actually willing to hack the Car Thing to get more use out of it after December, then you should be willing enough to fuck with a raspberry pi and have a much better piece of hardware with more use
Keep in mind people who bought resold car things don’t get refunds from Spotify. And since this thing was in such high demand, the resale cost was up there when I bought it just 6 months ago.
@@DonPetrushka but the screen gets damaged as the sun light hits it . Using a phone on the motorcycle is not advisable. Hitting a huge pot hole is going to send your phone for an unscheduled flight.
@@TheINDIAN it 100% won't send my phone for any flight since I've got a really good phone holder locking it from all four sides. But about the sun affecting the phone, fair enough, good point. Especially if you have long trips. Buuut you still can use some "phonebrella" to protect it from the direct sun rays 😏
Buy one now while they’re super cheap and if enough people complain about it, it’ll get taken to court and either be made open source to prevent e-waste or they’ll reveal all numbers on them and if they didn’t sell a certain amount they’ll most likely be bricked. We seen the same thing happen with the zune back in the early 2000s
I bet it's actually because they are going to/have already made a successor to this device. And considering it runs on Android/Linux, they don't want anyone who knows what they're doing with tech to crack it and make it last longer so that they can get morons to buy the "newer and improved version"
I wonder if it illegally collects data and they don't want to get caught. Spotify has been pulling anti consumer trucks for years that's why I use Tidal, also Spotify stole a bunch of features from Tidal Streaming anyway
yeah it doesn't even have code signing, Spotify just left it wide open. there's a giant community of people getting them to do things other than what Spotify intended!
I have an old truck that doesn’t have Bluetooth. So I just put my phone into a wireless charger (uses the cig lighter) and then I use one of those Bluetooth/radio convertersz it comes with a remote that allows you to play/ pause/skip. It was like 15 bucks and it does the exact same thing as this
@@brendanbudniak2261 if 30-40-50% off. I consider it worth it. I pay a same amount of money for a non touch portable display to open spotify all the time
@@brendanbudniak2261 it was $30, you can use voice commands, it has 4 different buttons to navigate easily, the volume knob is better than buttons or a slider on my computer screen... You don't have to like it or buy it... Why the hatred
@@brendanbudniak2261I don't understand why people would want to do that, when they can literally use their damn phone/laptop/ computer, etc, to do the exact same thing. Is this generation really that fück!ng dümb?
I bought one of these months ago when they discounted it to $30 and it was great. My car didn't have a newer radio so it was perfect to see what was playing and change music without going to my phone. So sad when I got the email that they're discontinuing it and it will completely stop working.
How much are they really saving by stopping support for it? I highly suspect it's just a boiled down version of Android running a slightly tweaked version of the app. They could at least leave the music playing until something later down the line organically breaks it.
@@movingtargetproductions5046 Except this thing doesn't use any servers, it's just a remote for the phone app and can even be used offline. There's literally zero reason to kill it.
I had been comparing several music services about three years ago, and decided to stay with Spotify eventually, bcs it's literally the most user friendly service with an extensive library. And their algos just know my taste as good as it gets, recommendations are always spot on. So I can't say which one might be better right now
This. They've gotten arrogant, forgotten where they came from & who made them what they are today: *Us consumers.* They used to be niche when I first joined them.
Years ago people had already figured out how to run Debian on the thing with display, touchscreen, scroll wheel and bluetooth support. Pretti sure after this nice move from Spotify they will also figure out how to enable WiFi (Spotify never used it but the hardware technically supports it)
As you said, you can probably flash custom firmware with a minimal Linux like Alpine on it if the manufacturer left out a working Serial UART connector (at least two small, hidden pins on the board, rx and tx) somewhere. With a bit of soldering skills you can probably dig those up.
I remember being one of the first people to be notified about carthing and I am a premium member so I was promised one for free. I remember paying 6 dollars for shipping because I live in Canada and it never came. Spotify took 6 dollars from me 😭😭
So cool relying on others free labor to keep a paid for device function outside of the service you still pay over $100 a year for 😂 Idk whats worse, Spotify taking advantage of their customers, or that it's blatant and their customers put their blinders on while telling themselves they're getting a great deal and "convenience". $600 in 5 years to own NOTHING 😂😂😂
I wonder if you use an old version of the Spotify app on a Car Thing that is not connected to the internet if it would still work. I suspect it would if you downloaded all the songs as it wouldn't have the chance for the Spotify server to tell it to not work.
