And it would love to sell you a Car Thing
Spotify’s Car Thing has been around for the better part of a year, though it only became widely available to the public a few weeks ago. Our review found it to be a solution to a problem that didn’t exist in the first place, especially considering its limited use cases. Still, Spotify has slowly moved to push consumers to a dedicated gadget. Recently, it killed off its Car View feature without offering a proper replacement. Now, a handful of car stereos are losing support for Spotify, even as some of them are still on sale.
In a community post created after several reports of people complaining about connection issues with their stereos, the company confirmed that Spotify Connect support for JVC-Kenwood and Pioneer head units has been “deprecated,” and it would no longer be possible to launch the built-in app from these devices (via Golem.de). It provided no apparent reason as to why this is the case, and the company’s alternative is to simply play audio from your device using your preferred connection type.
We can confirm that support for Pioneer and JVC-Kenwood car audio head units has been deprecated. This means it will no longer be possible to launch the built-in Spotify app from the interface, but you should still be able to play audio from your mobile devices via Bluetooth or through a USB cable.
Spotify hasn’t provided users with a reason behind the decision. That said, it’s tough to see this as anything other than an attempt to get people to buy its Car Thing at the expense of dropping support for perfectly working car stereos that remain on the market.
If you have one of these stereos and want to avoid forking over $90 for an additional head unit, you still have the option to stream music to your car via Bluetooth. Just remember to let your co-pilot in the passenger seat take care of selecting the right playlist for you, so that you aren’t using your phone while driving.
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