TL;DR
- Spotify has discontinued its Automobile Factor gadget, used for listening to and controlling Spotify within the automobile.
- The corporate is successfully bricking the machine and has inspired house owners to “safely” get rid of it.
- That looks like a waste when the corporate may’ve opened up the machine for tinkering.
Spotify first launched its Automobile Factor gadget again in 2021, and this was a compact Spotify participant with a touchscreen and bodily knob. The product had its followers, however Spotify has now determined to discontinue and successfully brick the gadget.
The corporate despatched emails to clients informing them of Automobile Factor’s discontinuation (h/t: Reddit), nevertheless it additionally up to date a assist web page to verify extra particulars.
Sadly, this discontinuation means Automobile Factor will not work. Which means a great deal of individuals could have ineffective devices which are principally bricked. Spotify even recommends that individuals reset the machine after which “safely” get rid of it. It additionally notes that there received’t be any trade-in schemes, akin to subscription credit score or a refund.
That is a particularly disappointing flip of occasions for Automobile Factor house owners. The music streaming service may’ve prevented a great deal of these devices from ending up in landfills by opening up the software program. This manner, individuals would have the ability to set up different working techniques/apps to maintain utilizing the machine as an in-car audio participant or for different functions.
Spotify has additionally famous on its assist web page that there aren’t any plans to launch a alternative or a brand new model of the Automobile Factor. Nonetheless, this saga exhibits that you just most likely shouldn’t purchase any {hardware} from Spotify within the first place, as the corporate clearly has no qualms about bricking its units.
We’ve emailed Spotify to ask why it isn’t opening up the Automobile Factor’s software program for tinkering. We’ll replace the article if/when the corporate will get again to us.