That could be sick if it was open source, imagine a stream deck like thing with a nob for volume or other stuff? That would be amazing especially for that price tag
I really wished they wouldve sold these in Canada. Tried to get one but couldn't without over border shipping hastle. Wouldve loved to play around and see if theres any way I could get past the software
I am a part of the demographic that genuinely uses the product in my old car and enjoys it. I would understand that if the product didn't perform well in terms of sales that they would discontinue support for it, but DONT BRICK OUR DEVICES. There's absolutely no reason for that when its literally just a controller interface for music. WE PAID FOR IT LET US KEEP USNG IT.
Wanted to buy one of these for my setup too, man why did they have to do that. Hopefully some other tech company is able to make something similar to this for us who really want it.
This is why I haven't used a streaming music service in the last decade plus. Back around 2010 I got tired of streaming services going under and losing my playlists so now I buy all my albums and songs from amazon and own over 30 gigs of mp3s.
Meanwhile you could use rasberry pi or some other open source mini pc inside, and use a custom OS. It’s maybe hard if you don’t know how to make anything related to OS, but it could actually save this device, especially that it looks genuinely good.
My car is a very base model car without a radio so this car thing is a lifesaver. I REALLY REALLY hope Spotify makes the software open source so that I can at least still use it somewhat for music playing
I got an email from them saying it was deactivated, and talked with them through the support link and they refunded my last 4 payments of 16.99 to add up to the 2 car things I ordered from them back in 2022 for $30 each, but I had to show my original purchase receipt. So if you have that I would say it’s worth it to reach out to them at least get your money back
this thing made my old ass car that much better, i have a new car now so i no longer have to use it, but this thing really came in handy when i needed it
I got mine in 2021 when they did the beta testing for free+shipping so like $6.5 I haven't used it in probably 2.5 years. I saw this video went straight to customer support and said how disappointed I was and they gave me 6 months of premium even though I never paid them for it 😅
I really wanted to get one for my desk but I’ve also realized the Spotify iPhone app works just fine for controlling the Spotify app on my PC so I’ll probably try and find a visually appealing phone and mounting it to my desk to control the player when I’m working or playing games
I like how I only ever saw news about this thing when they decided to discontinue it. This would've been really helpful for me and a few people I know like a year ago.
What makes this worse is the fact that it doesn't rely on servers. It's literally just a remote for the phone app. Hell, it even works offline. So the argument of them needing to pay for servers to keep it running doesn't hold up at all.
It's just not a useful product. People who actually bought it are just wasting their money to look cool or something
@brendanbudniak2261 Older cars could use this, a car without a screen like many low-end cars, or cars before late 2000s
@@brendanbudniak2261that has to be the worst take on anything ever
@@BBGS11_Lego yeah but U can get a Bluetooth adaptor for like 10 dollars that connects to your phone.
It's a cool device but it solves a problem that has already been solved for ages tbh
@@brendanbudniak2261yes and no, Bluetooth/radio absolutely butchers the quality, the only easy way was aux with a car thing
This is genuinely a lawsuit waiting to happen
How so? What are the damages? You can get your money back from them if you ask. You haven't lost anything.
Edit. For those saying they aren't offering refunds. Look again. At up to date reporting. They ARE offering refunds.
@herranton nope, from a few sources ive seen they are offering zero refunds
@@thedrifter5531 lol, wut?
The ACTUAL SPOTIFY COMPANY told engadget last Friday that if you contact customer support with proof of purchase, they will offer a refund.
@@thedrifter5531I can guarantee you somewhere in the fine print of the terms and conditions they covered themselves so they can do this legally. Big companies usually arent that stupid
cope 😂
Spotify pulling a Ubisoft just shows how we need to treat them in the near future
Nah low-key this product is just kinda meh/useless
@@brendanbudniak2261 like most electronics
I stopped paying for streaming services in favor of self hosting high fidelity music from a raspberry pi in my home
@@brendanbudniak2261what about cars that don’t have displays or advanced consoles, it’s illegal to use your phone while driving in some states, so this is not useless
@@brendanbudniak2261 it's been an awesome addition to my motorcycle, you're useless
When Google discontinued stadia, they made it so you could flash the controllers to a firmware that allows you to use it for other stuff. Hopefully Spotify does that for this
Rare Google W
No, they won't. They already told people to go dispose of it at their closest e-waste centre
@@ThatWorldWideWeb i think it's also because they sold the stuff in places like the EU, and that shit doesn't fly there.
