Spotify is dangling the possibility of one day offering a voice-controlled music and podcast playing device for your car.
The device, called "Car Thing," is currently an experiment to help Spotify learn how people listen to the streaming service inside their cars. There's no plans to sell the hardware to consumers at the moment. For now, the company is only inviting a small group of Spotify Premium users in the US to test the device.
"Our focus remains on becoming the world's number one audio platform—not on creating hardware," the company said in a Friday blog post.
Still, the experiment will help dictate how Spotify shapes its streaming service for in-car listening, the company said. In addition, Spotify might try hardware-focused tests for other areas as well. "So don't be surprised if you hear about 'Voice Thing' and 'Home Thing,'" the company added.
Users can already stream music from a smartphone to their car using the Spotify app. But the Car Thing device promises to eliminate the hassle of flipping through your phone to get to a playlist by acting as a a middle-man device that can be plugged into a car's cigarette lighter. To activate it, the user simply needs to say "Hey Spotify," and then make their song request, according to The Verge. The device will then use Bluetooth to stream music from the phone to the car's speakers.
The Car Thing device itself has a circular display that can show you what song is being played. On the right side are buttons you can use to access preset playlists.
In January, The Financial Times reported that Spotify was planning to release an in-car music player priced around $100. However, today's statement suggests the company isn't quite ready to dive into the hardware market.
Others are already trying to bring dedicated voice assistant devices to cars. Last month, Google and Anker launched a smart assistant product for vehicles called the Roav Bolt, which goes for $50 and can also stream music from Spotify using voice commands.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been testing Echo Auto, which can bring the company's Alexa voice assistant to your car. It's slated to one day go on sale for $50 as well.
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