Spotify is killing off its short-lived 'Car Thing'

After only a few months of general public availability, Spotify is discontinuing its Car Thing.

The Car Thing, Spotify's first hardware endeavour, was made to allow users to manage the streaming service while on the road. A user could browse playlists and manage music on the palm-sized touchscreen device that they plugged into their car without having to look at their phone.

In its quarterly earnings report, Spotify quietly announced its decision to stop producing the device and disclosed that the decision would cost the company about $32 million. The release stated that the decision to stop producing Car Thing had "negatively impacted" the company's gross margins.

"Based on several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop further production of Car Thing units," a company spokesperson told Insider. "Existing devices will perform as intended."

In April 2021, Spotify first revealed the Car Thing, offering it by invitation only to a small number of Spotify Premium subscribers. The Car Thing was subsequently put on a public waitlist last October, but it wasn't available for purchase by the general public until April.