All’s well that ends well, and even though it wasn’t intended to end well, Spotify finally gave Car Thing a decent ending. ah ok not to the device, but to the users of the device, because what was supposed to be a revolutionary car music player ended up biting the dust at a speed that would make a fighter pilot dizzy. Of course, as we said at the time, unfortunately it was something predictable.

If you don’t remember, Car Thing was device announced by Spotify in late 2021 and which went on sale exclusively in the United States in February 2022. Equipped with a touch screen, multiple controls and compatible with voice commands, it aimed to offer a more convenient experience when controlling music playback in the car while driving. And to improve its commercial options, it “coincidentally” accompanied it by removing Car View (although it was later forced to return it), as well as ending compatibility with several Pioneer and JVC-Kenwood in-car devices.

None of that seems to have helped, so just six months later, Spotify ceased production and sold the units that were still in his inventory, reducing his price from the original $89.99 to the $49.99 that the last units were sold for. Since then, from July 2022, users who decided to buy it could continue to use it normally, but as we told you a few days ago, Car Thing will stop working on December 9 of this year by Spotify’s decision.

The biggest problem is that when we consulted the company’s guidelines for Car Thing users, we found only one recommendation to recycle, meaning that it told users to dispose of the device. And now it’s over. Of course, this did not please them at all, except in some circles A class action lawsuit was even filed.concerned, on Spotify.

However, it seems that blood will not enter the river because, as we read in Engadget, Spotify has finally started offering refunds to Car Thing users. This comes, as I already indicated, after an explosion of many users who also claim to have received the most varied responses from Spotify customer service. So there are those who say they were offered a few months of free premiums, while others say they were told there would be no refunds.

So it is quite clear that we find ourselves facing a correction, a forced public response, after a more than dubious initial decision. The problem is that if Spotify tries again with the device at some point in the future, this precedent will be indelibly set on the brand and, worse, among its own paying users, since Car Thing only works with premium accounts. I really don’t understand how they could act so clumsily.