@@cassiuscartland it’s very easy to put another operating system on a device such as these
God that's horrible.
Anyways, some of us here are gonna try and run DOOM on the car thing. We will call it, “Doom thing”.
Well hey it's running Linux so it's possible
Hell Yeah!!
We will probably get Doom on Spotify Car Thing before GTA 6
You could say it's a Doom thing
They have already "jailbroke" it multiple times so it shouldn't take long
What's insane is that I can still buy music on iTunes Store and add it onto my 20 year old iPod shuffle, yet I still can't use an offline media remote without Spotify saying so.
I would highly recommend owning your music whenever you can and switching to an open source version of things like Spotify when you’re not using an iPod
@@UKsystems like what, exactly?
@@Rederister you’re going to have to do your own research as it depends on how involved you want to get whether you want to purchase servers or not
@@UKsystems In other words, you know it's completely unfeasible but still recommend it anyway because you think it makes you look smart. Willing to be you haven't actually set up an RMS from scratch yourself. Your average end user is not going to have the technical knowhow to run and maintain an RMS. God forbid we talk about how this particular device is intended for use IN THE CAR, meaning it can't even make use of a media server in most circumstances. Or about how expensive server hosting gets, even if you run a cheap optiplex as a local-only server tied into your router.
Yes, buyiing your music is better, but these streaming services provide a LOT of utility that just isn't accessible to normal people without them.
@@jtnachos16I like how you called him/her out on it. So many love talking about hosting for files/music/movies as if the ordinary folk know how. I’m a senior OT & IT Engineer for Pharma and even I ain’t got time for that ! They just love those. ”well this is possible didn’t you know ? duh“ statements.
Spotify deserves a class action lawsuit
They aren’t breaking any laws
@@calebwilcott9699 Clean that corporate boot, bootlicker.
It will be a civil suit, not a criminal trial, so it is not about breaking a law, it is about violating an implied contract.
@@HarryJarrell They didn't break any contacts. The Spotify Terms and Conditions clearly state they can do this.
@calebwilcott9699 @cassiuscartland Regardless of what you guys think, there's already a class action lawsuit in progress.
I remember that video but why would Spotify do this 😔
Def gonna miss it
Corporate greed
@@rillotvshouldn't it be possible to install your own version of Android if you root it?
The worst part in my opinion is that when they released "The Car Thing" the yanked a their radio integration.
So if you have a non Android auto/apple car play radio, that had a Spotify button, that button no longer works.
And then they killed the car thing. Meaning the only functional way to use Spotify in your car is Android auto/car play or touching your phone constantly.
@@FriedTendi Surprisingly, it doesn't run Android, but Linux. There are ways to hack it, though, and install another Linux OS to it. Probably already a bunch of people working on building one.
Is that even legal? I mean, I understand not supporting the device with new updates, but bricking it completely seems really shady...
It's going to be bricked because they will drop the support for the device.
The car thing can only run spotify
I'm sure they got some vague lawyer lingo in the contract you signed once but constantly changes to protect them in this.
unfortunately consumer rights are a bit of a joke in america. you should really vote for people that will stand up for them when possible
@SCP_BrightAltstill doesn’t make it right
@SCP_BrightAlt the meat riding is strong with this one
If you give them an inch they take a mile
Corpos are the enemy of the people
This thing actually looks cool. And it does make sense for a old car.
