Spotify Pulls Plug on Car View, Offers Users No Alternative

If you bought in your automobile and immediately discovered that Spotify’s Car View function had mysteriously disappeared, I’m sorry to say that no, it’s not a bug. Spotify truly introduced—though “whispered” could be extra correct—that it was killing Car View greater than a month in the past, nevertheless it seems prefer it hadn’t gotten to really doing so on a serious scale till just lately.

Car View’s disappearance was noticed by Android Police, which pointed to a post from a company moderator on Spotify’s group boards confirming that it was ending assist for the function in mid-October. The function was obtainable on Spotify’s app for iOS and Android and provided a simplified model of its interface, together with playback controls and music titles, and greater buttons for ease of use whereas driving.

In Spotify’s October reply on its boards, which addressed a query from a person who couldn’t entry Car View, the corporate’s moderator mentioned that it was “exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience.” Until then, although, people that used Car View hoping for the same function or alternative from the corporate are out of luck.

“We can confirm that we’re retiring the car view feature,” the moderator wrote. “This however doesn’t mean we don’t want to improve on how our users listen to Spotify while driving. On the contrary, we’re actively exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience. Think of retiring car-view as something that needs to happen in an effort to make way for new innovations coming down the track.”

In addition, as if so as to add salt to the wound, a unique moderator replied to the identical submit on the group boards three weeks in the past and mentioned, oh hey, we’re “also retiring certain features like our in-car Now Playing View for Android.”

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I feel an announcement with all of the automobile options they have been killing would have been simpler.

Although Spotify didn’t supply options for Car View, one of many firm’s moderators urged that customers use Google Assistant for hands-free music management. They additionally pointed to a function on Google Maps that enables listeners on iOS and Android to manage music playback when utilizing the app. However, as the Verge notes, the Google Maps answer doesn’t actually assist customers who have been hoping for one thing with huge management buttons like Car View (Google Map’s playback controls are small than in Spotify’s now-dead function).

Many Spotify customers that commented on the group discussion board submit have been offended that the corporate had pulled a function with out providing a alternative first and noticed the transfer as a blatant try and push Car Thing on customers, its $80 good machine participant designed particularly for vehicles that’s solely obtainable for preorder within the U.S. in the meanwhile. Other mentioned eradicating the function was selling unsafe driving.

Honestly, I echo what a few of the commentators and media outlets have mentioned about this. I don’t perceive why Spotify couldn’t preserve Car View whereas it went off “exploring” new and higher options. It additionally simply appears downright impolite to remove a function your customers are accustomed to and never providing them another. Thumbs down, Spotify.