Spotify Car Thing will be discontinued

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Device shutdown & user impact

  • Many are angry that Spotify isn’t just discontinuing sales, but fully bricking a working device and telling owners to dispose of it.
  • Owners report buying it as recently as 6 months ago and using it happily in older cars or even as a desktop controller.
  • The voice control is widely praised as fast and accurate, better than Google Assistant and the old in‑app Spotify voice feature.
  • Some note the device is effectively just a controller; music comes from the phone, so they see no technical need to kill it.

Refunds, consumer rights & legal angles

  • Several argue this should be illegal: if cloud services are required, minimum support lifetimes (e.g., 5+ years) should be mandated and advertised.
  • Others suggest courts and consumer protection laws (UK, NZ, etc.) might already require refunds if a device fails “unreasonably” early.
  • Reports in other communities suggest full refunds are sometimes being granted; PayPal disputes are time‑barred.
  • Small claims court and state attorneys general are mentioned as possible paths.

Open-sourcing, hacking, and e‑waste

  • Strong sentiment that Spotify should release firmware, unlock bootloaders, or at least publish specs so the community can repurpose the hardware.
  • Multiple links show the device is already rootable, runs a stripped‑down Android/Chromium, and can even run Debian.
  • Commenters view the “throw it away” guidance as environmentally irresponsible; some call for legislation forcing unlocks at end‑of‑life.

Product design, value, and competition

  • Original price around $90; later sold for $20–30, which some took as an EOL signal.
  • Critics say it was always redundant versus phone mounts or modern head units with CarPlay/Android Auto.
  • Supporters argue it filled a niche: older cars without modern systems, tactile controls, excellent voice UX.

Trust in Spotify and broader concerns

  • Several subscribers say this reinforces distrust of Spotify’s roadmap and hardware offerings; some cancel or plan to switch to alternatives (e.g., Apple Music, Tidal, self‑hosted like Navidrome).
  • The case is cited as part of a wider problem: proprietary, cloud‑dependent devices, locked bootloaders, and capitalism’s incentives leading to e‑waste and poor long‑term support.