Well there are other options that do more than just Spotify
No it does not make sense. Everyone just has a phone today
@@DerSkoff a infotainment system is a different from a phone, it better blends in with a car but yes this specific one isn't too great
Just put a new stereo in the car, whenever my dad gets a used car he just puts one in that connects to his phone
@@beardeddawg8509 Theres a lot of reasons not to touch the factory infotainment system. Almost every reason is specific to every car. Like in a 6th gen civic, the car alarm was run through the radio, which means if you replace the radio you suddenly don't have an alarm system and thieves can clearly see that through the window. In a first and second gen mazda 3, infotainment is responsible for the MPG and DTE gauge in the top screen on the dash. Unless you get a special radio or an extra black box behind the dash to handle that, you lose that functionality. Or in a 1979-1985 mazda RX-7, the radio is an obtuse size and the dash is very brittle, so replacing it is most likely going to mean broken dashboard and parts aren't available for it.
That's grimy. They probably dropped the price to lower the amount of units they had on hand when they discontinued it. Makes it so they have to write off less.
I didn’t even know this was a thing. Now I want one.
Perfect timing, you'll find plenty for sale soon!!
@@galloewhere?
That folks is THE DIGITAL ERA
Nah, it's the hyper-controlled digital era. Didn't used to be like this, it's always been super flexible -- and that's still the case if you know what you're doing
And? There’s no reason to own this
@@Greencheezy0 well you can avoid all the control if you self host every service and do not pay for subscription
@@UKsystems Well I do, but only for the things that make sence to do. Own cloud, shared family cooud folder, streaning music and video (all somehwat legally owned). I wish I can do so for my car. Instead - once the servers are down, I will loose quite many useful functions 😮
@@user-qy2wf2lt6v there were definitely a lot of open soul solutions that can sync to a server when connected to the network and function when it’s disconnected with the locally saved variant
Common Tech Trend in the Recent Years: What you buy doesn't really belong to you.
Yup! Been screaming about this for years. The people will saw their feet off to RENT boots that walk for you at half the speed.
@@ks_snuggles yeah, big gaming companies have been doing this more flagrantly these days.
“You will own nothing and be happy” 🥲
I think you can install degoogled android or Linux on it
Yea,its prob based of android
@@Keaton7320it’s Linux based
it runs on empty linux with no gui, no hud its just spotify on shell launcher@@Keaton7320
It's open source, but not much interest because it's an extremely underpowered device. It's probably not worth pursuing.
@@DiscipleDownonly good with its original software right
dude i use this every day and when i heard about this a few weeks earlier my heart dropped. literally such an amazing product.
You know what actually sucks? Spotify was free…on everything.
Meh, even the guy in the video knows it's only good because it looks cool. It doesn't actually do anything you can't do otherwise
@@brendanbudniak2261 I drive a manual 2012 honda fit, without this I would be way too distracted on the road trying to change music on my phone..For me I also believe it's an amazing little product.
Australian consumer law is having fun with this case
It’s actually very clearly stated in the first line of the terms of conditions that they can disable it and providing the software is only a courtesy
@@UKsystems🤓🤓
@@emiliopena4404 I think it’s important to know that you should read the terms and conditions to a product when they can do stuff like this and you’ve purchased it
Well, that is a joke. There should be a minimum service life for such products.
@@PeterM8987 well when you sign an agreement stating you’re only buying a hardware product service life is suddenly irrelevant
its refreshing to see a short not end with “and thats why…”
Well I was about to buy one, well technically I had it on order and then I saw the announcement and canceled it right away. Then I was like oh that’s probably why they discounted so heavily😂
Bruh it's a useless product anyway. you're wasting 90 bucks just to use Spotify very slightly easier in your car.
@@brendanbudniak2261 Lot's of things are 'useless products' until you happen to need them for a specific use case. Hell even Spotify is a useless product considering you could just buy music.
Doesn't justify them intentionally bricking a device that realistically requires near zero support hours from devs.
@@brendanbudniak2261 first of all it does look nice and second of all I drive a old car which doesn’t technically even have a radio. I basically have to use my phone and plug it in to have any music while I’m in the car and sometimes it’s nicer to have something like this instead of having to hold your phone. I also drive stick so you don’t really or you’re not supposed to really have your phone in your hand.
@@Nathan15038 is it just a really bad car or is it a vintage one or something?
@@brendanbudniak2261 old school I have a 80s civic and a 90s civic too. Having a stereo was an upgrade. Also back then a lot of times they would get stolen or people would steal them.
Actually the Spotify Car Thing is open source and can run custom code. But the CPU is incredibly weak, its Bluetooth is its only source of connectivity, and the ram is so little that the Car Thing really can't do much more than it was intended for, being a remote for your Spotify app on your phone.
