And of course, you’re free to search for anything in Spotify’s massive collection of music and podcasts if you need to stream something else. Shortcuts on the Home screen are personalized and updated throughout the day based on your listening activity. In terms of content, Car Thing displays separate tabs for playlists, artists, albums and podcasts that you’ve saved to your library. The company says Car Thing’s four microphones will ensure the voice setup hears your commands even when music is playing or the windows are rolled down. “Hey Spotify” is handy for searching and playing what you’re looking for without reaching for the device, but it can also assist with saving songs to your library. You can ask the helper to play or show anything from artists and songs to podcasts and playlists. The company just added its own voice assistant to its mobile apps last week, and that tech gives you the option to use this hardware hands-free when needed. Spotify is showing off its voice control abilities with Car Thing. You can also say “Hey Spotify” to play each of the presets if you can’t, or don’t want to, press any of the buttons. You can press and hold one of them to save whatever is playing or use a voice command to set them hands-free. Spotify says those four items are also stored for offline playback. Four preset buttons along the top allow you to save your favorite music, podcasts and news for one-touch access. It also reminds me of the satellite radio receiver I used in the pre-merger days of Sirius and XM Radio. The gadget is noticeably smaller than a smartphone, though it kind of resembles one due to the touch screen.

The company includes CD player, dash and vent mounts in the box for you to choose from. In either case, your phone is the internet connection and the ticket to Spotify content while the Car Thing is mostly a controller and display. The device can connect to your car stereo wirelessly via Bluetooth or wired with an aux or USB jack. Car Thing connects to your phone via Bluetooth and it’s powered by the 12-volt port.

As most things are these days, the device can be controlled by voice (“Hey Spotify”), but it has a dial, touch screen and preset buttons for physical interaction as well. First and foremost, it’s a dedicated player for Spotify’s music and podcast library. Back in 2019, the company pretty much tipped its hand entirely on Car Thing.

Spotify player for car