Spotify is testing its first ever hardware – a voice-activated device for cars

Spotify is now exploring the hardware market with a new voice-activated device for vehicles called the ‘Car Thing’. Spotify announced in a blog that it has started testing the hardware. Currently, the device is being tested with some Spotify Premium users in the US, who will be given the same for free. From how Spotify describes it, Car Thing will plug into a 12-volt outlet and connect to both the car and your phone over Bluetooth. You will be able to throw a “Hey, Spotify” command at it, and ask it to play whatever song you want. It will be linked to your Spotify account so it will be able to play songs from your playlists. [caption id=“attachment_6656531” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”]  Image: Spotify[/caption] Spotify says that with Car Thing it wants to learn how users music and podcasts. It writes, “Car Thing was developed to help us learn more about how people listen to music and podcasts. Our focus remains on becoming the world’s number one audio platform—not on creating hardware.” Notably, though, Spotify says that it is not looking at releasing this device for consumers yet, and the test will currently only dictate how they will further develop its service experiences. For future too, Spotify hinted that it may conduct similar voice-specific tests in the future, “so don’t be surprised if you hear about ‘Voice Thing’ and ‘Home Thing’.”