For less than the same price as a car thing, many could pick up a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3 with a 4 inch screen module that could be used for many more uses.
I say that because if you're actually willing to hack the Car Thing to get more use out of it after December, then you should be willing enough to fuck with a raspberry pi and have a much better piece of hardware with more use
Even the guy in the video knows the only reason to buy this thing is because it looks cool because it's actually kinda useless
Someone needs to sue them to oblivion for this scam.
Keep in mind people who bought resold car things don’t get refunds from Spotify. And since this thing was in such high demand, the resale cost was up there when I bought it just 6 months ago.
This would be excellent for a motorcycle gps screen .
RIGHT
You could just use an actual gps as a GPS tho
Phone as a GPS device is merely perfect
@@DonPetrushka but the screen gets damaged as the sun light hits it . Using a phone on the motorcycle is not advisable. Hitting a huge pot hole is going to send your phone for an unscheduled flight.
@@TheINDIAN it 100% won't send my phone for any flight since I've got a really good phone holder locking it from all four sides. But about the sun affecting the phone, fair enough, good point. Especially if you have long trips. Buuut you still can use some "phonebrella" to protect it from the direct sun rays 😏
I genuinely don’t get why they have to actively block it basically
Probably Spotify wants to change the format of how their site works that'll be incompatible with how the device works currently.
Theyll prpbably let subscribers use it for the durarion of their wubscription
Spotify literally went from letting me login on Mac OS Tiger until this last year, to now bricking login devices almost immediately after an upgrade.
You guys really allow these companies to toy with you 🤦🏻♂️ microstransaction ,then no ownership over games ,now this .
Buy one now while they’re super cheap and if enough people complain about it, it’ll get taken to court and either be made open source to prevent e-waste or they’ll reveal all numbers on them and if they didn’t sell a certain amount they’ll most likely be bricked. We seen the same thing happen with the zune back in the early 2000s
Where can you buy it at
I was already a lux distribution meant for flashing onto these. You can easily put it on if you want.
They're not super cheap? They're $100+ on eBay if you can find one which is asking a lot for what megar specs it has
So your suggestion is to buy one with the hope that it's forced to be made open source?
If you wanna avoid turning it you can turn it into a 2nd monitor or as a macropad
Spotify recently stated to factory it and destroy it. Gotta wonder why they want it in pieces
I bet it's actually because they are going to/have already made a successor to this device. And considering it runs on Android/Linux, they don't want anyone who knows what they're doing with tech to crack it and make it last longer so that they can get morons to buy the "newer and improved version"
I wonder if it illegally collects data and they don't want to get caught. Spotify has been pulling anti consumer trucks for years that's why I use Tidal, also Spotify stole a bunch of features from Tidal Streaming anyway
@@kennygaming208 I ripped all of my Playlist on Spotify to MP3 and let them suspend my account
I think that people on Reddit jailbroken this
Even if not its only a matter of time for them to do so just to spite spotify lmao
they have, you can sign code to it now
yeah it doesn't even have code signing, Spotify just left it wide open. there's a giant community of people getting them to do things other than what Spotify intended!
I have an old truck that doesn’t have Bluetooth. So I just put my phone into a wireless charger (uses the cig lighter) and then I use one of those Bluetooth/radio convertersz it comes with a remote that allows you to play/ pause/skip. It was like 15 bucks and it does the exact same thing as this
I actually considering buying that thing to put on my desk. So sad :(
Bruh who's gonna waste 90 dollars to use Spotify a tiny bit easier on their desk
@@brendanbudniak2261 if 30-40-50% off. I consider it worth it. I pay a same amount of money for a non touch portable display to open spotify all the time
@@brendanbudniak2261 it was $30, you can use voice commands, it has 4 different buttons to navigate easily, the volume knob is better than buttons or a slider on my computer screen... You don't have to like it or buy it... Why the hatred
@@brendanbudniak2261I don't understand why people would want to do that, when they can literally use their damn phone/laptop/ computer, etc, to do the exact same thing. Is this generation really that fück!ng dümb?
@@brendanbudniak2261 generation Z, they are not very smart...
