Two years later, the gadget now features a more usable form factor. The device began life in 2019 as a product resembling an aftermarket phone camera lens attachment, developed primarily to study in-car listening habits of Spotify’s subscribers. Not the most creative of monikers, we know. The company understands that many of its mobile users are still driving around in cars that use older entertainment systems, which is why it launched a proprietary device called Car Thing.

However, there are size limitations to physical storage, and streaming services like Spotify are increasingly becoming the norm for tunes you can take anywhere (as long as there’s a data connection). > Related: How to choose the right head unit for your car Spotify says the Car Thing is part of its efforts to bring music everywhere Since then, we’ve gone through head units that can play 8-track cartridges, cassette tapes, compact discs, MiniDiscs, and even SD cards.

In-car audio has been around from the time automakers managed to make the radio compact enough to fit in the dashboard.

Spotify car thing ebay