Spotify's Car Thing is now available in the US, no invite required
You'll need $90 and a Premium subscription to use it.
Spotify's Car Thing, a dedicated player for the streaming service, first debuted last April after breaking from cover nearly two years prior. Back then, you needed to be part of a select few to get one. In October, the company expanded its invite list for all users in the US, but there was still a queue to wait in. Today, Spotify announced that the Car Thing is available for anyone in the States to purchase directly from the company. The device is $89.99 and requires a Premium subscription for you to be able to use it in your car, but you no longer need an invite to buy it.
As a refresher, Car Thing essentially a Spotify box for most cars — so long as you have an aux jack or Bluetooth connectivity. You'll also need easy access to a power source for the player. Car Thing then connects to your phone via Bluetooth and acts as a touch-screen controller for the Spotify app, just in a more car-friendly form.
There are plenty of easy to navigate menus, all of your favorites and a slew of convenient controls — including programmable preset buttons, a rotating dial and the company's own voice assistant. Think of it as one of those satellite radio receivers from the early aughts, only designed for the streaming age. It's built for die-hard users of the service, and it frees up your phone screen to stay on Waze or Google Maps even when you're scrolling over to another podcast.
If you're interested in taking the leap, Car Thing is now available to purchase directly from Spotify.