Where the hell did you get one for $30…
That's why you dont dump money into companies that only want your money. They are not here to help make your life happy.
So pay for nothing ever?
That's every company ever
You realize companies literally exist only to make money, right?
Relax mate. Spotify is a useful service but this product is just not that useful
So every company in existence then
You wouldn't buy anything with your logic mate
Companies do only want your money
I bought one of these months ago when they discounted it to $30 and it was great. My car didn't have a newer radio so it was perfect to see what was playing and change music without going to my phone. So sad when I got the email that they're discontinuing it and it will completely stop working.
Ayy props for the album Niagra by Redveil, I’m still bumping that these days
Wheres the confetti 💯 banger song ong
his new single called famous is so good
How much are they really saving by stopping support for it? I highly suspect it's just a boiled down version of Android running a slightly tweaked version of the app. They could at least leave the music playing until something later down the line organically breaks it.
Almost nothing. They just need to keep a legacy api, that they don't need to update, like Google and UA-cam does.
Or rather, they don't need to update the car thing ever again, they just need to keep their servers using the same api.
Server+electricity cost at that point. And servers ain't cheap
@@movingtargetproductions5046 Except this thing doesn't use any servers, it's just a remote for the phone app and can even be used offline.
There's literally zero reason to kill it.
@@movingtargetproductions5046they are already paying to use the server space for all their music I don’t believe that they are really saving much
if you wanna avoid throwing it out you can use it as a second monitor or as a macropad
awe man :( it’s such a cool design! i think itd be such a fun sampler format. the scroll wheel and touch screen would be great with an app like koala
Spotify yet again showcasing it's the literal worst music streaming service while somehow remaining the most popular...
I had been comparing several music services about three years ago, and decided to stay with Spotify eventually, bcs it's literally the most user friendly service with an extensive library. And their algos just know my taste as good as it gets, recommendations are always spot on. So I can't say which one might be better right now
This. They've gotten arrogant, forgotten where they came from & who made them what they are today: *Us consumers.* They used to be niche when I first joined them.
@@DonPetrushkahave you tried Tidal? I've been using it for 6 years and it's superior. Literally Spotify ripped off so many features from tidal
Microsoft did this, basically, with Zune.
Years ago people had already figured out how to run Debian on the thing with display, touchscreen, scroll wheel and bluetooth support.
Pretti sure after this nice move from Spotify they will also figure out how to enable WiFi (Spotify never used it but the hardware technically supports it)
Nokia didn't even brick their phones decades after but Spotify got the guts to do this after a year.
YOU CAN CONTACT SUPPORT FOR A REFUND
i always thought it looked cool
I can't believe people actually bought hardware dedicated to a single service. I saw this coming as soon as I saw the announcement
The hesitation at the end. He was like "wait, i could still use this till the end of the year"😂
It’s not open source but people were able to run programs on the car thing that imitate how it works!
could you link where you found this info? i want to get this on my car thing for when it gets de activiated
@@Rye37 ua-cam.com/video/KbcO8K9Huz0/v-deo.html
It is open source actually, just very little interest since it has a weak CPU and limited connectivity.
lol pump and dump
I remember signing up for this and never got notified about it. I wanna plush this thing. There’s so many cool things you could use this for.
I literally use this for my 2007 Honda it’s been very useful since day 1
They announced they won't make it open source and started refunding people.
That flinch was the “oh shit I I might’ve thrown it too hard please don’t be broken” flinch
Opening it up to be hackable is the best thing spotify can do with that,
Other than just continuing to support it….
I would turn it into an Apple CarPlay thing. Apple CarPlay on an old car with a factory radio would be pretty cool.
Gotta love how sustainable these companies claim to be.
Spotify say they gonna brick the devices
Not even the greatest dystopian scifi writers could've predicted this woke matriarchy, where feelings and emotionalism overrule logic and rationalism
As you said, you can probably flash custom firmware with a minimal Linux like Alpine on it if the manufacturer left out a working Serial UART connector (at least two small, hidden pins on the board, rx and tx) somewhere. With a bit of soldering skills you can probably dig those up.
