Using Car ThingĪs a CarPlay user, I wasn’t sure what to expect when using Car Thing, but I went into it expecting it to be the best way to use Spotify in the car. If you’ve ever connected a Bluetooth speaker to your iPhone, you’ll have no issues with the setup.

It’s a straightforward process that only takes a few minutes. Next, you’ll walk through the setup process of connecting your Spotify app to it via Bluetooth. Once it’s installed, you’ll open the Spotify app, go to Settings > Car. Instead, it displayed a message about using the included DC plug. My car has a built-in USB-A plug, but Car Things refused to operate when plugged into it. Included in the box is a USB C to USB-A braided cord that plugs into the included DC plug.

Once it’s mounted in your car, you’ll need to plug the car adaptor into your car DC plug. The other included options are the air vent mount and dash mount. I still remember when having a CD player in a car was something you had to pay extra to have, and we’ve come full circle where it’s just a way to mount newer technology in your vehicle. It can be mounted in multiple ways, but I found the easiest to the CD tray adaptor. It reminds me of the external XM Radio unit I had in the early 2000s. The actual hardware is much smaller than I expected, but that’s not a negative. I’ve been spending more time using Spotify lately, so I purchased it to compare it to CarPlay.

Is there room for another entrant? Spotify thinks so, and it’s released its Car Thing (yes, that’s the actual name) that can be added onto any car that supports Bluetooth or AUX inputs. Apple and Google’s car strategy revolves around CarPlay and Android Auto.

My car thing spotify