4 New Spotify Car Thing Features and How to Use Them

Thanks to a major update, Spotify's Car Thing gets even better and more attractive to prospective buyers. Learn all about the new features it offers.

Spotify has announced new features for Car Thing, which launched in the United States in February 2022. The update will allow users to do more than just control what Spotify music to play next.

The new additions enable users to control media beyond Spotify, answer phone calls, and more besides. So, let's learn more about them, shall we?

Spotify Adds New Features to Car Thing

Up until now, Spotify Car Thing was considered a remote music player made for your car that exclusively worked with Spotify. However, the newest update pushes the Car Thing's capabilities well beyond what it was originally marketed as, turning it into a complex tool to help you while driving. This is particularly useful for those who drive older cars where the entertainment center isn't that updated, as Andreas Cedborg, Spotify's Head of Hardware, recently told MUO in an interview.

You won't even need your hands for most of these actions, as you can say "Hey Spotify" before giving a voice command, which makes things simpler and safer.

All these features added by Spotify will certainly come in handy, and users are already praising the update. The features that allow users to answer calls and control other media apps are being rolled out to iOS devices, while Android users will get them later. Here's what you can do now with Spotify Car Thing.

1. Answer Phone Calls

The software update enables users to see incoming calls on their phones directly on the Spotify Car Thing. As long as your phone is connected to your Car Thing via Bluetooth, the calls you receive will appear on the screen. Along with the name and number, the screen will display two massive buttons that allow you to accept or reject the call.

2. Control Other Media

One of the biggest elements included in this update is the possibility to control other media apps, effectively taking an extra step in expanding the Car Thing's use beyond Spotify.

As long as media plays on your connected phone, Car Thing will act as audio output and allow you to play, pause, and skip tracks.

3. Add Songs to Queue

One of the most frequently requested features by Car Thing users was the ability to add songs or podcasts to the queue from the device. Sure, doing this from your phone would be super easy, but the whole point of this device is to bypass it.

Adding new content to the queue can be done in a few different ways. The first way is to tap the Add to Queue icon that appears next to songs in your list. Another way is to use the dial. While you would normally press the dial once to play a song, you can also press and hold the dial to add it to the queue when the track is highlighted.

Since you should probably be paying a lot more attention to the road and using your hand to fiddle with Car Thing isn't always possible, you can also use the voice commands. "Hey Spotify, queue [song name]" is all you have to say.

Also, you can use your voice to have Car Thing display your queue. "Hey Spotify, open my queue" will bring up all the tracks in your list. Alternatively, while in "Now Playing," you can press and hold the dial button.

4. Voice Request Playlists

Since Spotify is full of playlists that serve certain moods or activities, it makes sense to have the possibility to also request such tracks on the Car Thing. You just have to ask for any genre of music you feel like listening to. For instance, you could say, "Hey Spotify, play lazy Sunday music," or "Hey Spotify, play 90s rock." Spotify's Car Thing has you covered when you don't have a specific artist in mind.

Spotify's Car Thing Update Gives It Edge Over the Competition

While newer car models usually come with their own entertainment systems, they're not always what you want to use. Thankfully, with the high number of older cars on the roads today, there's a market for devices like Car Thing. The recent updates give the device a huge boost in functionality, making it more attractive for current users and prospective buyers.