I remember being one of the first people to be notified about carthing and I am a premium member so I was promised one for free. I remember paying 6 dollars for shipping because I live in Canada and it never came. Spotify took 6 dollars from me 😭😭
It's already open source btw, check out the tech linked video from yesterday, last section
So cool relying on others free labor to keep a paid for device function outside of the service you still pay over $100 a year for 😂
Idk whats worse, Spotify taking advantage of their customers, or that it's blatant and their customers put their blinders on while telling themselves they're getting a great deal and "convenience". $600 in 5 years to own NOTHING 😂😂😂
I wish they would allow owners to install an open source program there
The beauty of streaming services people
Argentina is such a beautiful country with incredible people. Hopefully someday most if not all of these problems will be resolved.
had one up until a car accident in december 2023. the thing snapped in half, and i haven't been able to easily control my music since.
That actually looks very cool! And handy
I've never wanted someone to sue a company more in my life.
I wonder if you use an old version of the Spotify app on a Car Thing that is not connected to the internet if it would still work. I suspect it would if you downloaded all the songs as it wouldn't have the chance for the Spotify server to tell it to not work.
Spotify and open source? That was a good one
That could be sick if it was open source, imagine a stream deck like thing with a nob for volume or other stuff? That would be amazing especially for that price tag
I was here when you uploaded that video and wanted to buy one too
XDA Forums most likely coming in clutch
bro is tapped in😭
I really wished they wouldve sold these in Canada. Tried to get one but couldn't without over border shipping hastle. Wouldve loved to play around and see if theres any way I could get past the software
I am a part of the demographic that genuinely uses the product in my old car and enjoys it. I would understand that if the product didn't perform well in terms of sales that they would discontinue support for it, but DONT BRICK OUR DEVICES. There's absolutely no reason for that when its literally just a controller interface for music. WE PAID FOR IT LET US KEEP USNG IT.
Wanted to buy one of these for my setup too, man why did they have to do that. Hopefully some other tech company is able to make something similar to this for us who really want it.
Didn’t even know this existed! Now I need it for my 2006 car
This is why I haven't used a streaming music service in the last decade plus. Back around 2010 I got tired of streaming services going under and losing my playlists so now I buy all my albums and songs from amazon and own over 30 gigs of mp3s.
Meanwhile you could use rasberry pi or some other open source mini pc inside, and use a custom OS. It’s maybe hard if you don’t know how to make anything related to OS, but it could actually save this device, especially that it looks genuinely good.
That is beautiful. It's sad that it's deactivating 😢
no why they killin it.
looks good for a desk setup
this mf has good taste jev and redviel are goats
"Holding out"
Spotify: theres the bin, thank you
My car is a very base model car without a radio so this car thing is a lifesaver. I REALLY REALLY hope Spotify makes the software open source so that I can at least still use it somewhat for music playing
That would make a cool soundboard
We should make a law to ban creating E-waste like this!
I got an email from them saying it was deactivated, and talked with them through the support link and they refunded my last 4 payments of 16.99 to add up to the 2 car things I ordered from them back in 2022 for $30 each, but I had to show my original purchase receipt. So if you have that I would say it’s worth it to reach out to them at least get your money back
That looks like a good foundation for a cyber deck mod.
If they make it open source, Pretzel would be a great option
KEEP IT! Because the community exists and there might be a chance to revive it with a third party service... Don't throw it guys!
Since it's android there's a big chance to fix it
redveil and jev.!?? u have awesome music taste :D
this thing made my old ass car that much better, i have a new car now so i no longer have to use it, but this thing really came in handy when i needed it
Мужики с 4PDA: Подержи моё пиво
Yeah guys its so unusable now, just send them my way, send them all my way I'll take care of them :)
I got mine in 2021 when they did the beta testing for free+shipping so like $6.5 I haven't used it in probably 2.5 years. I saw this video went straight to customer support and said how disappointed I was and they gave me 6 months of premium even though I never paid them for it 😅
This is the exact reason why I never relied on these radio apps for my music.
Spotify wants car owners to upgrade old cars to cyber trucks 💀💀💀
I really wanted to get one for my desk but I’ve also realized the Spotify iPhone app works just fine for controlling the Spotify app on my PC so I’ll probably try and find a visually appealing phone and mounting it to my desk to control the player when I’m working or playing games
I like how I only ever saw news about this thing when they decided to discontinue it. This would've been really helpful for me and a few people I know like a year ago.